redlude97

I do wonder wear all the "real" cyclists have gone. Seems like 90% have stopped riding now that the rain has arrived...but the drop off in E Bikes hasnt been nearly as precipitous so maybe they are getting more exercise than the avg pedal powered cyclist....

FlashBazbo

If that's the case . . . maybe e-bike riders can keep cycling alive! We can only hope.

eja_ bottecchia

They all winter in So. California, the land of eternal sunshine.

Rides4Beer

Wait, I'm supposed to feel destroyed after every ride/climb?? Guess I'm doing it wrong.

plittle2005

I'm a geezer...78, overweight, but feelin' great! I will ride my Montague Fit for as long as I can, averaging about 10 mph on our New Jersey MUP's. But....when I can no longer make it from the Hudson River Walkway back up to the top of the Palisades at the end of the ride, 25 miles or so, I will convert my Day 6 semi-recumbent to electric, and continue getting out.


My brother, 73, who has stage 4 bone cancer, gets out on his e-trike recumbent for about 75 miles a week.


No sitting in a dark room, just waitin' for the end, for either of us!


That's why God gave us Thomas Edison!

Zaskar

There's a lot to ^that^ comment. Seriously. It's arguably at the core of this entire "argusation" we're having here. Lots of cyclists (I'm one) genuinely enjoy burying themselves on rides - pegging the HR in the red, seeing sparkles, tasting copper... all that. And, lots of cyclists don't. Within my small club, we have the full spectrum. I genuinely don't understand why the C Group keeps coming out - they're not getting faster. Those guys genuinely don't understand the A Group - it's just not fun. Neither group is wrong (although, I'd hate to debate the C Group... their perspective is much more rationale).

So, yes - you're doing it wrong. Or, I am. ;-)

pickettt

I've got more respect for the guy (or girl) that gets rocked off the back every ride, giving their all, than for the guy who uses a crutch to stay in it.

seypat

So, the B group is the sweet spot?

Lemond1985

No. "Effing destroyed" is more like it.

colnago62

They have gone to Zwift. 😂😂 A lot of the ebikes that come in for work at my local shop are filthy. For a lot of users they are workhorses; transportation to and from. Can’t stop going to work because it’s raining. I wonder too about the savings angle. My friend that commutes to downtown drives a 5 series BMW. He said that he has saved a bundle of money on wear and tear on his car. That would really motivate me to keep riding.

eduskator

It's a good sign, they're being used!

Using a bicycle (electric or not) instead of a car is not only cheaper, but better in all possible angles I can think of (traffic, environment, etc.). No need to do any maths!

Save da planet!

wipekitty

Coach says: "Pain is weakness leaving the body!"

People hate it when I bring this up at the top of some stoopid climb.

Zaskar

Nah... they're just the guys on their way up or their way down ;-)

plittle2005

I never feel better than when crankin' on the Montague Fit! But.....when I can't make the final hill home, eventually,.......it's me and Thomas Edison!!

indyfabz

Did an organized overnight tour this weekend. Day 1 was 35 miles. There were two women on e-bikes. One of the bikes crapped out before the end of the first day. (Battery was not dead.) That was the end of her riding.

Rides4Beer

Maybe I need to push harder, I rarely feel wiped out from an A group ride, and I usually do a fair amount of pulling. I could prob go deeper on the sprints. I usually finish in the top 5 if I'm going after it, and have won a couple, but also I will admittedly back off sometimes since I know we're gonna regroup lol I've only been riding about a year (ultra runner, so I brought a strong aerobic engine to the bike game), and I'm still seeing improvements from just keeping my volume up. Should prob do some focused workouts over the winter. I'll def try to dig deeper during the WBL this year, least year I was still learning group dynamics and didn't go after any of the sprints.

Seattle Forrest

seypat

Has that bike got a Shimano Deerhead group on it? (That's all I could come up with)

Seattle Forrest

All joking aside, going full throttle (get it? I kill myself!) all the time is a recipe for plateauing below your potential. You need a variety of intensity, low/mid grade miles, and rest. Top end of important but you need endurance too.

seypat

Maybe this is better:

"Invasion of the E-Bikes? I think that movie was on Comet last night. It came on between Pumpkinhead and Bubba Ho Tep."

That's all I got.

Seattle Forrest

With classy bar tape, and enough wire to strangle a pedestrian.

I asked if there was some kind of rule about eBikes needing to have flat bars and this was the response. I said I was going to pretend I didn't see that and move on, bit then I realized people in here might get a laugh at the handlebars.

I don't want an ebike FYI. I just pay attention to what going on with them because I love bikes generally.

caloso

Around here, the B ride is full of sandbaggers who should do the A ride.

seypat

I wonder if they would do the A ride.....if they were on an E-bike?

peterraymond

How about ebike programing that is focused specifically on make riding more fun? One thing that is not so fun is how 18 mph is work (fine), but not that much faster is much more work (not so much fun). Problem is that wattage to aero drag is a cube function. Twice as fast takes 8 times the wattage. Imagine an assist that as you go faster increases the wattage so that twice as fast only takes twice the wattage. That could make a lot of people work harder - just for the joy of all that speed. Or, headwinds are a drag. Imagine the ebike figured out there was a headwind and erased it? Hills are an obvious drag. Measure the grade and the ebike can cancel it. You can program any speed vs rider wattage and the ebike can provide the boost to follow that curve.

This doesn't really have to provide any help on flat level ground with no wind below some set speed. It could even regenerate down hills, so you work the same up hill and down. The road isn't flat, it just feels that way. It could erase tail winds too.

And hey, this has been disclosed. Anyone could do it.

big john

Around here, the A ride gets people who should be on the B ride (I'm one of them). Some people remember when I could do the A ride so they wait for me. I suppose I could get an e-bike and save them the trouble.