adamtki

Sometimes a commute can turn into a race! It makes those days fun. When I do feel like I want to see if I'm faster then someone (up a hill or down a stretch of road), I try it with the motor off. I'm definitely not cheating then.

And sometimes, I come across a strong rider that wants to try to keep up or pass. I let them know I'm part machine and give them kudos for being strong riders. Sometimes, they like the challenge of beating an e-bike.

Biont

People commuting on foot, walking or running, think cyclers are cheating (because they use a machine injecting an unfair mechanical advantage), are lazy people, are depleting earths resources since they cause a waste of energy and material during production of the bikes.

You may go "few crazy people commute by running and they must be dorks".
Car/SUV drivers go `few crazy people commute by bike and they must be dorks"
Relativity is not your best friend. It works for you and against you. Better to refrain from comparisons for a better life.

Everyone has his/her legitimate reason for what he does. What's cheating is making cheap generalizations and judging people without knowing what drives them to do what they do.

alfonsopilato

exactly!

I thinks that they posted this topic just so that we may blablabla. or it's an amplification of what goes through a person's mind when they are passed by an ebike (like mine, vroooooooom.. who or what the hell was that !!! of course as they catch up with me at the red light, because i do stop at red lights, they realise i am ridiculously good looking )

lucasgo

I think that may be what happened Alfonso. I passed a serious roadie on my commute home on Thursday going up a hill. I nodded and said hey as I passed him, then stopped at a red light at the top of a hill. He blew through the red going probably 20. I waited for the green (road entering from the right) then moved on again at my usual pace, 23-24. I paced him for a few blocks, then turned off because I was just going home. I get the impression he kept hammering because he was pissed. I was just commuting.

GilSJ

Since I've had my ebike, I've gone places I'd otherwise not have attempted with my non-electric cyclocross. I travel 20 miles a day up and down the coast, something I only do once a year on my cyclocross. Yes, I've lost weight, feel healthier, and even met people along my treks. If riding my ebike daily compared to my cyclocross once a year is lazy, than I'd rather be lazy.

SeizeTech

I was lazy before I bought my ebike. In the past year with my ebike, I've done more than I have in 10 years.

RayB

Not at all. I think there is a number of cyclists out there like myself who may use them to recuperate from an injury and/or health condition instead of giving up cycling altogether. If I had not modified my bike to an ebike last year I would be stuck on the train on a daily basis. Instead, I can at least do 3/4 days of commuting weekly. Hopefully, one day if things recover I will go back to using my regular bike.

formerly RE

Hey sexy!

How much weight have you lost on that ebike?

I use mine because I have never been that strong of a rider, and it's getting much more complicated with my arthritic knees. I can at least stay on a bike with this solution. If you want to call riding 20 miles round trip on knees that the Dr. said were advanced arthritic (like a 60 + year old with arthritis) lazy, well, then I guess I'm it.

Maybe I should just retreat into the house and rely on the car for 1/2 mile trips, in order to behave like a proper invalid/cripple. By the way, I use the old-fashioned, nonelectric Cruiser for the short trips, unlike many 20-somethings.

Many of the pot-bellied, macho-image men my age are choosing to ride Harleys or something like that, after years of no bicycling at all. I think I'm less likely to take a spill.

Old Town

I know a doctor here in Florida who commutes to his office each morning (10-11 miles) up Rt. 1 on an electric bike so that he won't arrive drenched in sweat for the day. On the way home he pedals for the workout. Remember, this is a cycle forum and some folks have very narrow views about what constitutes a bike. Many people view cycles as utilitarian machines for needed transport. They don't identify with athletics or lastest trends. So they use a motor to achieve their end - not a big deal to them. Should not be to you.

BroadwayJoe

Took a couple years but finally a post that I fully agree with. There's all sorts of reasons to ride eBike, walk, drive a car, take a train, plane, etc. Name-calling and competition have nothing to do with different forms of transportation - 'seems to be directed by people with inferiority complexes and other mental defects that drive them to mess with someone who happens to be different. Kinda that bird flock mentality - where flocks will kill or shun birds that look different...

eBikes happen to have a lot to do with SCIENCE and in my home - foreign oil dependency. Or, reduction of same. At least most electricity in NA is produced from homeland resources (Sorry, Saudi Arabia!) and while electricity isn't entirely "clean" to produce - eBikes use much less total energy compared to cars/trucks and what pollution is generated is often in more remote locations...

SeizeTech

Are skinny tire race bikes for lazy commuters? Of course not.
Are electric cars for lazy people? maybe.

Electric bikes fit somewhere between a race bike and an electric car. It is obvious and blatant prejudice to think that they are for lazy people.

Is it possible for lazy people like myself to use an electric bike? Yup! But I can assure you that my time in the saddle has only a positive affect to my health.

I am shocked that a fitness guru stretchy shorts cyclist ( ie someone that places a high amount of value on exercise) would harbor any prejudices for me or my ebike.

I am sure that most do, unless they are asked to talk seriously about it. Then I am sure that most don't. I am ok with this.

SeizeTech

Thats me!

I was that pot bellied Harley rider, but now I've traded the hog in on an ebike, a mountain bike, and a tent trailer. I have no regrets for owner the Harley, but now i'm looking forward to something more active, more healthy, more family oriented.

best of wishes to you!

nwmtnbkr

Actually, I don't think you'd see a discussion like this on a bike forum in countries where biking is popular among all generations and sexes. In those countries, cycling is a daily mode of transportation, not a male-oriented, expensive sport like it is in the US. I doubt they'd question why someone would add electric assist to a bicycle. I'd like to see some of the "elitist", Lycra-clad bike snobs in the US live for six months in India and China and have to depend on a regular, non-racing road bike for all their transportation, including hauling everything around. Then maybe they'd appreciate cycling for its utilitarian function rather than treating it as a sport and maybe they'd understand that electric bicycles are as legitimate a mode of transportation as regular bicycles. (Maybe they'd also develop an appreciation for riding more sanely on the roads.)

adamtki

Too bad we're preaching to the choir here. The guys in the bike commuting forums should be reading this.

formerly RE

I think the commuters mostly "get it." many of the commuters like to ride bikes for the good feeling, the physical exercise, and the gentle effect on the environment. The electric bike meets those needs for many.

I am a commuter. I have spent a lot of time on the commuting forum. I came to bike forums specifically to seek out info on electric bikes, since my commute length had increased. If I were still doing a 5 mile trip, the electric support would be unnecessary. For others, the need for electric support may come in at different lengths. Nonetheless, we all have a distance and/or hauling need that is reasonable to us on a regular bike and a distance and/or hauling need that may be beyond our normal capabilities.

If you see bicycling as a sport, then an electric bicycle is downright silly. If you see a bicycle as a type of vehicle, then an electric bike is a functional tool.

rscamp

Or if you like to tinker, electric bikes could be a hobby. Hobbies require no justification whatsoever!

formerly RE

Yeah, that too! I appreciate all the hobbyists out there who have elevated e-biking to a new level.

Commodus

I'm a commuter, and I think e-bike are for lazy people. I have never encountered a situation in which I could not pedal...ever. No matter how heavily loaded - I just switch gears?

I used to be a weak rider, too. Then I pedaled a whole bunch. Yes, even UP the hills! Now I'm less weak. Plus, I really don't like having to watch out for motorized bikes going by me in the already slim bicycle lanes. They generally aren't going faster than me on the flats, but they certainly do uphill.

That being said, I'm not trying to sit around and judge people for riding them. I understand that people don't always want to pedal, it doesn't make them bad. I also see that people don't want to get to work all sweaty. That's fine too. It's nothing to do with me. The fact is, however, that if pedaling is too hard, and you need an assist...I think you pretty much defined 'laziness'. But it's okay to be lazy. It's your body, treat it how you like. Embrace the lazy.

Commodus

Uh...or maybe we'd just buy mountain bikes. And we'd still be in better shape than the e-bikers.

It's an odd world some of y'all live in, where fitness and utility can not co-exist.

JinbaIttai

If you are sitting on a bike pedaling instead of carrying it on the back of your shoulders while sprinting on foot. . . I think you also pretty much defined 'laziness'.

rscamp

Here's a good example of writing before thinking.

By your definition, the elderly and those physically handicapped to the extent that they unable to ride an unassisted bike are lazy. Also, hobbyists and people who need to increase their speed or range beyond what is humanly possible without getting a car or motorcycle are just plain lazy. Shame on them...

Commodus

Wow, haha, I forgot for a sec I was arguing on the internet.

Since it's apparently necessary, let me specify I was referring to able-bodied people with reasonable time/distance restraints.

Zephyr Boy

This reality doesn't exist for me (I don't let my focus on this subject-until now).
Am I lazy? it's none of your business
Am I better than you? I ride for fun and exercise. <---- notice the period at the end of the sentence?
E-bikes are for fun, exercise, less dependence on foreign oil, alternative commute, cost savings, less stress, easy parking, etc... Doesn't quite fit into the definition of "are we cheaters," huh?

If anything, this subject posted about us e-bikers as being cheaters, we could be focus on saying clever comebacks to the close minded people or to the people who are just teasing us on the trails.
like: "you're breathing air, isn't that cheating?" <---but not so harsh



is it me or do these hardcore commuters judging us not once mention having "fun" in their defense?

15rms

As for me I work out normally around 5 days a week. I do my own lawn work and detail my cars myself. I am not lazy. I love to get on my bike and explore. I ride just for meditative purposes. When I am on my sons electric recumbent I get to cover more miles and see more things then if it were not electrified. I do not belive electric bikes are for lazy people. Just my 2 sense worth

JinbaIttai

Laziness is a relative term.

Able-bodied people with reasonable time/distance restraints will find themselves pushing just as hard, only riding much much faster on an ebike. You really need to try an ebike out on a real hill. It is like some kind of dynamic adjustable weight machine. Unless of course you're too tired and you want the bike to just take you home. So much more versatile.