pbass

Having never tried one, I have pondered this very thing: don't they weigh a ton? I guess you could use that as a workout component!

MattTheHat 

Yeah, they definitely weigh more, though I expect that will be a continuing area of improvement.

On the road, I'd think you could get a very good workout. There are several YouTube videos that clearly show you can still put in a good amount of work on an e-bike. For people who normally ride on a MUP, I can see that you may not really be able to go much faster (or shouldn't) as a safety issue. But on the road, especially hilly areas, I think they'd be a blast.

REDMASTA

think they are great for slower cyclists...that way they won't noodle up a hill going 4mph creating traffic pandemonium behind them.

Thomas15

I was riding my local MUP about 3 weeks ago, on a section that has about a 1% upgrade and somewhat rocky and rutted but if you know what your doing there is a line that is smooth. I'm riding my hybrid at a reasonable speed about 14 MPH when I get passed by two elderly couples, each on an ebike. The ladies in particular looked a bit uncomfortable on the bikes and they were going too fast for the conditions but hey they are adults.

At this point on the trail there is a road crossing so you have to stop and when they stopped one of the ladies went down like a sack of horse feed. My thinking is that you get a sense that it is a bicycle and there isn't any such thing as too fast or that it is light enough that when you stop you will have no issues keeping the bike in the upright position but that isn''t always the case.

So I view the whole ebike thing as some machines go faster than they should and I would not be surprised if we start seeing a lot more accidents involving these things. The MUPS around here have said ebikes are fine to use but I see some regulation in the future. Between accidents and complaints and the fact that there is always someone that will modify their machine to get more speed I think will eventually see use laws or rules coming down the pike.

nomadmax 

You've been wronged my friend, you just don't know it. Get a lawyer and sue All kidding aside, the only reason I don't have an E-road bike right now is I want the development of the next three years and the price reduction that's sure to come.

MattTheHat 

Yep, the batteries should get better over the next couple of years, the frames should get more normal looking and the software that controls the assist will certainly get better. Prices should drop too.

caloso

We noticed a few eMTBs in Burton Creek SP (north shore of Lake Tahoe). People were still pedaling and it wasn't like they were tearing up the trail, so we sort of shrugged about it. We were on CX bikes ourselves, so it's not like we can be judgy about riding the "wrong bike."

pbass

Well, all I know is there aren't too many things as exhilarating as gunning it up a steep hill on a motorcycle. So, I think I'd probably dig it....

SethAZ 

Is it an acoustic bike, or an analog bike?

Doc_Wui

[QUOTE=Thomas15;21539127
At this point on the trail there is a road crossing so you have to stop and when they stopped one of the ladies went down like a sack of horse feed. My thinking is that you get a sense that it is a bicycle and there isn't any such thing as too fast or that it is light enough that when you stop you will have no issues keeping the bike in the upright position but that isn''t always the case.
/QUOTE]

A couple of years ago, we're riding ebikes on a really busy bike path. I signalled my wife to pull over, and we did on a little fork that went into a parking lot, It was getting too crowded, so I wanted to go the other way.

Suddenly a gal pulls alongside and falls over, knocking me down. I thought I left part of my bike jutting out and she had clipped it, but she started apologizing first. She had pulled over too, to await her friends, but forgot she was clipped in.

So it's not just the seniors that forgot how to ride.

Gresp15C

A number of my friends with e-bikes are on their second e-bike. The trends are that the newer ones are more fully integrated, with mid drive and batteries built into the frame. They tell me that the controls are a lot better too. And they keep getting bigger, with much wider tires. A number of models now have smaller diameter but much fatter tires.

Since bikes are a small part of the battery market, nobody is developing batteries for bikes. The bike industry probably benefits from the development of cells for cars and possibly computers, but those technologies are already fairly mature. Cars use large numbers of small cells. As with disposable batteries, the industry will probably settle on a small number of cell sizes.

Mechanisms and controls will probably evolve like conventional bike components, where one or two manufacturers produce the innards for everybody.

fooferdoggie 

unless you get a higher end road bike they are around 55 pounds unless you buy a internet one there 65 or so. mine is 52 and my tandem is 62. road bikes can get to around 30pounds or a bit less in the 6000 range.

fooferdoggie 

the fat tire bikes tend to be the cheap ones bought over the internet. upright so they fit everyone with a hub motor. myself my battery is only partly integrated as it cost less and is easier to remove and it fits my tandem bike too. but the better bikes use cells used in cars now. well most do but lower quality cells. e bikes for the most part only use one size of cell the number of them is what's different.

Pkayser

My electric assist bicycle allows me to commute 5 days a week and tackle San Francisco hills without getting a workout unless I want one. I routinely travel to multiple meetings throughout the day within the city and before the e-bike those trips would have been done with Uber.

fooferdoggie 

I can get 35 to 40 miles a day right now but I work at it so I can get exercise 20 to 25 miles commute then 15 or so miles on the tandem with my wife. this is how many miles I have ridden since Sunday and my commute home.

cabledawg

My bike, before tools, water and whatever else I'm carrying, can weigh in at 110lbs. That's my longtail cargo bike with e-assist, the Wideloaders and the Sidecar. It's rideable without the motor running, but I can feel every pound!

fooferdoggie 

years ago I used to pull a trailer can could way 250 pounds on my recumbent.

downhillmaster

Your opinion lost all credibility once you referenced that you were riding on a MUP.

MattTheHat 

It's okay, I got approval from the interwebs before posting.

Thomas15

I think it is difficult to make predictions on where the e-bike is going as far as popularity is concerned. On the one hand way back in the late 1970s those who had mopeds in their minds had a superior bicycle to us with traditional pedal power. But mopeds didn't really last that long as a consumer item. It's not a motorcycle or a scooter, it's a bicycle with supplemental power. If you want a motorcycle, you buy a motorcycle.

I think though that e-bikes are different because they are much more reliable and robust. In my mind the comparison isn't between e-bikes of today and mopeds of the 1970s but rather between recreational downhill skiers and snow boarders. Back in the 1980s when we started sharing the ski lifts with snowboarders, traditional alpine skiers were not happy but today the snowboarders are here to stay.

Still, I think that much of what is driving e-bike popularity is basic marketing. Physically unable to ride a traditional bicycle? No problem, mount an electric motor driven bicycle and enjoy the great outdoors anyway. Have a long commute to work with a big hill? An e-bike will make it possible to get to work without a pre-work workout.

E-bikes will no doubt get lighter and run longer on a charge and prolly we will see a price war among suppliers. But with that will come more complex electro-mechanical designs and of course lawsuits and government regulations. So while the cost of the bike will probably drop, the cost of ownership will probably go up.

Even with traditional leg powered bicycles the technology and manufacturer liability has raised the price of a basic model to almost absurd levels. Those of us that live our lives with the bicycle constantly on our minds for the most part don't want to rely on our local shop to keep our bikes running smoothly. This results in our obtaining some mechanical knowledge, a collection of tools and bins full of spare parts. Are the main consumers of e-bikes willing to make that kind of commitment to keep their machines running? I think not so bike shops will bear the brunt of keeping these bikes roadworthy. This costs money.

Once our traditional bicycles make it to their 10th birthday, finding parts or upgrades that will fit the frame becomes a full time job. The same will happen to e-bikes. There is little reason to doubt that they will become a throw-a-way consumer item.The fact is that their main appeal demographic are those with time, cash on hand and a desire to see the sights from two wheels. The question then becomes a matter of continued market sustainability. There are simply not enough bodies that commute to work or the grocery store that require an e-bike to maintain an interest in keeping an affordable product line rolling off the assembly line.

Here in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania the D&L Heritage Corridor LLC is trying to use the prospect of workers commuting to their place of employment using the rational that it is good for fitness, eases traffic congestion and improves air quality. The backbone of this arguement is help fund improvements to complete the D&L Trail and use it to get to work. A critical look at this strategy reveals several flaws that cannot be overcome in multiple lifetimes, for instance if access to the trail means riding a bicycle through a dangerous neighborhood or a snow and ice covered landscape forces one to ditch the bike for 4 months out of the year, all the trail in the world will not produce the desired effect of getting more workers on bicycles.

Having said all that it is a good marketing strategy as for many the end justifies the means and if the means is to create a feel good atmosphere however impractical it might be, then go ahead and pressure those with money to fund trail improvements galore. As a user of said D&L Trail I will say to anyone who will listen, it's nice as a recreational opportunity but it costs too much money and will never in 10 lifetimes be complete, have the gaps closed, some of which are dangerous to work around today. Only a lunatic would take their family with young kids on a full unsupported beginning to end tour of this trail.

But getting back to the e-bike, I thinks it's too early to tell if they will last as a consumer item but my gut tells me no.

rydabent

At nearly 82, most everyone passes me. So I would not have thot anything about being passed by an e-bike. As someone else posted, if you get all up tight about someone on an e-bike passing you,-----------------------you need to idle back and get a life. Remember this fact, there is one person in the world that is faster than all the rest of us!!!!

Reynolds 

E-bikes have a motor. I know, some of them still require pedalling. But resenting being passed by someone on an e-bike is like resenting someone with a manual winch can lift more weight than you with your bare hands.

livedarklions

I use Komoot to track my speed and miles. Recently, when it uploads the ride info, it started popping up a box asking "completed on an ebike?". Maybe it's my white hair that makes me find the question insulting.

Tacoenthusiast

I passed 3 ebikes on the mup yesterday, motorless roadbikes are faster

MattTheHat 

Cool story, bro.