Originally Posted by
raybo
I recently did a tour in Northern Italy and on my way up to Lake Garda from the Adige River, I passed a group of 8 people touring on e-bikes. I asked about them and was told that they could do about 90 miles a day before needing charging. They were on a hotel tour from Bolzano to Venice with the tour company handling their gear and charging the bikes every night.
To the extent that this allows more people to enjoy bike touring, I say bravo. The more people who do it, the money will come in and the better the infrastructure will be. As imi says, I wouldn't hesitate to use an e-bike when I can no longer do it under my own power.
90 miles a pretty astonishing range esp in presumably hilly terrain. A casual older biker friend got an e-bike for local rides, range is about 50-80 kilometers. Electric assist helps with hills & makes longer rides possible for lesser-fit riders. In America bike tourists are often dedicated bikers looking for a challenge but in Europe there's a tradition for average folks including seniors to do easy weekend-type tours just to enjoy the countryside, visit nice restaurants etc. In the US it's a little harder to find charming cafes but many areas have campgrounds that offer electrical hookup. In flatter areas one can fairly easily pedal an e-bike w/o the assist so a depleted battery not necessarily a disaster.
Heh, on long grueling climbs I get jealous of Harley riders going by. Just borrowing 1 HP would be super-boost for me & the Harley riders wouldn't even notice it's missing!