Motivated by the sudden notable increase in the number of electric bike commuting around here, I'm curious to know how much of a trend this is, and if people are willing to stick to their conventionals.

If I did I certainly wouldn't admit it around here!

Just kidding, I'd fess up and wouldn't feel a bit bad about it, no matter what others thought of it.

Nah. I want some exercise; maybe as I get older.

no e-bike for me.

but on mornings like this one when i'm battling a cruel headwind on a chilly snowy winter day, sometimes my mind does ponder......



does anyone have experience/info on how well e-bikes stand up to the grinding abuse of daily winter riding in nasty, salty, slushy conditions?

are the electical systems (battery, wires, motor, etc) robust enough to withstand daily salt exposure?

The problem with asking this type of question on this type of forum is that a) most of the riders are older, i.e., stuck in their ways, b) are heavily invested both financially and emotionally, and c) typically own a sizable stable of conventional bikes. They are loathe to change their ways and any significant change is going to feel like being thrown into an icy cold lake against their will.

As far as the industry in general, I'd say e-bikes will constitute half of all bike sales in, say 5-6 years, and perhaps 70-75% in 10 years. Grant Petersen thinks the timeline is half that.

The industry is in the midst of a cataclysmic change. It's amazing to me that 90% of this forum seems oblivious or in denial of this.

I've seen this already in Germany, where people aren't afraid of a high sunk cost. Tons of 50+ people are on pedelec (ebikes) already.

We have Jump bikes in Sacramento, which are electric-assist bikeshare bikes. I think they're awesome and I use them all the time for errands. One time I rode my own bike from my house to the office, went upstairs to check my email, then came back down and grabbed a Jump bike to go to a dentist appointment 15 blocks away. There have been other times when my wife has dropped me off at work and I grabbed a Jump bike to ride home.

But 99% I ride my own human-powered bike.

I don't commute by E-Bike, but I am seriously considering building up an electric heavy hauler tow bike/cargo trike.

An E-Bike might be nice for my longer commutes. 200 miles? But, I certainly don't want to lug dead batteries around with me, and also see those long rides as a bit of a personal challenge.

E-Bikes… What IS, an E-Bike, and still remains a bicycle, for all intensive purposes, ... That is the Q...
In the EU an E-Bike is a bicycle that you HAVE to pedal,...
In the EU it's an E-Bike that has a MAX of 350 Watts of "assist" and no throttle is still considered a bicycle …

Here in the N. American continent, its anywhere from a 250, 350, 500 and even 750 WATTS OF" ASSIST"... WITH A THROTTLE, or WITHOUT A THROTTLE, WHO CARES, It's an "assist"... a TOTAL fail in my book, OH, did I say/mention there are 2,000, 3,000, 4,000, +watts "E-Bikes" out there for "off road" USE WITH A THROTTLE and no need to pedal...…??? Anything with a throttle, and, you do not NEED to pedal, IS a moped in my book... JMO

In German, it's a "pedelec" or pedal-electric

I'm (so far) the only person who voted Yes, always. To be fair, it's just been a week since I started, but I don't see myself stopping or going back to a regular bike anytime soon. I bought a "hot-rodded" Bafang BBS02 mid-drive for my bike which can generate around 1200W. It's amazing and it's honestly the only reason I can commute by bike. Why?

I used to commute 3ish times per week, 10.5 miles each way. But I live near Seattle and there is no way I can avoid hills. My commute used to take me, at best, 1 hour of pedal time, plus another 10 minutes or so stopped at traffic lights. It also left me exhausted every time since I had steep hills on both sides. I probably stuck with it for 1.5 years or so until life got in the way, I tried restarting a number of times, but each time I'd have to start very slowly and build things back up - until something else happened in life to interfere.

Now, I have a toddler and an infant at home, and I don't have time to take take over an hour each way and be exhausted when I get there. The e-bike is the fastest and most reliable way I can commute right now - almost as fast as a car (if not faster on some days) and without the poor reliability of bus transfers. It takes me 40-45 minutes door-to-door and I still get a good 35 minutes of exercise each way. I keep the assist level as low as possible, and only use the throttle (while still pedaling) to beat traffic lights or climb hills.

So if you think e-bikes are cheating, then so is a short commute or a flat commute. Because that's effectively what the e-bike gives me.

Nice job man. That's the way to do it.

Seems like a wide gap between "No, but considering" and "No, never!". I checked "No, never!" because I don't have an e-Bike and am not considering commuting with one. I expect and hope to retire (15 years?) healthy enough to commute on a non-e-bike like I do now.

But I've got nothing against e-Bikes (so the "never!" seems a bit excessive), and I do hope that I get old enough that regular cycling becomes too difficult, in which case I would look into an e-Bike or maybe even an e-Trike.

+1

i too voted "no, never", but that's far too absolute for my beliefs on the matter.

a more accurate poll category for me would be "no, i don't ride an e-bike, but i've got nothing against them, and maybe someday i'll get one, who knows?"

Maybe OP meant for our attitude to be included in "considering"

As soon as the Brompton electric is available in the US I'm getting one!

I feel the same way. I wish there was a choice between the two. I am not considering an e-bike and I do not see myself considering one in the near or distant future. With that being said, my "No, never!" choice is a little too absolute and negative for me. Honestly, I hope that I am never required to ride an e-bike due to a physical condition.

What's the difference between riding an e-bike and riding a road bike? Both alternatives allow one to ride faster with the same effort as on an upright bike but the ebike would seem more convenient.

Question and answers seem fine to me.

"DO you commute with an electric bike" it is a question regarding the present. Answering "No, never" is accurate for anyone who has never commuted on an e-bike... even if they may at some point in the future.

^ i think it was the inclusion of the exclamation point in the "no, never!" answer that had many of us seeing that option as being a bit anti e-bike.

i never commute on an e-bike because i don't have one, but i got no issues with those that do.

Same here. Except for the 200 mile commute thing.

Agreed. And we all know there is some strong Anti E-bike sentiment around here! Which seems awfully silly to me.

But hey, it makes for some good popcorn eating threads!