Mid-Drive Electric Bike (E-Bike) For Touring?
10-30-18, 05:17 PM
#76
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That is literally all there is to debate on this topic.
Cool, glad you found something you like. Know what isn't cool? Telling others they're not touring because their idea of a bike tour is nothing like yours.
I personally find "off road" and "getting away from it all" to have no bearing on whether something is bike touring. Not that its likely to happen, but if I never setup a tent on another bike tour, it wouldn't bother me. I can have as much, if not far more, fun cycling from hostel to hostel through Europe, never being more than a mile or two from a charge.
Mostof my touring tends to be off road. Getting away from it all, for me does not include a motorized vehicle. If I wanted a motor, I would buy a touring motorcycle. Yes I get they are different. But it's more of a principle thing here for some. YRMV.
I personally find "off road" and "getting away from it all" to have no bearing on whether something is bike touring. Not that its likely to happen, but if I never setup a tent on another bike tour, it wouldn't bother me. I can have as much, if not far more, fun cycling from hostel to hostel through Europe, never being more than a mile or two from a charge.
10-30-18, 07:34 PM
#77
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I don't have an e-bike, but I do have a dream of building an electric, Big Fat Dummy, so I can carry the dogs around town, travel the greenways during our few days of snow, and way overpack for some local overnight camping trips. The set-up I most envy and would want to emulate is @Robert C (https://www.bikeforums.net/members/robert-c-67840.html), who has solar panels that keep his bike charged enough that he seems to easily get a whole day's riding out of it. It's the perpetual motion e-bike. No outlets needed.
Obviously, I was pedaling the whole way. There was one long grade in Colorado that I had to stop a few times and wait for a charge to build up before continuing on. Also, as a teacher heading to my summer holiday, had a lot of non-touring stuff with me. Next time I will send all that stuff ahead and not try to carry it all.
It was a great experience. I am not sure when I will have time to do it again, but I am sure that at some point I will.
10-30-18, 08:08 PM
#78
Senior Member
Hasn't anybody here punched in "E-Bike touring" and seen what comes up on the internet, as far as "touring", yes "E-Bike touring," is" considered touring, around the word... ??? N. AMERICA IS NOT the be all of the definition of what bicycle touring is about... 
10-31-18, 08:11 AM
#79
Senior Member
That is literally all there is to debate on this topic.
Cool, glad you found something you like. Know what isn't cool? Telling others they're not touring because their idea of a bike tour is nothing like yours.
I personally find "off road" and "getting away from it all" to have no bearing on whether something is bike touring. Not that its likely to happen, but if I never setup a tent on another bike tour, it wouldn't bother me. I can have as much, if not far more, fun cycling from hostel to hostel through Europe, never being more than a mile or two from a charge.
Cool, glad you found something you like. Know what isn't cool? Telling others they're not touring because their idea of a bike tour is nothing like yours.
I personally find "off road" and "getting away from it all" to have no bearing on whether something is bike touring. Not that its likely to happen, but if I never setup a tent on another bike tour, it wouldn't bother me. I can have as much, if not far more, fun cycling from hostel to hostel through Europe, never being more than a mile or two from a charge.
11-01-18, 06:43 AM
#80
Senior Member
If that's how you tour, awesome. One less car clogging up the road with rubber neckers. I did not say it wasn't touring, all I said was that bikes don't have motors. E bikes are something different. And in a different category. Lots of ways to get around. One of my tours included a train, ferry , a row boat and a hitch in the back of a pickup truck ( don't ask) . Carry on.
If we are to however limit discussion and gatekeep with arbitrary definitions, the tour you describe in the quoted post is in fact not bicycle touring. It is traveling via motor vehicles where you just happened to have your bike with you. Not very bicycle tourey honestly.
11-01-18, 07:50 AM
#81
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The EU is not the USA. I call them multi modal transport, but whatev. Cheers.
11-05-18, 06:02 PM
#82
If that's how you tour, awesome. One less car clogging up the road with rubber neckers. I did not say it wasn't touring, all I said was that bikes don't have motors. E bikes are something different. And in a different category. Lots of ways to get around. One of my tours included a train, ferry , a row boat and a hitch in the back of a pickup truck ( don't ask) . Carry on.
Last edited by BigAura; 11-05-18 at 06:09 PM.
11-05-18, 11:23 PM
#83
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Thread Starter
To me it all boils down to the rider's behavior: If a rider is on a pathway where excessive speed is exceedingly dangerous to themselves and other riders that's one thing, but if they're just using the motor on a steep incline while riding safely, I don't understand the problem.
11-06-18, 08:02 AM
#84
Senior Member
Keep in mind that notice specifically applies to national forests. They have no jurisdiction over "bike paths, forest trails, and other bikeways" that are outside of the national forest system. In my state, e-bikes are specifically listed as not fitting the definition of a motor vehicle, and are therefor permitted on any path or trail managed by the city, county, or state unless explicitly forbidden.
11-06-18, 09:02 PM
#86
Yep! Human-power-access-only is the the right way to preserve our national forest assets. As a backpacker too, I don't want bicycle & horses in many of the more fragile areas. BUT by far the most horrific assaults on natural lands has occurred at the hands of motorized vehicles and devices.
11-06-18, 10:21 PM
#87
But crank-drive bikes are not inherently self-powered because they can be peddled without the assist, which for practical purposes makes them just a somewhat heavier, slower conventional bike. This seems to really muddy the waters. On casual glance many crank-drive bikes aren't easily distinguished from conventional bikes.
To me it all boils down to the rider's behavior: If a rider is on a pathway where excessive speed is exceedingly dangerous to themselves and other riders that's one thing, but if they're just using the motor on a steep incline while riding safely, I don't understand the problem.
To me it all boils down to the rider's behavior: If a rider is on a pathway where excessive speed is exceedingly dangerous to themselves and other riders that's one thing, but if they're just using the motor on a steep incline while riding safely, I don't understand the problem.
11-07-18, 11:34 AM
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11-07-18, 01:00 PM
#89
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That's a Park Service sign in Big Aura's photo above, not a Forest Service sign. I'm guessing the C&O canal? If so, Big Aura is correct, ebikes are indeed "motor vehicles" prohibited on the towpath. But the prohibition is worded as this...
"Bicycle electric assist features cannot be used while on the towpath; they are defined by the National Park Service as motor vehicles and therefore are not allowed on trails"
https://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvis...gandbiking.htm
Thus, as AlanK has stated, if one is not using the electric assist features it is no longer a motor vehicle and would be allowed on the towpath. It just a bike with some heavy, unused mechanical stuff on board. Even with a disabled leg I would not need any assist on the towpath.
The Park Service definition of "motor vehicle" does conflict with the Michigan and NHTSA definitions in Jef's links above.
"Bicycle electric assist features cannot be used while on the towpath; they are defined by the National Park Service as motor vehicles and therefore are not allowed on trails"
https://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvis...gandbiking.htm
Thus, as AlanK has stated, if one is not using the electric assist features it is no longer a motor vehicle and would be allowed on the towpath. It just a bike with some heavy, unused mechanical stuff on board. Even with a disabled leg I would not need any assist on the towpath.
The Park Service definition of "motor vehicle" does conflict with the Michigan and NHTSA definitions in Jef's links above.
Last edited by BobG; 11-07-18 at 01:35 PM.
11-08-18, 11:25 AM
#90
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This 30 mph contraption is a bike, right? must be, electric and got pedals and therefore can go anywhere like the brochure says, the bike lanes and trails. onxy website shows kids zipping around. They do have their feet on the pedals, thank goodness, might even use the pedals. Perhaps the 2019 version will upgrade the motor for 35 mph, oh boy! Don't even need a license, of course not, it's just a bike.
11-08-18, 03:22 PM
#91
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This 30 mph contraption is a bike, right? must be, electric and got pedals and therefore can go anywhere like the brochure says, the bike lanes and trails. onxy website shows kids zipping around. They do have their feet on the pedals, thank goodness, might even use the pedals. Perhaps the 2019 version will upgrade the motor for 35 mph, oh boy! Don't even need a license, of course not, it's just a bike.
Plus, I don't see a way to attach racks or bags, so not really touring related anyhow.
Last edited by jefnvk; 11-08-18 at 03:30 PM.
11-08-18, 07:15 PM
#92
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That's a Park Service sign in Big Aura's photo above, not a Forest Service sign. I'm guessing the C&O canal? If so, Big Aura is correct, ebikes are indeed "motor vehicles" prohibited on the towpath. But the prohibition is worded as this...
"Bicycle electric assist features cannot be used while on the towpath; they are defined by the National Park Service as motor vehicles and therefore are not allowed on trails"
https://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvis...gandbiking.htm
Thus, as AlanK has stated, if one is not using the electric assist features it is no longer a motor vehicle and would be allowed on the towpath. It just a bike with some heavy, unused mechanical stuff on board. Even with a disabled leg I would not need any assist on the towpath.
The Park Service definition of "motor vehicle" does conflict with the Michigan and NHTSA definitions in Jef's links above.
"Bicycle electric assist features cannot be used while on the towpath; they are defined by the National Park Service as motor vehicles and therefore are not allowed on trails"
https://www.nps.gov/choh/planyourvis...gandbiking.htm
Thus, as AlanK has stated, if one is not using the electric assist features it is no longer a motor vehicle and would be allowed on the towpath. It just a bike with some heavy, unused mechanical stuff on board. Even with a disabled leg I would not need any assist on the towpath.
The Park Service definition of "motor vehicle" does conflict with the Michigan and NHTSA definitions in Jef's links above.
Last edited by Leebo; 11-09-18 at 09:19 AM.
11-09-18, 07:50 PM
#94
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I am not hating on E-Bikes. I just want that to be clear.
I have done long bike tours on pedal bikes (up to 7 months on the road self contained), and on full fledged motorcycles from 450cc to 900cc. Both means of transportation are AWESOME in their own way! But completely different.
I guess my question would be, why not a REAL motorcycle? An E-bike tour just seems like a combination of cycling and hitch-hiking with a lot of potential for getting stranded. On the other hand, if you get the E-bike thing figured out, good on ya. Sounds like more fun than staying home. Until you have to fix a flat. You ever change an inner tube on a E-bike. If not, do that, then check back with us.
Cheers.
I have done long bike tours on pedal bikes (up to 7 months on the road self contained), and on full fledged motorcycles from 450cc to 900cc. Both means of transportation are AWESOME in their own way! But completely different.
I guess my question would be, why not a REAL motorcycle? An E-bike tour just seems like a combination of cycling and hitch-hiking with a lot of potential for getting stranded. On the other hand, if you get the E-bike thing figured out, good on ya. Sounds like more fun than staying home. Until you have to fix a flat. You ever change an inner tube on a E-bike. If not, do that, then check back with us.
Cheers.
11-10-18, 04:19 AM
#95
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If you tour on an E-bike, you're E-bike touring, if you're touring on a bicycle (bike, cycle) you're bicycle touring. If you tour on an E-bike but tell people you tour on a bicycle you're being misleading either intentionally or unintentionally.
11-10-18, 06:52 AM
#96
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Unlike a motorcycle it is real exercise at a slow pace without gasoline. Like having the wind at your back. My hub motor is totally silent, not even a buzz. Potential for getting stranded? Yes, range anxiety is a reality. No way I'm going to find a campground with electricity every 50 miles or so.
@Leebo, I made my last trip four years ago on a conventional acoustic bike. It was a road trip from NH to VA that was completed on a short section of the C&O canal, a convenient route into DC. Thus my comments above concerning their policy on motor off should I do a future e-version of the trip. I've emailed them requesting a clarification of their policy and would abide with their rules on any tours. The language at their website is vague ("Bicycle electric assist features cannot be used...") ? (should read "electric bicycle cannot be used" if that's what they mean)
@Caretaker, Aside from a limited range it's really not that much different. Yes, you can go faster when needed but you don't have to. I tend to ride more because I have more fun, live at the top of a 2 mile hill and use the bike more for errands leaving the truck at home. I've been bike touring probably as long as anybody on this forum so I'm well versed to compare the two styles. Was touring the C&O out to a hostel at Seneca MD as a high school kid in 1966 on my Schwinn Varsity.
A paraplegic would love to walk without an electric wheelchair. I would do anything to get rid of my motor and cycle unassisted but I can't due to a recent permanent disability. Consider yourselves blessed if you are still healthy enough to ride acoustically.
Last edited by BobG; 11-10-18 at 09:09 AM.
11-10-18, 07:40 AM
#97
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Fair enough! Thanks. Hope it works out for you. 
11-10-18, 07:54 AM
#98
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11-10-18, 08:01 AM
#99
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I've read on some of the e-bike retailers' web pages suggestions to sham pedal ('clown pedal') class 2 e-bikes in the presence of LEOs.
11-10-18, 06:14 PM
#100
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Is this a term that ebike people use?
Also, Wow. I now have an electric guitar pedal ad at the bottom of this thread. I don’t play guitar, so I assume it’s just picking up on the fact that I just used the words acoustic and acoustically? Crazy internets marketing...
Also, Wow. I now have an electric guitar pedal ad at the bottom of this thread. I don’t play guitar, so I assume it’s just picking up on the fact that I just used the words acoustic and acoustically? Crazy internets marketing...
Last edited by 3speed; 11-10-18 at 06:17 PM.