Originally Posted by Doug64

I still don't get it. If e-assist is the same as a 27 speed, why not just get a 27 speed bike; it is cheaper

IIRC from physics 201 that it takes X amount of work to get an object up an incline. If it takes X amount of watts, it really does not matter if you are on a single speed or have 27 gears, the amount of work is the same. How that work is accomplished is what varies between a geared bike and a SS. The geared bike requires many more revolutions for a given distance than a SS, and is usually slower; meaning that less work is applied for a longer period of time to cover the same distance.

I believe it would be analogous to moving 2 piles of flour, each pile containing 200 pounds of flour. One pile of flour is packaged in 20 lb. bags(27 gears) and the other is packaged in 50 pound bags (SS). One pile could be loaded into the truck with 10 trips; the other pile could be loaded using only 4 trips. The amount of work is the same.

In your example of the 30 km assist on a 100 km trip tells me that the e-assist reduced the amount of work by 30%. This is what I don't get about your statement.

I still don't care what folks ride. I have a friend who rides an e-bike, and I am happy to see him out there with a big smile on his face.