Originally Posted by
mozad655
Okay I didn't know it was that cheap. If that's true then it is very economical. But that was never my main concern. I'm still not sure about battery life, both on a daily basis and eventually over long period of time. All batteries that I have owned wear out with time and lose efficiency.
As for simplicity, an e-bike is an electrical machine. It is by default more complicated than 99% of regular bicycles. I don't know about the exercise thing. That's not really what I was thinking about. I hate exercise on bikes. I ride bikes for comfort and simplicity. Part of that comfort and simplicity is knowing that its all you running this thing. An e-bike would just break that bond between me and my bike because I'm no longer the engine.
You're thinking of e-bikes with just a throttle. Many e-bikes are pedal-assist, which IMHO is the better solution. You still have to pedal, but it gives you an extra kick of power to supplement your pedaling. And most pedal-assist systems cut out around 20 MPH, so if you pedal faster than that you won't be getting any assist anyway.
E-bikes with a throttle really are just "cheating" in my mind.