Originally Posted by
NeilGunton
The e-bike is obviously a disruptive technology, one that blurs the lines and creates gray areas where none existed before.
...
To you, perhaps. To me, they are something that someone else uses, that I have no real desire to use, but which affect me in ABSOLUTELY NO WAY. Hardly disruptive or worrysome, that in some slippery slope future I will be forced into them and given no choice but to ride the exclusively.
Originally Posted by
BigAura
Put a motor on a bicycle and you're a cheater according to the Tour de France officials
And when I am in an established bicycle race with rules detailing allowable equipment, I will agree they are cheating and not allowable. Then again, likely so are a lot of things you may find on touring bikes, like disc brakes. When someone is spending their vacation in a manner they choose, that I am in no direct competition with or have really any interaction at all, they aren't "cheating" because there are no rules to follow. No different than if I decided I wanted my doctor to get me on EPO to pound out my after work bar runs a bit faster, it is not illegal until I decide to enter a race which is under the control of a sanctioning body that deems it illegal.