Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
Some folks see e-assisted bikes as a means of allowing folks who feel otherwise unable to continue to ride or even to use an assisted bike rather than a car for short errands.
Others see e-assisted bikes as either a means of cheating in a competitive setting of some kind or as "giving up" on a self sufficient exercise program.
Mostly the folks who haven't yet reached the age or physical situation in which their cycling activities are severely impacted.
Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
I'm thinking that e-bikes are here to stay and that we are likely to see increased use especially as commuters and errand bikes. If that turns out to be true, I think that there will have to be changes in infrastructure and the in law to keep up.
This is sort of the best outcome.
People who cycle for their egos (in part) hate e-bikes because people who see them blasting by on their bikes won't be as impressed, I guess. Oh, well.
The upside is more bikes on the road, and more in places where people have in the past not been able to ride---for instance, being a bike messenger takes a ton of commitment and fitness, but with an e-bike, zipping around a city to do deliveries might be more cost-effective (and cleaner) than using cars and a lot more doable for average folks. This means more bike son the road, which means drivers get used to seeing bikes, which means all cyclists have a better chance of surviving.
As to speed, recklessness, etc .... I think those arguments are either fear-based or mask other objections. The same people who would ride e-bikes would ride bikes, mopeds, motorcycles, or drive cars, with the same habits and attitudes.
Possible the folks who try e-bike snow are either older and slower and not a problem, or maybe a little more adventurous (trying something new) and a little less bounded by social norms (look at the flak e-bikers take here.) So, maybe they are even pre-selected as somewhat reckless, defiant, independent.
Europe somehow managed to develop nicely despite millions of kids on mopeds. Possibly the U.S. could also?