You must not merely enjoy life---you must enjoy life As I Want You To.

Everything not compulsory is forbidden. Everything not forbidden is compulsory.

Really? I see different machines advertised differently. But, other than throttle and horsepower no difference. All are powered by both electric motors and human pedaling. In other words, an electric hybrid motorcycle in the same vein as hybrid cars. But, your comment is just quibbling with language and not substance.


(I do see that graphic at the end of the post. I take it to be a One Up On You kind of thing. Maybe not.)

E-Bike; with throttle, you only need to push/twist the throttle and you go, (tho you can still pedal normally).
E-Bike; with crank rotation sensor, you need to only rotate the crank and don't actually have to put much pressure onto pedals and you go, (tho you can pedal normally).
E-Assist; with pressure sensor in hub axel, you go nowhere, unless you pedal the bicycle normally... Just like riding a normal bicycle with a wind at your back.

10Lbs pressure onto the pedals gets you 3.5Lbs of pressure added onto your ten pounds of effort on level 1, if you only put

1Lbs pressure onto the pedals you will only get 0.35Lbs of assistance added to your one Lbs of effort... TOTALY different from a crank sensor where you would still get the 3.5Lbs when only putting in 1 Lbs of pedaling effort...IMO

I've seen my first ebikes on my way to work. The riders seem no different from the rest of the population, equally careful and courteous.

Waiting ....

Well, since it is obviously not compulsory, it is forbidden.

Time out. Play nice, please, or the thread hits the trash can.

I am the OP and must let you all know that I am going down the same road as my father and grandfather. Congestive heart failure sucks and it strongly affects my ability to go fast. Hence the electric assist. My dad started around age 60 with it, and by age 64 he was forced to retire. My grandpa the same. So there I go as well. Hopefully I can work past age 64 and ride at 17mph without struggle, but if not, an ebike may be perfect. Of course I could only ride my motorcycle, but I need some kind of exercise, so why not an ebike and go faster at the same time? Makes sense to me! Accept and embrace change that one has no control over is a sign of grace.


Oh, about the truck. Don't really need one except a few times each year and I just borrow my brother in laws truck, but I figured I that I drive less than 1000 miles per year and can get along with 20mph for a while so why not? I like trucks. What can I say?

and... There, is the reason why E-Bikes were/are allowed to be ridden as regular bicycles... To get more people to ride bicycles, that can/and do, border on being mopeds... But, one needs/should still need pedal... IMO Go for it. Do not stop riding...

Unfortunately, Here in N America things have gotten twisted around as to what should still be "considered" a "bicycle", why.? I suspect because it's a niche where people can make money. $$$, so, make sure you get an E-Assist, not an E-Bike, why.? because you still seem to want to ride a bicycle... JMO

I have a walker and three and a half years ago I could not even move about my home without it. Quite an experience. I will always have it folded in the corner of my living room right next to my recumbant eliptical to remind me of the alternative to not keeping my legs flexible. I have two road bikes for fair weather riding and see no need for e assist at all for my level of riding but I am all for someone spending their own cash as they see fit regardless of age or fitness level.... As long as they wave and don't yell at me out on the MUP :-)

I'm going to get an e-bike because I don't have time to train enough to make up for my loss of strength and endurance that is a result of __________, and ____________, and _________. No way am I going to slow down when I don't have to. If I had to go slower, then I would quit cycling altogether because it has always been about going fast.

Well you should have said this in the original post. By the way, have you been actually diagnosed with heart failure? Or are you just assuming that because your father and Grandfather had it, you will also have heart failure? There are numerous causes of heart failure, but I didn't know it was inherited. But I assumed you've discussed this with a cardiologist.

Yup - 7 pages of comments and counting. About e-bikes. Who would have thought?

But you may live long enough to come to love them.

For quite some time there has been hate and discontent directed at recumbents and trikes. The reason why still escapes me. Now all of a sudden the E-bike seems to be the target. IMO all too many seem to think that everyone must ride a race approved DF bike. A small leeway is given to mountain bikes.

OTOH I am one of a small number here that everyone should respect anything and everything that resembles any form of a bike trike or quad, e-assisted or not. If the owner is happy that is all that matters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Resistance is futile.

It seems that I've lived long enough that I cannot avoid them.

There you go...claiming that motorized vehicles are equivalent to human powered vehicles. That is the sales pitch that works on customers that have a dusty bike in the garage which they won't ride because of a ________, or a ___________, or whatever. The salesman tells them an electric bike IS a bike and riding it is good excercise. But with the battery power, they will actually ride it because it is EASIER. If motorized bicycles were restricted to motorways, there would be no hate. Bicycles would be hated too if we rode on busy sidewalks.

Funny i didn't read that.

Yes ... an ASSISTED bike is ASSISTED. is that the point you are struggling to make? Good ... did it for you.

A person can want an assist for any number of reasons ... none of which involve morality. A person is not better or worse depending on who many watts he or she outputs. Sorry, if you didn't know that.

So yes, if a person on a Assisted bike gets out and rides ... guess what? it increases the population of cyclists. It encourages city planners to build more bike facilities. It encourages more employers to build bike lockers and showers.

And if those riders on Assisted bikes are dicks ... then they always were. They were the ones squeezing you over when they drove by, or shouting at you, or throwing things ... or just hating you for being there.

One the other hand, if they were former cyclists who understand, or simply decent human beings ... then a small electric motor won't change them.

No one is saying an E-Bike is a Non-E-Bike.

People are saying they are two-wheeled transports which can operate in the same approximate speed ranges and in the same areas as unassisted bikes. People are saying that hating on E-Bikes is like hating on bents, or trikes, or tandems, or blacks or Muslims or whites or Christians or white men---it is irrational hatred which shows the sickness of the hater, not of the object of the hate.

If people who hated irrationally were all kept out of the general population, there would be no hate. And we could all ride together happily on whatever we chose to ride.

There you go again. Equating electric bikes with bicycles.

Three subjects here. 1. Human powered machines, which are bikes, trikes etc.. 2. Motor cycles, which is anything two wheel, or even three wheel, with a motor on it. 3. Social engineering.

I thought this forum was for number one - bikes, trikes etc. I would think motor cycles have their own forum. and for social engineering, I am sure there are forums for that.

Personally, I am tired of wading through silly social engineering ramblings just to try to read about bikes.

There is an oft repeated argument that having a bike with a motor is no different than having a bike with gears as both just make riding easier. Which to me comes pretty close.

Yes, unfortunately I have a cardo specialist and he is of the opinion that the heart just ain't up to the job. Says part is getting older, the other is the inability of the enlarged left ventricle and an inability to flex efficienly, just like pops and grandpops. No big deal to me as I have seen it before and know what is coming. The odd thing is how closely the timelines matchup to my predecessors.

Machka was just being coaching, not rough on anybody, in my opinion.
I have a friend who got an e-bike after having some heart problems, it helped him. I have another friend who got an ebike to get him get into bike commuting, and he rides it on residential streets, not so much on MUPs. It helped him. My dad rode until he had balance issues, so if I follow in his tracks an ebike won't be in my future, since it won't help with balance.

Really? Name one area where they are banned... and... I mean legal E-Bikes.