Originally Posted by
InTheRain
I thought they were pretty interesting from the first time I saw an e-bike. I thought I'd get one when I was no longer capable or riding a regular bike at an acceptable speed. Then I did a test ride a few years later. I loved it, but still didn't think I could justify buying one just because it was fun. Then, I had a child get her driver's license. She has to travel longer distances, and more often than I do, for school, sports, hobbies, and after school activities.
So, at that point we were looking at buying a 3rd car. I bought the e-bike conversion kit as well as a scooter for distances that I needed to cover a little faster than I could on any bike. I suppose I could have purchased a questionable used car for the same price - but then I'm back to paying for insurance, gas (I'll probably spend less than $30 for gas for the entire year on the scooter), parking, and maintenance. The e-bike/touring bike is my favorite way to commute so a 3rd car didn't seem like the best choice.
I'm an e-bike owner (and enthusiast) much sooner than I ever thought I would be. I don't regret it. I'm probably going to feel the same way about owning a fat bike someday.
Ha ha - me too! I fought it for a long time, but it just way too fun and way too convenient and way too cheap. It cost about $0.10 to get to a from work for the week on the Big Dummy with assist, vs. about $25 in my vehicle. I absolutely get to enjoy the ride through the woods and down the MUP to and from work as opposed to sitting inside the vehicle. It can be so hot and humid here in the morning as you literally sweat while you are pulling the bike out of the garage. The e-bike gets the air flowing over you and helps to cool you off. I estimate that pedaling at 18 mph on the Big Dummy is about the equivalent effort as riding without assist at about 10-12 mph. So, I still get plenty of exercise as I ride thousands of miles on an assisted bike vs. hundreds on my non-assisted bikes/year.
So, back to the arguments. In my earlier posts I was trying to get any of the posters that were against these types of assisted bikes to lay out their concerns, but there really aren't any that are legitimate when you are talking about a legal assisted bicycle. At least I haven't read any. The complaints seem to be mainly judgement (hey, you are cheating and should be riding so that you are getting in shape dude, WTF's wrong with you!? - I got this from a guy sitting on a bar stool in his kit, smoking a cig, and looking out over the parking lot to his car and bicycle/bicycle rack combo).
What I am reading (and hearing) are complaints about illegal bikes that fly past at 25+ mph, or are engine-driven (a motor is electric and an engine is gas), noisy and stinky. I ask that we all try and separate the judgement from what the real issues are. Otherwise, you will have people who really benefit from legal assisted bikes (fun, need, exercise - whatever floats their boat) shy away from them or even get unfairly sent away from the MUP and other places that they belong and have the legal right to use. In fact, my local group of bicycle advocates are getting really pissy about "their" MUP and are considering more restrictions. I say BS, as I rode home yesterday and in the 5 or 6 miles on the MUP I ran across maybe 10 riders (i.e., very low use). I think we need more like 100 or 500 or 1,000, and if some of them are riding an assisted bike then great! That is better than my community or employer having to pay thousands of dollars for one parking space and thousands more in upkeep, and consider the loss of the space to park a car that could be used for a park or green space or a bike lane. I could go on and on about the benefits of a bicycle over the alternative, but my main point is for us not to force a divide (split hairs) where one does not really exist. You are cutting your nose off to spite your face.