Doc_Wui

So funny. I was riding my ebike last month and this couple ride by on ebikes. The woman is pedaling, but the guy never moved his legs. So here I am, being a "hater" and thinking mean things for few moments. We caught them at the light and just chatted about the great weather for riding in Florida. Turned out they were down from the North too.

2old

I couldn't care less if individuals use a throttle instead of PAS. Even though I always pedal and usually use no assist or a low level in order to get exercise, they're welcome to use a throttle however they want.

SHBR

I briefly rode my wife's rental e-assist bike, its comically absurd how little effort is required.

I think this would be better for us than a tandem.

unterhausen

I have thought about convincing my wife to get an ebike. She likes to ride, but not up hills. So we almost never ride, and if we do it requires car travel.

Chinghis

OK, interesting about Pedal Assist vs. throttle, thanks.

Doc_Wui

I bought my wife an ebike to get her riding more. And I found an ebike got me riding more. We've planned a few trips that include rides on scenic bike paths or roads. We never thought about that when we were younger. These rides would be no fun for us on a fast moped. First, they're not allowed. Then we would have to worry more about traffic.

Some e-bikes are too easy to pedal. I don't like them at all. When I ride my ebike alone, I put in enough work to come home sweaty and tired in the legs.

2old

Every instance that I've read about with your situation was reversed when an e-bike was purchased for the wife. All of a sudden she loved to ride and he struggled to keep up on hills.

unterhausen

I'm not that great up hills, but I don't mind. It's keeping my wife from riding because we have 50-100 feet of climbing per mile. If we lived somewhere flat, she would ride a lot more

2old

Good thing you don't reside in socal; one of our favorite rides is 1800' elevation gain in < 8 miles, which my wife loves and 95% of the time it's pedal-only bikes. No matter the elevation change, your wife won't notice on an e-bike. There must be someplace where she can rent/try one.

unterhausen

I see how you could be confused by my previous post. I live in the mountains of central PA. We have long, steep climbs here. Granted, it's rare to get more than 1000' or so of elevation at a time, but often you have to climb that in 2 miles or less. Climbing up onto the Allegheny plateau from here will get elevation changes on the order of 1500'. When I mentioned 50-100' of climbing per mile, that's for flat rides. In any event, I'm not worried about climbing or riding over mountains myself.

Doc_Wui

PA is quite beautiful. I was in downtown Pittsburgh one 4th of July weekend. We walked from the Marriot to the nearby hill and watched the fireworks. Pittsburgh itself was quite hilly, and we took my manual shift car. My wife would not drive it after we passed thru Ohio.

The only long grades that we've ridden on ebikes are converted train railways out West, so they are fairly gradual, but will tire the riders on regular bikes. We had my wife's 300W ebike on that trip. No problem for her, but I had advised her not to pass anyone in riding gear unless they were really slow. We'll did pass a few guys but tt was 6000-7000 feet after all. Two days earlier, we did a 1 mile hike in Rocky Mtn NP at maybe 7500', and it gassed me out completely.

2old

Sorry for the unhelpful response, but even with those steep climbs, the proper mid-drive bike would put a smile on your wife's face (IMO).

2old

DW, you need to bring your wife to White Mountain, one of the highest trails you can ride a bike (14,252'). My wife and I attempted it several years ago, but were stymied by about 8" of snow at 13,500' (on September 25, AIR). On my bucket list, but doubt I'll try again. Many years there's a very small window where the snow melts, before the first snowstorm of winter.