uncle uncle

I've seen, heard, and made up a few predictions that 2019's biggest general bicycle news will be the increase of ebikes. It could be the year that a majority of the larger metro areas around the world will see the influx of ebikes, both in purchase and in rental schemes. As a C&V'er, I think of them as a bit of cheat. As a fan of all things bicycling, and all things outdoors, I guess I'm encouraged to see people get out and around, without being behind the wheel of a gas engine'ed automobile. Will you scorn the ebike, welcome them, or be indifferent? Do you think C&V'ers will more or less be inviting of the increased ebike presence?

Fahrenheit531 

Keep 'em off the "no motorized vehicles" MUP and it's all good.

CliffordK

Kick the power up a notch and pass them at 21 MPH.

Mr. 66

fender1

I take a look at most "new" stuff. I have seen a number of e-bikes and they seem to be a more complicated solution to an existing problem, so I don't think there is one in my future. I realize I am in the minority and the idea of a bike you don't have to pedal is really appealing to the general population. Not too dissimilar to self driving cars.

gugie 

nlerner

A riding buddy of mine does his daily 5-6 mile commute on an 80s Fuji fitted with a Copenhagen rear wheel. He's had a few technical glitches in the year and a half that he's had it, but overall is happy to get to work at about 20 plus MPH without being a sweaty mess (and he works with clients all day long). I've test ridden it, and the feeling is really weird.

crank_addict

Firstly, many of us are considered as cycling enthusiast so its understandable when we defend an activity and others don't necessarily follow your thinking or ways. And bicycles solely human powered are not going away.

I 100% encourage the E bike and as it comes in many configurations and application. Right now the cycling market in the US is pretty bad. Many dealers have to dig deeper to survive. The e bike may or may not work for them but they shouldn't shun. The parts stock and availability are poor, technical servicing is another problem area. Rapidly changing, evolving with no standards.

Then we have the anti cyclist mentals in this country -good luck newbie E bikers. We have a long way for acceptance. That's a political arena and of useless laws or lack of enforcing throughout the States.

Europe and Asia are flourishing with e bikes. But they've always had 'the bike as mode of daily life' and accepted as normal vehicle transportation.

Our family has seemingly been into electric vehicles of special interest. Restored a '1912' Detroit Electric auto. It accomplished a special event in hilly MN of over 100 miles. My brother and I back in 1992 built a full electric concept snowmobile for an exposition. He still has it. A brother in law has an all electric CitiCar from the mid 1970s and fully made in the USA. Novelty transportation machines but all kind of fun and interesting.

Back to E bikes. The sport of MTB e bikes is one I didn't grasp at but do have a friend / former Natnl. Motocross champ. Seniors who's getting into it.

There's many people whom haven't been on a bike for years and for whatever reasons but I think these pedal assist type will quickly convert those and get them off the sofa.

Lastly.....

I'm building up a VINTAGE Schwinn World with a high output mid-mount peddle assist. Won't elaborate but its going to be the bike many will hate but really WANT.

Classtime 

cinco

They're yet another silly fad intended to separate fools from their money just like 29ers, fat bikes, 650c conversions, and, more recently, 650b conversions. E-bikes are nothing more than electric mopeds and will fall out of favor, as did their ancestors, when people realize that they're an expensive and mediocre way to solve a problem which already has several more practical solutions. I've been rolling my eyes and ignoring them, just as I will when bell-bottoms and 650a/700d wheels come around again.

rccardr 

I think they are a godsend for certain segments of the population; two in particular:
1) People with a disability. My wife is a good example- she has a chronic tendon and ligament condition that keeps her from riding more than 10-12 miles at a time, and that's a once a year thing, as it takes her months to recover. Although she has seen some mild improvement over the past year, no way she can take a ride with me or do a bike tour together. She's not alone- my best riding buddy's wife is in the same situation. But with an e-bike, my wife can contemplate a tour in France or Italy, or flattish rides in the US (think GAP trail, Erie Canal, etc.).

2) People who would otherwise not consider a week-long bike tour. Word from the larger tour operators is that since adding e-bikes to their fleets, business is significantly improved. Fried went on a week tour in Croatia recently, half of the tour group was on e-bikes and they all did the mileage every day, nobody went in the van. So, there's that.

I don't see them bringing more folks into the bikes-as-exercise fold, but do view them as an alternative to some of the things out there at present.

3speedslow

JBHoren

Well, that's the problem, innit?

I went through this 30 years ago, when gasoline-powered motor-scooters "took over" the sidewalks of Tel-Aviv (and everywhere else); ten years later, with motorized "Korquinet" scooters (first gasoline, then a decade later, electric); and now, e-bikes. When will it end?

I've seen e-bikes hit pedestrians *in a crosswalk*, I've seen 'em strike passersby on sidewalks, and I've been threatened/bullied by ebikes riding in bike lanes (and what passes for them) here in South Florida.

My take? If it's got a motor, insure it, register it, and license the rider.

The Golden Boy 

I think that's the key. People always need to get from point A to point B. Not everyone likes to exercise or expend energy getting from point A to point B. People who want to exercise will exercise don't have an aversion to expending energy/getting sweaty- people that don't want to expend energy avoid "work" like pedaling.

CliffordK

Many of the current gen of E-Bike users are young "techies" who would rather have an electronic motor bike.

But there are other places for an E-Bike too.

1. Heavy Cargo Bikes. Dragging 500+ lbs by bike is a real drag. Even a commercial cargo bike where speed is also important if it is going to compete with automobiles.
2. Long Commutes. Every once in a while someone will pop up on the commuting forum wishing to commute 15 to 25 miles each way. While possible on a good road bike, the miles really start dragging one down, especially a newbie.

PEDAL ASSIST!!!

rhm

Ayuh.

jon c. 

Haven't seen any around here yet and I doubt they'll impact me much in any way. The impact on the C & V world will be similar to the impact seen with carbon frames. Not a lot. Won't draw people to vintage bikes nor will it draw away those who like them. I believe parts will always be available and beyond that the economic well being of the bicycle industry doesn't concern me much.

sykerocker 

I've got something like 19 bicycles at home, including a couple of Raleigh 3/5-speeds for local commuting. I've also got three motorcycles. Anything in between seems like a waste of time in my case.

merziac

Waiting on technology.

I want a hidden or minimally intrusive 30mph system for limited C+V use. Crater Lake kicks my a** even with this.


That is not going to change much moving forward regardless. More power will help. I would ride more challenging rides and miles with help. I have never had anything for hills and it doesn't take much to slow me way down, which kills a lot of potentially great riding for me.

Eventually I will get a dedicated ebike for some of the riding, it will prolong and perpetuate my riding a great deal in the long run. No plan to fully embrace it and I will limit it as much as possible once it happens so that it is not any more necessary than it needs to be by doing it under my own power as much as I can.

Another big factor in this for me is Ms. better half will need one to ride the kind and amount of miles that she should be doing and that I have failed to facilitate successfully so far, hopefully it's not to late. She has several maladies that limit her riding.

All that being said, they should have no place where they can create any conflict be it MUP's, bike lanes, sidewalks or otherwise.

RiddleOfSteel

As long as people aren't being completely dangerous (and/or) morons on e-bikes, I'm ok with it. They are wonderful for a segment of the population that wants to get out and get moving (either alone or with other cyclists) and I fully support that. I get the non-sweaty thing, too; even the super long commute (especially if it involves considerable elevation gain) thinking as well. For me, I'm not buying one. I like my bikes light and purely human-powered, even if the bike is much faster than my tired or out-of-shape or semi-injured/sore condition. I'll throw gears at it or wait until I feel better. If I was going to do anything electronic, it'd be electronic shifting.

gomango

No e-bike for me.

Just bought a big ol' motorcycle instead.

I hate to see the e-bikes on our MUPs.

Danger personified.

TakingMyTime

Exactly

RobbieTunes

I have no reason to think about e-bikes, for myself.

If I'm riding next to one, generally wouldn't know or care.

Even on a MUP.

obrentharris 

Maybe it's because I'm in an affluent area but we sure seem to have quite a few high end e-bikes with more than necessary power and easily-defeated speed controllers. Vehicles with a supposed top speed of 20 doing 35mph on the MUP, pedals not moving.
Other than that I'm ambivalent. I have aging friends, avid mountain bikers of two or three decades, who now ride MTB e-bikes on the trails. At the age of 66 I don't see one in my future. When the hills get too steep for me I'll just walk.
Brent

microcord

I read this in disbelief. Just how many more ebikes do you want sold in a year before saying that it's the year of ebikes? The streets, or rather the sidewalks, are already crawling with them. Or anyway they are here, in Tokyo.

I'm an old fart, so old that I could without shame ride an ebike. I don't ride one and I don't want to. However, I'm strongly in favour of them. It's hilly here, and mothers -- and occasionally fathers, though Japan is still very sexist -- routinely transport their whelps on ebikes. If they didn't do so, they wouldn't do so on hundred-percent-human-power-bikes. No, more of them would do so by car. And not just those fascinating little cars whose ingenious design might reasonably be celebrated, but instead monstrosities such as the Toyota "Alphard" aka "Vellfire":

These gaudily chromed executive hearses are remarkably numerous in Tokyo. I'd rather be next to ten ebikes than be next to one "Alphard". And a bonus: I wouldn't be next to those ten ebikes, because most of their riders are too sensible/timid to ride together with cars. (No, there are no bike lanes. Not riding with cars means they ride with pedestrians.)

And no, if somebody riding an ebike overtakes me and I can't keep up, I don't feel that my manhood (etc) is threatened.