Are Electric Bikes Popular in Costa Rica?

Chloe A. Says:

Are electric bikes popular in Costa Rica?

 

IL Costa Rica Correspondent Bekah Bottone Says:

Hi Chloe,

Lately, I see electric bikes and stand-up scooters everywhere here in Costa Rica. 

The publicly available ones are all over the roads in my home of Tamarindo (located on the Gold Coast in Guanacaste), just waiting for someone to connect to the app and pay for their use. 

                                           Electric bike services like this are popular in Costa Rica.

Friends who have used electric bikes around town told me they handled the paved and dirt roads well.

I also see a lot of cyclists on the streets and paths in the Central Valley—an area of Costa Rica that is very popular with expats thanks to its mild climate and easy access to amenities like American-style malls and top notch healthcare facilities. 

Yet it seems to me that electric bikes here are used for sport and recreation more than as a primary means of transportation.

If you plan to own an electric bike in Costa Rica, you should consider the climate where you want to live.

With the high humidity and salt from the ocean in Guanacaste, electronics don’t always last too long. You also need to have a dry place to store the bike in the rainy season. But, in the Central Valley you should have an easier time thanks to the milder, less humid climate.

You should also think about whether you wish to bring a bike from the US or buy one here in Costa Rica.

While it may be cheaper to bring in a bike from the US (using Law 9996 or the paying the import rate, which I saw as 15% for mountain bikes, 10% for road bikes, and 5% for electric bikes), it could be challenging to find replacement parts in Costa Rica.

I suggest contacting some bike sellers in Costa Rica and/or checking out some Facebook pages in the country to see what they offer and how easy the bikes they sell are to fix.

I like to reach out to the HandleBar in Tamarindo  for my biking needs (it’s a bike shop and bar… making it a popular gathering place). 

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