elcruxio

Since the last thread on the subject spiralled into unpublishability I thought it might be a good idea to start a new one a bit stricter limits and a more useful subject beginning.

As some of you may know, I'm currently touring Middle Europe and have seen quite a bit of E-bikes on the way. It would seem that Europe is RIFE with e-assist bikes and a vast majority of bicycle tourists which we've passed use E-assist bikes. I'd even go as far as to say the future of bicycle touring lies with e-assist bikes. In all honesty I've already started planning the execution of a potential e-assist tourer.

I'll limit the discussion to EU-law e-assist bike specs which means:
- max motor power of 250 watts (I don't really agree with the power limit as for example for cargo bikes a high torque 500 or even 750 watt engine would be much more useful, but that's another discussion on a whole different board)
- gradual assist cutoff when the speed of 25km/h is reached
- pedal assist only so no movement or assist without pedaling.
Different parts of the world may have different specs, but in general when speaking of e-assist bikes we're talking about bikes which are roughly in the same realm of possibilities.
If you want to discuss bikes outside these limits, go somewhere else (this is mainly for luddites)

So, what can e-assist then do for touring? Some of the things I've noticed are

1) Tires
There are discussions of touring tires, tire weights, suppleness, width, aerodynamics etc. Most of it has to do with durability, speed and ride quality. Using an E-assist basically removes some of the factors completely, as in the weight and speed components. With e-assist the weight or width of the tire is a nonissue in terms of speed so one doesn't need to limit onesself to a narrower tire in hopes of more speed or a lighter tire in hopes of easier climbing or better acceleration (although in touring the whole acceleration thing is null anyways). The best example I've seen in this regard was an E-assist fatbike used for touring. I wouldn't usually even consider a fatbike for road touring, but the e-assist completely changes the game and actually makes the fatbike probably one of the best tourers out there, if the geometry allows for it.

2) other comfort gear
Building upon the above point, it would be quite plausible to tour on a full suspension fat tired mountain bike as it wouldn't matter nearly as much that some of the pedaling forces are being eaten by the suspension system. How one would mount racks on a full squish is an interesting dilemma, but I think someone would be able to think that up (they make them for motorcycles, so why not for bikes as well)

3) accessibility
This was discussed in the previous thread but from what I've witnessed on this tour, I believe I'd be seeing a lot less people touring if it wasn't for the e-assist option. It allows for comfort seeking people and older people to get out there and even ride the more challenging routes which would otherwise be completely barred for them. I see nothing but good sides to this as more tourists pretty much means more and better infrastructure as the people living off bike tourists will demand it. And make no mistake, people getting out with e-assist bikes are still getting excercize as the motor is for assist only. If you've not tried it you can't really comprehend it.

4) speed, distance and gear weight.
I'll wrap this up, quick, but who wouldn't want to travel more per day, faster, better against head winds, worry less about elevation and worry less aout gear weight. Basically pack what you want within reason and go where you want. I know some people here think that elevation and all that needs to be earned somehow and I just think "why?"

My own potential system may have to wait though as I'm not a fan of many of the current systems. The worst but somehow most popular system seems to be the Bosch BB mounted engine, which is in a good spot weight distribution wise but also creaks like the devil when putting some real force into the pedals. Also, makes the bike useless with conventional BB systems so a no vote for that. A rear wheel engine might be good, but puts the weight rearwards where there's already usually too much weight. A front wheel engine might be the ticket though.