ian_peterson

Very glad to be a part of here!

To be honest at first I thought the ebikes were just for lazy people who didn't want to ride a bike. However, I have learned that that can be further from the truth.

A lot of my friends are generally in their 40s and up. They try to get into nature instead of riding a stationary bike indoors, but they sometimes don't like to go bike riding because there's some pretty steep hills around here and they don't want to have to get off their bike and walk up the hill and I was thinking to myself, what a great excuse to have an ebike! You could still have an enjoyable ride and when you get to that big hill, your ebike will get you up it!

I have found that true for myself, and I've ridden 25 miles on my bike that's just a regular bike before I own an ebike, but there are times where there's hills where I had to get off my bike and walk it and felt really embarrassed. So I think that deters a lot of people from bike riding especially as they get older.

From my years of fitness training I found me and a lot of friends we have knee problems. Our instructor told us that bike riding is the ultimate way to start strengthening the knees however, when you're having pain in your knee and you're trying to pedal up hill or you start peddling against the wind and you get tired, you no longer want to bike ride anymore and it's not enjoyable because now you had to try to force yourself to get back to your car or your original destination. But if you had an ebike that would no longer be a problem.

Anyway, I'm very glad that I've joined the electrified revolution. Ebiking is now my favorite pastime! I hope to connect with riders like me and learn new spots to ride! (I live in California)

Tomm Willians

Welcome to the group and you are quite correct believing that a good workout can be achieved with an Ebike. I have a Pivot E-Vault that I ride mostly with the motor removed but the power profile is tuned so that the assist is barely noticeable. I can of course increase it but have never felt the need.
Getting older does come with some challenges.

mpetry912 

I think the nice thing about e-bikes is that they allow "regular people" to get out on the bike and that is a good thing.

I still enjoy my lightweight bikes, but the ebike is a great choice for a quick trip to the store or when I just want to go out for a quick spin.

Or in less than perfect weather when the full fenders and disk brakes really help.

See if you can rent an ebike somewhere before buying one, and resist the urge to just buy the cheapest one on amazon.

/markp

Smaug1

I started because I wanted to bike commute.

My commute is 2 miles each way; it's a long walk, but it felt too short to drive, especially with my car only getting 24 mpg and needing premium gas. So now, the car sits home except when it's REALLY cold (below 20) or snowy.

I get to work fresh instead of sweaty on the hotter days and I can go harder on the way home.

It's also brilliant for those smaller grocery runs. It has me thinking of a cargo eBike for the bigger runs. (but where am I going to put it? We already have 8 bikes in the 1/2 bay of our garage...) 1st world problems!

veganbikes

E-bikes are awesome for so many different people. I like others have been commuting on mine as I can ride it on a regular bike but in the morning I am tired and just cannot get myself to moving and cutting commute times down and also getting help up hills and really helps. If I rode my regular bike I would always make excuses to not do it or I would wake up too late to really get going now I can get a little extra sleep and get to work and get home more quickly and also take whatever routes I want rather than trying to avoid hills or certain places that just aren't great for slower riding.

Plus it is great if I want to say take a nice little tour I can go further and carry gear more easily and do it in less time or the same time it would take to go half as much which with a full time job and other stuff going on it makes it easier.

I find myself grabbing my e-bike when I might just say ehhh I will use a car or I won't bother. Like if I need something from the grocery store I am less likely to say "I will make it another time" or "I will go tomorrow" now it is just like I can pop over quickly or pick up that 12 pack of seltzer or something else heavy or bulky or something.

mrodgers

I climb hills in w. Pennsylvania. I go on multiple day tours on 110 lb worth of bike, water, and gear. I'm interested in an e-bike for my daily 100-150 ft. per mile climbing.

Stopped in a local shop as I heard they had them. Asked if I could come back not so close to closing time and take one for a spin. "We let you ride it around in the parking lot..."

Dude, 500 yards from the parking lot is an 18% hill attached to a closed down road, example of just about everywhere I ride and why I am thinking of trying out an e-bike. You want that much of my money, I'm heading down that hill, riding the flat closed road for a little ways, and climbing back up that hill. A circle around in the parking lot isn't going to tell me squat.

yeamac 

You got into e-biking because you wanted to commute 2 miles to work? I'm just trying to wrap my head around the expense of an e-bike to travel 2 miles, which should be doable by anyone of any fitness level in 10-12 minutes on a non-ebike.

I say this as someone who also lives 2 miles from work and commutes occasionally. I kept a traditional bike for commuting the 2 miles, lol. Not trying to sound critical, it's just funny the different reasons we have for buying e-bikes. I want to add that now I've moved the traditional bike to my shed in the backyard and just end up riding the e-bike everywhere. I turn off the electronic assist, though, and just ride it as a regular bike when commuting the 2 miles. It's more a storage/convenience issue than the need or desire for the motor, though.

mpetry912 

let's try not to be judgmental about the choices other people make! the main benefit to me at least is that you can just get on it and ride it without cycling shoes, jersey etc and ebikes have very robust tires, brakes, and fender protection..

Where I live it's quite hilly so the ebike makes a grocery run with 2 bottles of wine no big deal ! Easy.

/markp

ian_peterson

Thank you! I wonder what you mean by removing the motor and tune the power profile. That sounds intriguing. Have you posted about it?

ian_peterson

Yes those are good advice. Thank you. I got mine at a local bike store and I had test rides. I found out I like torque sensor ebikes better

ian_peterson

8 BIKES LOL! Yes I do love that ebikes save me a lot of sweats

Jklotz

I suppose it depends on what type of ebike you are talking about and what you want to do with it. In my case, I bought a Trek Domane+, which has pedal assist. I quit racing 15 years ago, completely burned out and hadn't touched a bike again. Over the years, the thought of getting back on the bike had crossed my mind, but the idea of starting from zero all over agin kept me from doing it. I'll never race again, those days are behind me but I still want to be in the group rides like i used to be able to do. 18-22 mph average, spirited ones over a hilly route. That's where the fun is at for me. I was 15 or 20 lbs heavier and out of shape. It'd have taken a year or more of dedicated training at my stage to maybe be able to do that. My bike adds nothing unless you are pedaling. If you want more, you have to put in more power. Even with the assist, I'm riding at my limit on most of the group rides just to keep up, and I'm still getting dropped on many of them. But it keeps getting better every week and I'm staying with them longer and longer. I've lost 8 lbs so far, my resting heart rate has dropped 10 bpm and this old guy is slowly getting back in shape and relearning to love the bike again, thanks to an ebike.

At my age, I've got nothing to prove to anybody. Let folks judge if they want. If I were in my 20's and in top shape, I'd probably would have been one of them to be honest. But I'm just grateful for this amazing technology that has allowed me to be back out there again.

Calsun

The bike clubs and group rides in California do not discriminate against riders on e-bikes other than to not have them passing non e-bike riders on the hills as a matter of safety and etiquete. My e-bike allows me to keep up with riders that are less than half my age.

tds101 

I ride ebikes, as well as "acoustic". My reasoning is lung issues. My knees do come into play, but that isn't even on the table when my breathing is the problem. Covid, long hauler, etc. Besides, who cares, as long as more people get out and RIDE!!!

Tomm Willians

Pivot (among others) utilize the Fazua motor system that is completely removable thus giving you a perfectly normal bike. It is tunable to an infinite number of power profiles based on what you want the motor to do. You can choose from their extensive list of pre-set profiles or do your own custom profile. My medium EVault with the battery/motor assembly removed weighs approximately 21 lbs, 7.5 more with the motor.

Doc_Wui

I got my wife an ebike in 2015 and it got her out riding again. I then converted an old bike to electric and we started taking longer rides. We did about 230 miles together that year, and put in about 2400 miles annually in 2020, 2021, and 2022. I also ride about 600-800 miles solo. Without ebikes, I guess I would be puitting in a few hundered miles anually on a non-electric.

This year, my wife was off her bike for two months due to an injury, so I started riding solo again on a non-electic bike,. I put on 400 miles in those two months, riding 4-5 times a week, but only for about 10 miles. Hard to get your bike legs back when you're old as me.



. .

linnefaulk

perhaps a folding trailer ?

TrailTraveller

I am a cyclist, cycling for more than ten years, also like other outdoor sports, because of the memory of a lot of exercise caused a little knee injury, so I had to stop cycling, later my friend told me that I can ride an electric bicycle exercise, will not hurt the knee too much. So I started to ride the electric bike, in the moment I stepped on the foot, it has given me help, it is so cool! I've loved effortless cycling ever since.

Smaug1

I'm quoting my original response for reference.
Now that I'm getting more serious about road (acoustic) cycling, another use I'm finding for the eBike is to ride it on recovery days for commutes. It's getting to the time of year in Wisconsin that I don't mind riding the acoustic comfort bike to work; the extra heat is warmth now instead of sweat.

However, Monday evening, I got out for a nice 20 mile road bike ride at about 16 mph average. That's on the fast end, for me. I had my heart rate monitor talking to my GPS and when I was done, it recommended a 48 hour recovery time.

...so the next day, I made sure to take the eBike to work and took it very easy. 14 mph average with almost no effort. It would have been maybe 10 mph on my acoustic bike and more effort to get up the hills.

Now today, I'm fresh again for a 25 mile road ride this afternoon on the acoustic road bike. The eBike was used about like a moped. (although a slow one)

I may just go ahead and get an eMoped in 2024, if a bonus comes through at work.

roadfix

I frequently go on overnight bikepacking trips in the local mountains on weekends. I just got tired of having to walk my bike over steep climbs with 30 lbs of camping gear. So, I got an e-bike just for that.

LennyAK

I Ride Mtn & eBikes - Once You Try Them - Your Hooked (At Least I Was)
OMG The Distance Rolls By Soo Effortlessly