Natomashomeboy

The person claiming that e bikes are cheating probably still goes to the newsstand to buy the daily newspaper and still goes to the mall to shop.

anyway , get off my lawn.

Frankenbike27

holy crap! he he

alloo

Roccorides

I remembered this thread when some random guy was giving me guff the other night as I was unlocking my Vintage Electric. "How does it feel to be a cheater?" he yelled from about 10 yards away. As an aside, this guy is standing in line for a slice of pizza while I'm getting on a bike, and yet he's heckling me about supposedly being too lazy or something. I attempted engage the gentleman in discourse. "I'm about to ride 20 miles at 10 pm carrying 25 lbs of stuff so I can get home to my family then get up early and go back to work, so actually I feel ok about cheating." "Well, you're a damn cheater." "What if I drove a car home instead, would you still call me a cheater?" "No, but you're still a cheater." This went on for about 5 minutes. For some reason I was feeling disputatious and so kept arguing with him. Honestly, it almost got physical. Other than nastily repeating the word "cheater," he really had no thought-out position, apparently just a deep need to feel superior to someone.

01 CAt Man Do

The person you spoke to was no gentleman. Would of been better to just ignore the a-hole. In today's world it seems that both hypocrisy and ignorance abound. In the mean time you are still getting exercise and not using any fossil fuels. There are various modes of transportation of which I would never pull up to a stop light on my ebike and ask the person driving a Humvee, "How does it feel to burn all that gas"? because doing so would be just real stupid and rude, not to mention completely futile.

DVC45

I'd just say; " I am not competing, so I can't be cheating". Then I'll speed off.

No sense spending my precious breath on A-holes.

lazurm

I simply agree with them with the caveat that if I was in a sanctioned race they'd be 100% correct adding that, because I'm not, it's not cheating in the strict sense, but is in terms of obtaining artificial power. Then I may go on to state why I chose to do so, reasons that can apply to a wide circle of cyclists.
As for Strava, if you register the ebike it will appear as such, otherwise it is "cheating" in the sense that it's unfair competition when classed with analogs but that's something that Strava should handle.

Crambie

People like that think it's black and white, ebikes are cheating, pedals bikes never are. But it isn't, for example they don't mind gaining their strava pr on someones wheel or waiting for a gail force tail wind. Anyway it's really not worth arguing as they've decided and you won't change their minds.

Crambie

That sort of depends.Yes I've read that some states (or a state I'm not sure) in the USA allow 29mph assist but pretty much all of the world it's 15.5mph (25kph). When I was healthy and fit that would have been a slow ride. So back then I wouldn't have counted it as unfair or cared. If it was in a sanctioned race then they would be dropped like a stone.

arsprod 

"on your left!"

pippin65

“What the **** you care, you snippy ****. YOU know what? Nobody and I means nobody gives two piss drops to your existence, tortured though it may be.

get the **** outta here, Dick

Bluesfrog

Pippin65 you are pretty brave on a keyboard. I spent 23 years in prison and I don't usually talk to people that way. Be Well, Bluesfrog.

Cpn_Dunsel

Usually going by too fast to actually hear specific words due to the doppler shift on the sound waves..

TinyBear

By the theory that e bikes are “cheating”. The same can be said that a bike with gears is cheating compared to a fixie.

point being is get out and ride what you enjoy and to hell with what others judgement.

I spent nearly a year in a wheel chair because my leg was nearly severed below the knee along with a myriad of other injuries. My folks bought a electric scooter so that I could still get out and about. But I refused to use it because it was “cheating” and I didn’t want to be seen as needing it. And you know what that got me. Well it cheated me out of getting out and doing a lot of things because my shoulders hurt using the cains and or wheel chair for too much so instead I’d stay home going stir crazy.

long story short I don’t have an ebike yet but when I do and if I ever asked that I’d simply state “I’m having fun, Have a nice day”. And ride off

01 CAt Man Do

Oh come on...If you really said something like that to some a****** idiot not only would it possibly provoke a more dangerous response but even if it didn't it would mean "they win" in terms of being civil. As for me I don't give a rat's a$$ what someone else might think ( or say ) if I'm riding an ebike. My opinion on riding an ebike is, " Not every aspect of life is about competition. If your motive is only to get from point A to point B, have a bit of enjoyment while doing it without killing yourself in the process, then more power to you." There are always going to be people in life who just love to put down other people no matter what the reason. Most of the time it's just better to just ignore the ***holes because most of the time it would be pointless to do otherwise as A-h***s are just going to continue being AH's no matter what you say. Nine times out of ten when you respond to an AH in like manner it just makes things worse.

2old

Online where I reside in the "OC" there are some of the most vehement haters of eMTB that I've read about. However in more than four years of riding off road I've never had anyone say anything negative to me; however if they did, I'd ignore them (unless they really pissed me off, then who knows).

Bluesfrog

I'm afraid after 23 years working in the prison system I might just say Kiss my grits big boy. I guess I don't play well with others. I have a low tolerance for stupidity. Funny thing is most folks get a smile and a hello from me. It is the guys who go out of their way, to get in my way, who get a surprise. I'd rather be left alone. I have a story that could have ended badly but will tell it only in a PM. Don't go out of your way to be in others' business in a negative way. Be Well, Bluesfrog.

rossiny

guy in video has right attitude. Its only cheating if you in a race and the others don't have it. What happens if you get older and you lucky enough to still ride, and you just need a lil boost to get home ?

Pouhana

One of the lines I have used.

I can't buy a bike with a Lazy Boy recliner on it so this is the best i can do.

ggolds5

Years ago I had a TREK mountain bike- full suspension. I purchased it in 1995 and paid $2000 then. Eventually it was stolen right out of my garage. Fast forward another 20 years and an accident made it impossible to ride much of anything. I want to start riding a bike again. An Ebike will make this possible. You can assist your ride as much or as little as you want to or need to in my situation. It will get me out riding and exercising again. That means a lot to me and my wife. SO for those of you against Ebikes stop being so narrow-minded and selfish and think about how riding is so important to you and how those who can't ride without assistance can get back on a bike and start riding again. It can be life changing in a great way after having had a life changing event that made life so much harder and more challenging. I've been in healthcare all of my life, maybe that's also why I have empathy for those who can ride again with an Ebike. God Bless!.

wttrjenkins

I got a lot more involved biking last year and have slowly justified spending more and more on it. I have a family and our grocery store is a 32 mile trip on rough roads. I've biked it several times on a regular bike but just converted a bike with a mid drive. I have a small battery and turn off the assist quite often. It's a lifesaver on hills and headwinds but I come home tired and sweaty still so I don't feel like a cheater.

I lost alot of weight last year on my regular bikes but I'm still getting exercise with electric. I figure I will put more miles on it than my regular bikes and drive a vehicle less. We're off grid also so my charging comes from sun/ wind. It is amusing that many of the people that call it cheating aren't very physical themselves. If someone told me I'm a cheater, I'd simply explain that I still get a workout but cover more ground now.

​​​​​​The only downsides is I've made this look fun so I'm eventually going to need a few more ebikes for the family. Also I will have to spend large amounts of time outdoors with the family instead of binging tv or electronics.....

spinnanz

what do I say? Nothing, I dont care what anyone else thinks.

davethelefty

I'm probably one of those guys who might have thought riding an e-bike was cheating, though I'd never call anyone out on it. To each his own.

But I don't know, my opinion is beginning to change. I guess part of the new weather paradigm is that it's always windy here. Today I was trying to do a 40 mile ride in preparation for an upcoming half-century, and it was very windy. One leg of my ride was about 15 miles into a stiff breeze, riding along side a river so there's nothing to break up the wind. It just wasn't fun. It was hard work and I was slow and it was demoralizing. I try to tough it out, but I'm getting older and a hard effort into a headwind takes a physical toll on me. So probably I'm the ideal candidate for an e-bike. I just need to wrap my head around it (and think about the big money needed to buy one!!).

fooferdoggie 

some of my friends at work ask if it feels like cheating. but they don't ride bikes much and smoke and nave never even taken a spin on my bike. myself I think driving is cheating (G) I ride every day and so far no ice so I have not missed a day since I bought my bike. How is that cheating? I took a ride to the start of a really long train and goofed up on my google location and had to go another 6 or so miles. by the time I go to the path to go home I was running low. I had to ride home in eco mode so it was morel like riding a regular bike for 14 miles. not cheating.

Mad Honk 

Bluesfrog,
I have some experience as to the place you are. In the mid 70's I was working in a family owned factory that put incarcerated folks on the payroll to help re-integrate them into society. I was approached one day with a fellow who said he would cut me in a second. We had a long discussion as to the implications of that action and we came to terms. Over the course of the summer he became a friend and we had many discussions that helped him get back on his feet. I learned a lot from him about prison culture and they way disputes were settled. I was and still am a Psychology student and degree holder in that discipline. And I hope he learned something from me about interpersonal relationships. We lost touch after a few years but at my last contact he was still out and doing well.
But you are correct. There is no reason to be snarky, and unfriendly to anyone. Either in person or on the internet. I think many folks would do well to spend a couple of nights in the " joint" to get a whole new perspective on quality communication. I doubt this will change any opinion here but it does affirm your commitment to fair and honest conversation. Thanks B frog, MH