I’m somewhat conflicted about e-bikes. My biggest issue is that they allow people who haven’t ridden a bike in years to suddenly be going 20-25mph without having earned the bike handling skills those of us who’ve worked/trained to get to those speeds have. I’ve nearly been in several accidents with e-bike riders obviously riding faster than their skills.

Is anyone doing ebike rider training?

It's probably what he/she got use to doing when young. A lot of toddlers on their first bicycles will follow their parents as they walk the neighborhood streets. So they assume it's normal.

Just last week, I did see a mother walking with a child riding a bike. She was walking on the wrong side so the child on the bike could be on the correct side.

I walk quite a bit with my wife. And we walk against the motor vehicle traffic as ordinances tell us when on roads, However, I don't have a issue walking with traffic. And I'd be happy to see the recommendation changed so that everything in a lane travels the same direction. Then maybe the teens and young adults that get loose on a bicycle without knowing the rules will be pre-conditioned to travel in the correct lane.

Bicycles traveling against traffic do account for a significant part of cycling accidents. Almost a third of all bicycle accidents that involve another vehicle are cyclists going the wrong direction.

Demographics have shown its younger riders mostly riding e-bikes. Not the older folks with physical limitations.

I see teenage kids and those in there 20-30s on them all the time. It's a sad sight to see young able bodied people remove the effort to pedal.

Isn't that a byproduct of raising them in car-dependent communities? If you're raised in a place where 99% of your traveling is via motorized vehicles, then you've been programmed to see motorized vehicles as the default setting.

My nephew came to visit, and when we left the house to grab lunch, he instinctively walked towards the car. We walked to lunch.

+1. I posted in another thread about this and mentioned in my city we recently had one our large communities council wanted to ban ebikes for kids under 12. My thought was good idea (probably 14 or 15 would be better) I thought it would breeze through the vote but no, it was a small group of parents who were against it. They did eventually pass the requirement but had to go through some further discussion for a couple days to do it. Sorry, but if you're sending your kid out on one of these at 12 or under in the type of community this is with heavy traffic, lots of chaotic busy intersections, etc., you're a fool. I'll also add that the following story to that one was about a 12yo kid riding an ebike and in a coma after getting hit by a car. Hard to tell who was at fault from the info but a rider using some better safety skills may have avoided it. Adults of course are guilty of this too sometimes, but I see it much more frequently with young kids and teenagers.

It astounds me that any caring parent wouldn't know better than to put a child behind a high speed vehicle and allow them to ride it on city streets. It's as if they've forgotten what it is like to be young and stupid.

There is an ongoing story about a boy (14, I think) riding an emoto (not an ebike ... these are motorcycles in every sense of the word) in his neighborhood of Lake Forest. Apparently, he was riding it recklessly, and neighbors were fed up about it. Some people took to recording his antics and posting them on social media. The Mom did what all good moms do (NOT), and went to the police to complain about it (there are laws in California about filming minors ... some of which run afoul of the Constitution, IMHO).

Anyway, the police informed her in no uncertain terms that the emoto itself was illegal on city streets and in any case, illegal for her son to be riding any kind of motorcycle, as he was too young to have a license.

Predictably, she ignored them.

Also predictably, he hit someone. A Vietnam vet who was substitute teaching and was crossing the street near the school. The police referred her to Child Protective Services, and the Orange County DA charged her with criminal child neglect. The victim survived several days before passing away.

The Orange County DA updated the charge to involuntary manslaughter (the most he could charge her with under the circumstances). They also publicly warned that parents letting their children ride emotos on city streets would be handled similarly in the future.

Just yesterday, another kid on an emoto was riding foolishly, and chased by the police in Newport Beach. They called off the chase when it got too dangerous (he was riding into oncoming traffic), but they recognized both him and his bike, got a warrant and arrested him a few days later. They then referred the case to the same Orange County DA, so I would expect those parents to be charged as well.

So yea ... some jurisdictions are finally taking the problem seriously. It's about time.

yes, we all need to walk and ride bikes more..........but don't

i was thinking about getting some electric, maybe something cheap for the front wheel, but repairs are my HANG UP

visited Trek and they had a good sale on e-bikes, but the battery isn't fixable, the mechanic says to buy the Trek battery groan. and they take your old battery out i think.

so how to get something cheap that just powers the front wheel for fun, like riding into the wind??? so i gave up and just ride instead; bicycling for me is about exercise mostly. i gave up on motorcycles, getting to old to fall off or crash; not smart anyway. but guys die everyday on those things for whatever reason.

No. Has nothing to do with cars and everything to do with being lazy and not wanting to put in the effort.

I know a couple out west. Very active lifestyles, skiing all winter, mountain biking around Lake Tahoe (riding around the whole lake too), yoga, hiking, all of it. They live a half mile away from the gym. They drive.

One gym I go to I live 5-miles from the other I live 1/4-mile from and I bike the one and walk to the other; however, I often wonder at what distance would I have to live from the 1/4-mile gym before I started riding my bike there

Maybe a week ago I saw a little kid on one. The LBS I use sells a kid-sized e-bike. The owner, who is from Finland, admitted to compromising his values to stay in business.

Kids these days. They spend all their free time inside staring at screens. Then, when they do go outside, they ride ebikes.

Seems like the only way they'll get the approval of older generations is if they walk uphill both ways to school. In the snow. And mowing lawns for $5.

E-bikes at least get more people outside. And a certain small amount of those might one day choose to ride a plain bicycle powered only by their own power. So it's a win win for the cycling industry. At least two bikes will be sold to that subset of persons.