Perry Groten gets an anecdotal report from one Sioux Falls bike shop that Trump’s humiliating and counterproductive war against Iran is boosting electric bike sales:
“[Customers are] commenting on how much the gas has gone up and it doesn’t look like it’s coming down anytime soon, so they’re trying to switch to bikes and commuting back and forth to work,” eBikes 605 owner Dale Solberg said.
Spring is already a busy time for sales at bike shops. But, due in part to higher gas prices, sales at eBikes 605 are higher than ever this year.
“I would say we’re probably up about 35 to 40-percent,” Solberg said [Perry Groten, “High Gas Prices Fuel Rising E-Bike Sales,” KELO-TV, 2026.04.09].
EBikes 605 carries Velotric bicycles. Velotric’s website shows its T1 ST Plus electric bike at a price of $1,400.
According to Gas Buddy, gasoline prices in Sioux Falls are around $3.65 a gallon, up from $2.87 one year ago. South Dakota’s vehicles average 23.1 miles per gallon. Every mile traveled by bike, electric-assist or all-muscle, instead of an average automobile saves 15.8 cents of gasoline cost. To pay off a $1,400 bicycle with savings on gasoline at current prices, you’d need to ride 8,860 miles.
Households in the seven ZIP codes of Sioux Falls drive an average of 24,801 miles per year (that’s from 2009 data, so your mileage may vary). If the average Sioux Falls household could replace one-fifth of its automobile travel with bike trips, 4,960 miles out of 24,801, the household would save $784 per year, paying off one $1,400 bike in less than two years.
The City of Sioux Falls charges 15.49 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity. The Velotric T1 runs on a 350-watt motor. Charging that electric bike in Sioux Falls will cost 5.4 cents. Go 60 miles on each charge, and the cost per mile is $0.0009, 0.57% the cost of going a mile on gasoline at 23.1 miles per gallon. That small electric cost, multiplied by one-fifth of the average annual driving for a Sioux Falls household, would be $4.48 for the entire year. But that much biking would also save you at least one oil change, leaving another $45 to $90 in your pocket.
And of course, if you ride bicycle, you will smile more… and your fellow riders will smile at your sexier legs. You can’t put a price tag on those benefits.