Originally Posted by
MikeDeason
Whatever gets you riding. I may be totally off on a tangent but my impression is that e-bikes are simply a means to get from a to b with less effort than a mechanical bicycle.
An eBike is what you make of it. There are a TON of use cases for them, and the one you mentioned ↑ is just one. Other examples:
- Get people with bad knees riding again. For them, the choice is no biking or eBiking.
- Arriving at the destination not sweaty in the summer
- For a lot of local trips, people take a car because they don't want the effort riding. For example, a lunchtime errand, light grocery run, commuting. We bicycle commuters are a special breed of course, but regular people would be more likely to ride if it wasn't so much effort. (esp. uphill or into headwinds) It can take a lot of the pain out of cycling, while leaving all the pleasant parts.
- My riding today is a prime example:
- I took the eBike to work today. I rode in unpowered this morning for a bit of exercise. (2 easy miles, but not as easy as you might think, since the bike weighs 70 lbs!)
- I have a lunchtime appointment across town 5 miles away. It's uphill most of the way there. For this, I will use Level 1 electric assistance, so as not to take too much time or get sweaty; I still have to work the rest of the day. My pulse will still be 130-140, so not letting the motor do all the work even here, while going 15-20 mph going uphill. Lunchtime is too limited to go 8-10 mph for this trip. I may go unpowered on the way back to work.
- For my commute home, I'll probably use Level 1 power again, as it's overall uphill and I will be joining the faster club road ride of the week tonight and want to save my legs for that. (~ 27 miles)
A car does that even better and I have a car.
Not always, especially in congested city areas or short trips. My commute to work is 2 miles, and even my CR-V hybrid, which is rated for 40 mpg in the city only gets maybe 17 on that short of a ride. The eBike is a no-brainer here and in any similar ride. I calculated that a $2k eBike pays for itself in gas savings alone in 4 years' time.
While I may curse hitting a red light, relying on a battery to get going again defeats the objective of my commutes. Striving for the best possible mechanical experience however, does not. Just upgrading my crappy 25yr old hybrid has got me out on more recreational rides and more challenging commuting routes.
Well, you might find you don't like sitting in your sweat all day after that commute, when the honeymoon wears off. Time will tell! Maybe I'm in worse shape than I think, but when I have to climb hills, I sweat no matter what, once the weather gets warmer. Even in low gears, it's real work.