Interbike Reno 2018: Here are all the cool and crazy new electric bicycles
 

...absolutely mind boggling.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1605da888b.jpg
The concept of an electric assist cargo bike like this one actually makes a lot of sense to me.

I wonder why it has such heavy slow tires. A tour bike can carry a rider and 100 pounds of gear over the Rockies with 700x28 tires. Those wheels look to be 20 inches so BMX rims and tires that can withstand 50 foot drops should be plenty strong.

Sure if the owner has ground level protected storage or access to a freight elevator for it at home and probably also at any destination where the owner plans to dismount and leave it for any amount of time. Makes sense if the $6,000 price tag (plus at least $320 for the cargo box as shown in the picture) doesn't seem excessive for a bike probably useful for good weather trips from the home garage or shed to the farmers market and return.

"Here are all the cool and crazy new electric bicycles"

Eh, one cargo bike is not all of the ebikes present at Interbike 2018. Saw a lot of interesting ebikes from a lot of Chinese
and Taiwanese manufacturers. Some of them looked almost like motorcycles already. Tern is mainly a folding bike brand;
but they also showed their cargo bike - GSD. Capable of holding 2 batteries; I think they rode one bike from their Los Angeles
office to the Reno show.

Got my first test ride on an ebike; Tern Vektron P9. It was smooth and powerful:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1856/...d7792c758a.jpg
Tern Vektron P9 at Interbike 2018 by 1nterceptor, on Flickr

I like e bikes for this application well enough. They bridge a gap between manual pedal power and car that could allow more marginally located people become car free (or car light) more often.

I wouldn't be comfortable on a longer ride on a regular bike set up like that, so I'm not sure having the power assist would make that much difference. A bike for commuters traveling 15 miles or more needs to be set up for that sort of riding. The bike pictured would work for me for short trips in the city, but it doesn't look like a bike my wrists and back would appreciate on a longer ride.

I live on flat land so I really don't get the whole eBike thing. But if I had one or more formidable hills to climb on the way to work I guess I could see it. As was stated above by ILTB, the weight of the things almost necessitates special parking privileges. My house is 6 feet off the ground. My conventional bikes are enough to schlepp up and down the steps several times a day. And the bike I use for utility errands and appointments is CHEAP in case it gets pinched.

My other issue with eBikes is they are too fast for the bike lane and too slow for the auto lane adjacent to the bike lane. Many of them are limited to 20mph but some will do 40mph. I don't see many where I live so not an issue so far. I believe the price will limit the sales of these things.

People aren't exactly wealthy where I live, but a significant fraction of the bikes I see lately are e-bikes. Many days, over half of the bikes out there are e-bikes, and the majority of these e-bike riders are obviously new to cycling.

I am of the opinion that e-bikes will boom over the next four or five years. That's really a good thing, because I'm watching cycling in my city decline at an alarming rate; we're on track to have zero cyclists by 2024 if trends continue. I see e-bikes as the only way we reverse that trend. Sadly, if my city continues to build cycling infrastructure as though there is one right way to ride (8 mph, very short distances and mostly at city-sponsored events) that boom will be short lived.

100 lbs. of gear plus rider plus bike on 28c tires in mountainous terrain? As someone who tours in such terrain, I would pay to see that.

I don't tour but I have an older Trek 520 that takes 27 X 1 1/8 tires and my understanding was that you could do loaded touring on that. If I am wrong I defer to your experience.

EDIT _ here's a discussion where some people said they used 28s.
https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...h-touring.html

100 lbs. of gear in and of itself is a huge load. When I crossed the country my bike and gear were 90 lbs. total thanks to a lot of film camera equipment. Rode 37c tires and glad I had them, especially crossing the North Cascades Highway while it was snowing. It wasn't sticking to the road, but it was extremely wet. 28c with 100 lbs. of gear would limit your options (e.g., many unpaved roads would not be advisable, but possibly unavoidable since construction work may leave you no choice), likely result an abnormal number of flats (I had only 3 in nearly 6,000 miles) and generally leave you a harsh ride due to the inability to run lower pressures than you could with wider tires. Rode across PA fully loaded with camping and cooking gear on 32c tires. Would never want to go smaller than that unless I were going ultra light.

On paved mountain roads is what I believe they were referring to. I biked across the USA five times, once right up the spine of the Rocky Mountains into Canada from Colorado, across the Sawtooth range and the Cascades. Also biked up and down the Appalachian chain on a trip from New Orleans to Maine and back. All on 27x1-1/8 tires. My gear weighed about 70-90 lbs depending on how remote my route took me. It was easily done. I remember two flat tires in 12,000 miles, one of which was CAUSED by a Tuffy tire liner, the other by a stone pinch. Zero motors!