Gresp15C

Amusingly, I've now had several people ask me why I don't ride an e-bike, or when am I going to get one. And then they ask me why, as if I have to prove that a conventional bike is still worth riding.

wipekitty

I've encountered a few commuters on pedal-assist e-bikes on the MUP and nearby roads. (I assume they're commuters due to the time of day and type of stuff they're packing.)

If an e-bike can increase the average speed from 10-12 MPH (that's what I see a lot of) to ~20 MPH, that can make a daunting 10 or 15 mile commute doable, and a 5 mile commute downright easy. More bike commuters is, IMO, a good thing!

Sy Reene

Indeed. In NYC for example, an increase in bike commuters generally means though less strain on packed subways, trains and buses. With the Covid thing going on, even better to bike. I'm sure some people commute by car, but far outweighed by public transport. To go back to the OP though, his observation seemed (?) to be more about pleasure cruisers but maybe I'm reading too much into it.

rockmurf

My wife and I bought Electra ebikes last year and it is the best thing we ever did. It takes the suck out of riding. No concerns about wind or hills just the pleasure of being out in the open air and getting as much or as little exercise as you feel like at that moment. For couples who are at different ability levels it also levels the playing field as most bikes have different power levels. There are the cynics who would criticize us for having a motorized bicycle but these bikes are pedal assist and I would say back to them if you want the true challenge of riding a bicycle don’t talk to me unless you are writing a single speed bike. LOL. Ride safe all and enjoy.

livedarklions

I just figure if you're not trying to zip down a bike path at 30 mph, it's none of my business and I'm glad it's working for you.

There are cynics who criticize people for having the wrong pedals. Screw 'em if they can't take a joke.

Wildwood 

New tech, deemed by 'society' as good tech evolves rapidly.


In adult marketplace, e will exceed pedal very soon.

Market dynamics will always drive demand. The perception that to get a 'good and durable road bike' one has to spend $2,000+USD will accelerate the 'e' marketplace because with e - all the expense in lightweight frames and components becomes a subordinate issue, allowing for heavier but affordable e-bikes for most buyers.

Rajflyboy

I think you got it right

Joe Bikerider

“It takes the suck out of riding.” You mean like turning over the pedals and breathing harder when you go up a hill? There is no suck in riding. May I introduce you to a thing called a motorcycle? Goes fast, no suck, wind in your face. Or even better, this thing called a car. No wind, no effort, can go up hill with only the effort of your little toe. My favorite MUP is being over run by speeding ebikers and I don’t like it. There are kids and walkers and real bikers who might agree with me.

livedarklions

I think the general public doesn't believe that a "good and durable road bike" requires $2000.

There seem to be plenty of people turning their own pedals right now, I see way more of those than ebikes pretty much everywhere I go.

livedarklions

I'm a "real biker" and I don't endorse this message.

We're lucky to be able to turn the pedals hard enough to get up hills, I really don't begrudge people who can't some assistance in doing so.

MNebiker

Another standard anti e-bike rant by a "real biker."

I am 81 years old, have ridden bikes all my life. I even worked as a bike tech for seven years after I "retired" from my regular occupation. A few years ago riding became a lot less fun when age caught up with my knees, so I switched to a pedal-assist ebike. With the ebike I can continue to ride, the bike is totally legal, and I don't terrorize the bike trail. In fact, the biggest scares I have had on the trails are from "real bikers" riding like idiots and running people off the trail - and I have helped pick up a couple of them when they took a corner too fast.

And just for the record - I consider myself a "real biker" but not an arrogant one.

JanMM

I, too, agree that there is no suck in riding. But, I do enjoy riding single bikes with my spouse since she got her e-assist Trek last summer. We had ridden together primarily on our tandem for the last couple of decades. Now we ride together more often than not on our single bikes. Her bike cuts off power input at 20mph but that happens only downhill with her riding style. And with our riding style. (We still enjoy the tandem, but don't ride it as frequently as before.)

CAT7RDR

Another apples and oranges thread about e-bikes. I do not care! Ok, I care enough to tell you I do not care but it ends there,

Gyro

Only took a second to find a page of 100kph ebikes. Some 5 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...rce=opensearch

Illgot

Anything that gets people out of a car for single person transportation is good. Think of how much road, parking and fuel savings, a person using an electric skateboard conserves versus using a car.

livedarklions

And? No one said they don't exist. Those are definitely street vehicles (electric motorcycles), and I don't think there's a state in the country that wouldn't classify such a bike as a motor vehicle.

livedarklions

Not necessarily--if the electric skateboard is being operated on sidewalks, that may cause some people who would otherwise be pedestrians to avoid using the sidewalks out of safety concerns. If those people drive more, they could more than negate the savings from that one person.

jon c. 

Still no boom in these parts. I see a few, but they're still in the 1% range around here.

Gyro

I've seen plenty of normal bikes with small gas motors attached. Riding down the middle of a major city road, sidewalk and bike path, The point is whether the government approve's of them or not. People are using them in a matter people running into them feel is inappropriate for the location they're riding in.

livedarklions

I haven't encountered anyone operating an ebike faster than 20 mph on a path, and I ride some crowded uran paths and secluded rural ones and pretty much everything in-between. Where it's a problem, it should be dealt with.

I have seen two very heavy cargo ebikes running 20 mph on the Minuteman. That could definitely turn into a problem, but I haven't seen that outside of two occasions last year.

I see people riding all sorts of vehicles including bicycles in a manner that is inappropriate for the environment they're riding in. Not sure what your point is there, or why you're talking about illegal use of gas-powered bikes on bike paths.

Gyro

The gas power bikes are there. That's a fact. What will keep the 100 kph e-bikes off. I generally ride 125 miles on the Erie Canal each week during the warmer weather. At every entrance there a sign "No Motorize Vehicles". Yet I've run into every type you can think of. Did I mention a Joy riding car? I don't have a problem with the equipment, it's the jerks on it. Don't get me started on the 100 foot leash line every dog owner has.

livedarklions

I have no doubt someone somewhere is running gas powered bikes on MUPs. I'm pretty sure I've seen it happen exactly once in thousands of miles of MUP travel, but it was long enough ago that I'm not sure he actually got on the path.

I guess I don't get your point here at all. Some people abuse all types of vehicles. I don't find that's the case with the vast majority of ebike riders. And I have yet to see a 60 mph ebike anywhere in the wild. Don't think it has much to do with the OP.