Originally Posted by
Randochap
I've just popped back in to see what the response might be, and I'm not surprised. I stick by my assessment -- that only the infirm need the help of an external motor.
There are many unassisted commuters out there using cargo bikes and hauling loads. That's no argument.
By far the biggest (no pun intended) group of motorized bicycle users are voluntary invalids. I have no particular bone to pick with motor bike users, hell over the last few years I've been partly responsible for some of the largest sales numbers in western Canada. Let's just not make false arguments for their use.
Who knows, one of these days, if the arthritis gets bad enough or I lose my grit ... no, no banish the thought!
OK, I'm outa here.
There certainly are. I completed a 2,500km tour this may-june on my cargo bike, also carrying a group food trailer. However, that doesn't mean that people should be absolutely refraining from using electric motors if they are capable of using human power - the tasks can be done easier, faster, and with less stress.
Ask yourself if you believe that every cyclist out there would enjoy carrying heavy loads at lower speeds every day, if there were additional options to perform the same tasks with greater efficiency, short of resorting to the use of a car or other large motor vehicle. I believe the answer would be no, as shown by the growing interest out there. Not everyone is a masochist, and some tasks simply do fall into that realm.
"There are many unassisted commuters out there using cargo bikes and hauling loads. That's no argument."
No, its not an argument. What is however, is that there aren't many unassisted commuters out there doing their cargo work as fast. Not everyone's commute is so convenient, short, or flat, and some riders reach a point where the choice is either to go big and gassy, or go electric.
Some people just want to get there faster. Some want to take that 100lb cabinet up the hill. And those people could do it by reaching for their car keys - but does the desire to want to do it while still on their bicycle just make them an invalid, then?