Originally Posted by
UniChris
You mean how many people have yet to try riding a motorcycle?
You know what can not only do that, but more safely in rain-proof climate control and hauling your family and groceries too and rolling out one century after another?
A car.
Once you start making intermediate vehicles that fall somewhere between a bicycle and a car with some of the properties of each, you have to carefully consider what is lost vs. what is gained, how that impacts you individually and where it fits into society as a whole.
Let's be realistic, bicycles are human scale devices conceived around the idea of human power. Maybe there's a role for a small motor to help someone do what they no longer can on their own, or accompany their more athletic significant other or younger relative, or arrive at work (albeit only on a nice day) less than sweaty - get some of the outdoor experience and parking simplicity, but none of the fitness reward.
Meanwhile motor vehicles come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and wheel counts with a variety of efficiency, convenience, and safety rates to match. The motorcycle is hardly a new idea.
There are all sort of answers, but let's not pretend one thing is something else.
Not talking about motorcycles. Again for the billionth time we are talking about bicycles with pedals that only go forward with pedaling (yes coasting downhill aside). The goal here should be to get more cars and petrol engines of the road not say "well because the bike has a motor it is a motorcycle now no matter what" because that is just ignorant and backwards thinking.
E-Bikes are fitness vehicles you have to pedal them in order to move and yes you can use more or less assistance but you are still having to pedal. I know plenty of my customers have gotten into better shape on an e-bike. Maybe they could get better exercise on a non-electric bike but if they weren't going to ride it or had issues that prevented them from getting on it then where is the exercise? Some people might not ride at all so if we can get more people riding that is always a good thing. Also maybe the e-bike will help them get to a position they can ride a non-electric bike with confidence. Instead of trying to put up walls and barriers around ourselves and say electric bikes are not real bikes we should embrace the future and be thankful we might get a few cars off the road.
Look I get it, I have 12-14 regular non-electric bikes and I love them and wouldn't give them up (though I do need to sell some stuff and make more room for some new projects) but I recognize e-bikes can be another bike in quiver and a useful tool for a lot of folks. Heck if I can get a cargo e-bike to get groceries or go to the hardware shop and not have to worry about parking or gas or car insurance that sounds pretty good to me. I can ride a bike just about anywhere, a car or motorcycle not so much, I also tend to have a lot more parking restrictions with those vehicles I don't have with a bike.
Sure long distance a car could make more sense but if it is really long distance you have planes and trains and boats (though make sure you know whose boat is that boat before boarding) as well and on those vehicles you can have a bike with you which is pretty neat.