gregf83 

I think the latter part of your statement is the root of confusion with many in this thread. Most people using an ebike don't consider riding to be a sport. It's just a means of transportation. All those dutch cyclists clogging the streets in Copenhagen aren't riding for sport, they're just going to work or getting groceries.

In America most people riding bikes (and going on bike forums) are riding for sport. This group is not the target market for ebikes. ebikes are being marketed to the other 99% of the population who don't ride bikes for sport. It would be a great thing if 10% of commuters would transition from cars to e-bikes but I'm not holding my breath.

FlashBazbo

C'mon, folks. Some of these posts are insane. Put down the crayons, stop accusing each other of psychological disorders (ever heard of "projection"?), and calm down!

Some of us like riding bicycles.

Some of us like riding e-bikes.

No, they're not the same thing. And they're not ideally suited for identical purposes. But we can live in peace on the same planet.

fly135

I agree with the other poster's statement about it being a different sport. I ride for a combination of exercise and enjoyment of the outdoors. It still can fit the definition of sport. I can improve my skills riding trails, increase endurance and speed, and improve bike handling riding an eBike. But in most or all cases not directly competitive with non-powered bikes. It's pretty simple to find some youtube videos of guys doing things on eBikes that clearly are a sport in nature. Granted most of mountain eBikes, but that's what I ride most of the time.

FlashBazbo

My memory may be rusty . . . but I bet the e-bike has more power.

seypat

It appears it is time for me to get the V8 Interceptor running again. It won't be long before the E-bike crazies are out running roughshod over what's left of the cycling world. Time to make a stand.

seypat

If you are looking for a CT70, I know of one sitting in a shed. It looks to be in good condition. I might have to buy it myself just to keep up with the E-bikers. Although, I saw one of these the other day in a dealership. It was tasty looking!

https://powersports.honda.com/street...nkey?year=2019

Notso_fastLane

So don't get one?


But don't hate on those who do.

Wow, could it really be that easy?

Cypress

Ebikes are the future of ebikes. Cycling is different than what you've got going on.

As cycling progresses, we'll see lighter more efficient bikes...lower friction coefficients...better tires...better aero. All for the most marginal of gains that proper training would make up for in spades. And that's what cycling is to a lot of people...Improving and tuning the motor (person) to gain those extra few seconds or minutes knowing the effort was worth it.

As ebikes progress, we'll see the DMV lines get even worse and emergency rooms advancing their treatments of full-body road rash.

As to your 35mph fatbike in a group ride, I'd happily motorpace you until the battery on your 72-pound moped dies. I mean, I'd have the delete the ride from Strava afterwards due to all of the KOM's I'd get while drafting a motor vehicle...

Notso_fastLane

And the rider who holds 170 bpm, while riding his e-assist mtn bike up to the top, over the peak, around the summit, and back in the same 45 minutes is somehow less worthy because.....reasons?

I think you're the one who doesn't get it.

I know two riders around here (one used to be competitive, and the other still is) who are what you would categorize as at, or near the top, of just about any 'A' group of riders. They mostly ride road bikes (and the competitive guy regularly races and wins or places), but they have both told me about how much fun they have going out on the e-mtn bikes. They ride just as hard, for just as long. The difference is they've gone 50 miles at the end of the day instead of 30. So I guess that means they aren't 'real' cyclists?

Zaskar

Absolutely they're "real" cyclists... who sometimes ride mopeds. ;-)

Cypress

The trend I keep seeing in this thread is "why go that distance, when you could go even further/faster?" like you are proud of going further/faster than a human-powered bike. Why would you be proud of going further/faster if it wasn't under your own power? Would you brag to your friends that you went that distance on your "bike" even though it wasn't all you? A lot of us don't want an asterisk next to our accomplishments.

DukeO

KOM's feed the ego and not the soul and they can really mess some people up.

(As cycling progresses, we'll see lighter more efficient bikes...lower friction coefficients...better tires...better aero.) What your going to see is fewer and fewer analog bikes. There will be a new forms of racing ebikes that will emerge. Just like in mountain bikes. You will also see more and more everyday people riding ebikes with smiles on the faces.

Zaskar

So you think bikes are evolving into ebikes? You know we did this already... right? First, we had bicycles. Then someone put a motor (engine) on one and had a bicycle with an engine (surely called a "c-bike").



Bikes and ebikes will both evolve. The ebike will increasingly replace bikes for commuters and those with diminishing (age/health) abilities and those whom just don't want to suffer. But, motorized bikes won't replace the bicycle for cyclists.

DukeO

Your right. They will just die off.

Cypress

And as your mopeds advance, you'll be confined to race tracks, body armor, and full-face helmets due to the speeds you'll be hitting. It'll open the bike lanes up for the rest of us.

Speaking of the bike lanes; what happens when one of your hyped-up mopeds hits and kills a cyclist or pedestrian because you were doing 50 mph in the bike lane?

DukeO

An ebike rider has to follow all the speed limits like any other bike rider. Not sure why so many people can not understand that. Just because my ebike can do 35mph does not mean I have to ride it that fast. Most of the time if I am out by myself on streets I am going 20to25mph. When I ride on MUP's I ride the speed limit and most of the bikes that pass me are analog bikes.

seypat

50mph is already here? Jeeez! That Peloton is looking better every day.

mjd420nova

Lordy what a long thread. Read them all and didn't find any mention of the conversion kits to mount on a standard bike. The wife has had both knees replaced and had difficulty getting a pedal bike started due to no getting both feet on the pedals before her momentum starting runs out and she has to stop and start over. A converted bike with front wheel drive would allow her to just hit the gas to get going and then get both feet on the pedals. Would like to see some reviews of the different conversions to help guide my purchase.

Cypress

I tried a front-hub-drive bike once. Asking the front wheel to accelerated the bike AND handle cornering made for some sketchy, albeit hilarious, riding characteristics. Granted, this was on a relaxed-geometry bike, so there was very little weight over the front wheel. It would peel out from a stop on wet asphalt and adding throttle during a corner made the bike way unbalanced in all the wrong ways. If you've ever ridden a motorcycle and braked during a corner, you know that it'll stand the bike up. Now, do the opposite with a front-drive bike... Adding throttle lays the bike over more, but the turn radius increases and countersteering against the force makes things get all kinds of wonky. I was laughing the whole time I rode it, but only because I knew I was riding a deathtrap and couldn't believe the owner hadn't tasted curb yet.

jlaw

Can I get it with a leather Brooks and some down tube shifters?

MoAlpha

Sure, but you're going to have a hell of a time getting a fender on that front wheel.

fly135

I agree with not getting a front wheel drive. Go with a rear hub drive.

Lemond1985

I've seen much cleaner drive trains ... here. You would think such a radical design would warrant a straight block cassette, but apparently not.

big john

I didn't mean it in the ego sense. I meant that the difference between a bicycle and a motor assisted bike becomes greater depending on the technology and money put into it. You're comparing a human powered vehicle to a vehicle which has a motor. How far can we take it? They are just different things to me.

I have no doubt a nice e-bike is damned fun. I've had off-road motorcycles and they are fun. Some of the high powered e-bikes have more in common with those motorcycles than they do with bicycles. I posted earlier how I was dropped on a climb by a guy on a Trek e-mtb. There was no chance I could climb with him, none. But if I had my YZ490 I would have roosted him into the weeds.

Seattle Forrest

This is like a runner asking why a cyclist would be proud of doing a long, hard ride, "when you're sitting down the whole time."

It's ok for people to feel good about things they've done, even if someone else doesn't approve, and wants to pee in their cheerios.