chas58

All of these comments “I ride for exercise, and use a car for transportation” probably hit the nail on the head for the average American. And, the answers here will be distorted from the average person as we tend to be in shape cyclists (and some of us here are obviously purists).

IN reality, people who get e-bikes use it for much more utilitarian things than the standard American stereotype. They are a lot of fun, and can do a lot of things that you might have used a car for in the past.

My ebike ended up replacing one of my cars.
I would say my battery is pretty worn after 2 years light use (much like a cell phone battery). I’ll get a higher quality one next spring.
My ebike cost $500 + cost of donor bike. Weight: 30lbs. Speed: 25mph.
That said it’s just a few minutes faster than my road bike on a 10 mile commute
(a 70lb e-bike isn’t really a bicycle to me. Just too much Weight IMHO)

And yeah, and ebike is not simple, compared to my Fixed gear. Then again, I think disk brakes, full suspension, and electronic shifting add unnecessary complexity, but they help the industry sell new bikes…
I ride a fixie because it is more work and it is fun. I ride an e-bike because it is less work and it is fun. Kinda depends on my mood. J

Silent electric power is totally unlike a 2-stroke scooter. It is something you have to experience. And, it is a lot of fun.

AlmostTrick

What about an e-TT bike?

InTheRain

I fall into both categories. I love my road bike... but not so much for commuting. I love my e-bike... but not so much for fitness and club rides. IF I had only one option, I'd have the road bike. However, since there are more options, I prefer to use the bike that is best for each situation. My commuter was a touring bike (it still is) prior to conversion to an e-bike. I still used the touring bike as my commuter... it's better than a road bike for my commute (fenders, long chain stays to prevent heel strike, longer wheel base for stability, lights... and more lights, dynamo hub.) The road bike is the "go fast", long distance, club ride bike... it's perfect for that scenario.

InTheRain

If I had a purpose for a TT bike, I'd make an effort to get one. I want a four wheel drive pick up, too... but it's not in the budget.

chas58

Derny/paceline type training is basically what I do with my ebike

• I can ride 20mph comfortably on my own
• I typically ride in a pace line at 25+ mph
• I do derny training at ~30mph.

so, riding a light e-bike at 25+ mph for me is the same high cadence, higher speed workout as doing a training ride with similar bikers (or following a derny, but without the exhaust problems). I just don't have to worry about getting a dozen bikers do do a pace line with me on the way to work.

It's all good...

:-)

hyhuu

Well congratulation! That makes you not "most" people.

InTheRain

I would dare say that the people posting in these forums are not "most" people. Just check it out - "most people" in these forums have more than one bike and desire one more than they already have.

Phil_gretz

Interesting thread topic and discussion. I'm a full time bike commuter, but I also own a car. My commute is a hilly 35 minutes. I'm pretty fit and enjoy riding at whatever pace suits me on any particular day. Usually I just pootle along.

After thinking about it, I come down on the "no" side of the balance sheet. There's no attraction for me to change. I really enjoy riding a bike and always have. Bikes don't come inside my facility, so plugging in at work would be impractical. Having one more doo-dad to keep charged seems like a major downside to me as well.

One poster mentioned updated firmware, which made me chuckle. As the bike's motor and computer, my firmware is constantly getting updated...

chas58

Benefit of an ebike for commuting relies on several things:
- How in shape the biker is
- The distance of the commute

If you have a 10-15 mile commute and you want to get there quickly, which is better. A $2000 ebike, or a $2000 road bike? The answer is going to depend on the type of person you ask.

Obviously the guy training for a time trial or crit is going to be less interested in an ebike, but the guy who rides 12mph is going to be quite happy biking to work at 20mph. But if an ebike gets a casual bike rider out riding more for their commute – that is a win for everyone.

InTheRain

I've never seen a rear rack, fenders, dynamo hub, and panniers on a time trial bike. I wouldn't do that to my time trial bike or even my road bike. I enjoy commuting on my road bike... but only in ideal conditions with a very light load. That scenario does not happen often... when it does, I take advantage and commute on my road bike. A morning like today... I'm glad I had the e-bike (it was dumping rain, dark, leaves all over the trail) with it's fenders, rack, panniers, and lights.

Ridefreemc

So it pisses you off? If someone passed you on a road bike at the same speed would that piss you off? My guess is that your answer would be no. So, why is that? Why the difference?

loky1179

Same reason it would piss me off if someone riding a Kawasaki 250 passed me. Keep the motorized vehicles off the bike trails. Seems pretty simple.

Ridefreemc

Me too on the Kawi. They stink, are loud, and can run at over 100 miles per hour.

My guess is that you may have to really study many times to determine if someone is on an e-bike (pedal assist or whatever), and you may be good at detecting them, and most people wouldn't even know the difference (unless the guy is breaking the law with a hopped up system). However, I cannot see the reasoning behind your comments. Are they dangerous? Is it unfair that they are not exercising or working out, suffering? Really, I'd like to know what your problem is, and some of the others on this forum that have a burr under their saddle on this issue.

heywood

Loved my old Vespa! Want another one sometime..

My e-bike is with me now charging at work.. I forgot to charge it yesterday and ran out of power halfway in to work, but since it's a peddle assist no big deal just biked in as normal..i think most people in north america think of an e-bike as one of the scooter things with peddles attached to bypass the scooter laws.. i have two bikes for transportation (no car)..brodie 9spd internal hub and my e-bike..my e-bike is my car but a hell of allot cheaper. A 20 mile commute at the end of a 12hr night shift up a few big hills is not going happen on a regular basis without some power assist of my e-bike..days i don't mind using my non e-bike but night shifts can be killers, and for me the e-bike is a perfect solution.. I find these people that simply refuse to have anything to do with them, based on some 'wacky' sense of moral purist outrage, just silly.

heywood

I find the reverse is true.. I got an ebike (pedal assist) because i found myself riding to work less and less, particularly on night shifts..the ebike got me back to full time bike commuting again..i used the assist more often at first but found myself using it less and less.. i now really only use it for hills or if I want a bit of fun..my next ebike will probably be lower powered since i'd prefer a less heavy bike. It's really nice going to my less weighty non ebike for weekend trail rides.

InTheRain

Just for the people that believe they are "purists" because they don't like e-bikes, I commuted home today, 7 miles without the motor. It's a gradual uphill. My bike weighs 52 lbs. My panniers weigh just a bit over 18 lbs. That's 70+ lbs of bicycle. It was work. I averaged 11.5 mph. 36:30 time. I still passed a few commuters on the MUP, and I was also passed a few times. Nobody cried.

On the e-bike that same trip with assist is an average of 17.8 mph, 23:30.
On the carbon fiber bike it's 15 mph, 28 minutes.

I went to the gym for 2 hours this evening to get my exercise.

trailmix

Most MUP trails that I have seen are clearly marked with signs that say no motorized vehicles. Pretty simple really unless you are one of those people who think that the rules don't apply to you.

Ridefreemc

hetwood - you might just be approved for the legitimate use of your e-bike. Anything you can add to your justification, like saving puppies while carrying 60 pounds of groceries to people who cannot get to the store? Again, I find many to be judgmental about others, whether they are on a pure road bike, beater, or e-assist. I ride our MUP every single day, twice a day and have not had one person say anything negative to me. However here it is different.

heywood

Any MUP trails that i ride on that say no motorized vehicles i simply don't have my motor on..it's 'off'.. now my e-bike is simply a bicycle.. I also limit my speed as a bicycle to 20kph as most MUP's here state on the signs.. the scary cyclists on these trails i find are the groups of lycra clad ones that think they're in the 'Tour de France' and whipping along at speeds way faster that my bike could go with the motor engaged..

Ridefreemc

I guess you ought to read up on what your state considers a motorized vehicle. In Florida my Big Dummy with a Bionx kit on it is considered a bicycle.

These arguments remind me of when I was in code enforcement. The city I worked in seemed just fine, with the normal complaint here and there (overgrown grass for example), but soon after a newspaper article would cite some obscure law we'd get all kinds of complaints that involved the subject in the article. Also it reminds me of my parents condo where if you parked close to the stripe separating the spaces you'd get a nasty note on your car window telling you to parking in the middle of the space.

I guess you'd rather someone like me drive a 4,000 pound vehicle every day, spewing fumes and wasting resources. As I said earlier, that is the option that most people choose. Then again, now you can complain about all the darned cagers out there on the road.

I still haven't seen any real reasons why you guys are heck bent against electric assist.

I think we complain too much in this country.

Nikkkooo

Agree 100%, especially in cities. I'd rather see more e-bikes and less SUVs.

highrpm

If an e-bike gets more folks to ride in to work instead of taking a car, then I'm all for it.

You do, however, lose your biker cred if you ride one of these.

Nikkkooo

Why the unnecessary elitism ?

highrpm

Nikkkooo, no elitisim from me at least.

I hardly see any bike commuters in my area anyway, but I can tell you from my co-worker's reactions over the years that riding a bike to work does give you a lot more cred than riding an e-bike or motorcycle ever would.

Motorcycles only ever got a raised eyebrow if I rode in on a 29 degree morning or in heavy rain. Otherwise the folks couldn't care less. I can imagine that an e-bike would get a similar reaction.

However, most non-bike folks are impressed that someone would actually pedal their own bike for 10 miles to work and back.

bigbenaugust 

I work in IT, and I really appreciate this reply.

That and I'd get fat real quick with an E-bike, and that was half the reason I took up cycling in the first place 15 years ago.