I'm gonna go over to the car free forum and see what they think about it.
E bikes sound right for around town errands and such. Hauling a few bushels of fruit to the farmer's market. Sounds like not reasonable for touring.
I turned 63, I feel vulnerable, the big red S on my chest has gone. When I hit 80 I just might consider an E bike.

I read all his post and he was going on a tour with his E-Bike/trike powered by solar panels... Seems like he is in the right forum and the right thread to me... :p Just because he is trying to do it differently than most people it doesn't mean it's a fail, even tho some people/maybe even most people here certainly seem think that... :rolleyes:

Yes, there is. What I find telling is when people choose to say that.

Once BigA decided to move off of touring and amd begin generals e-bike rants this thread should have gone there. You may notice that all of my posts have made, at least some, reference, to touring. The primary focus being that e-bikes may not work well in the American touring environment due to limited access to recharge points.

Several pages ago nearly all of the e-bike riders noted that this should have been in a different sub-forum pages ago. Yet the rage fueled de-riders continued with their insults about the, "worthiness," of fellow cyclists.

As stated, my primary touring experience is in China. There the e-bikes, primarily, use the old style lead batteries. As such touring range is a non-starter. I expect to be touring in europe next summer. While my daughter is there frequently, it will be my first exposure to the European touring environment.

However, I will be with her and I know her touring style is to ride about 20-30miles to a different town, then to tour the town extensively. In this environment an e-bike might work well for touring (however, I do not expect to take one because I am still concerned about the potential logistic difficulties). After that trip I expect that I will have a better understanding of the touring environment that seems to be the primary market for touring e-bikes.

I feel that, ultimately, it is about the experience, not the tool. can one get a bicycle touring experience on an e-bike? Having ridden e-bikes, I feel the answer is yes. However, you are correct, generalized discussion of e-bikes, that does not reference touring, does belong in a different sub-forum.

That definitely wasn't touring. While I do tend to over pack, I don't go that far. My office is being moved to a different building this summer and I had to take my stuff out of the old one. At work I was making the point that it could be done without a car.

The reason for posing the e-bike pictures here was as a counter to the pictures of electric mopeds that were being posted. Note, an e-bike is defined in the law. If it is too powerful to be classed as an e-bike/bicycle, then it falls under moped law. Some readers may be unaware of the intricacies of the laws that apply to e-bikes. However, with this I am moving far from touring and this really needs to be continued in the appropriate sub-forum. . . if at all.

:roflmao: Leg-assist crowd... :lol: There is only me who actually did tours with an E-Assist bike, and one other who is planning a trip. Three is a crowd I believe... Everyone else here so far has basically said they wouldn't tour on an E-Assist bike. Them's my take on this thread so far. ;) Beaten down? Who is really being beaten down here I am, wondering? :rolleyes: Now some/maybe even most people also seemed to be saying, that doing it anyway you can, is better than not doing anything so... :thumb:,

EDIT; Having done 3 short tours without an E-assist, and 3 short tours with an E-Assist bike, I certainly know the satisfaction of doing it ALL BY YOURSELF!!! :thumb: But, You know what, all you people who think it's a fail... Sometimes life turns, and one has to do what one has to do... ;)

Umm, no. Not a bike. Most US states have a pedal assist only, not throttle. As well as a watt max, say 250 or 750. The pedal assist bikes only work when you pedal them. The sky is not falling either.

Funny, because those of with no qualms about people using what they want to tour on are not the ones insulting others for their choice, bashing them for the words they use to describe their activity, finding every last picture of ridiculous crap that none of us are talking about to (in their mind) bolster their case, and somehow having a Luddite attitude that someone else using an ebike means their solely human powered bikes are somehow going to become unusable to those who wish to use them :rolleyes:

There is also a C&V forum. Should I only ask my touring questions there, because my bike isn't a 920 or a LHT or something else new?

It's the same reason that people on motorcycles don't ask about touring advise here.

Let them, when motorcycles have two pedals that have to be pedaled to propel the thing forward and are still subject to the same issues that face any other person on a bike.

The 350watt motorized-bikes are motorcycles as far as I'm concerned. Not to mention the 750watt legal limit:

The pedals are a subterfuge:

Recreational cyclist regular power output in watts: 170-220 watts.*

Tour de France racer regular power output in watts: 405-450

*source Bicycling.com

Too bad the law isn't concerned with what you are concerned with.

My only concerns about e-bike touring is running out of battery and then having to carrying 10-15 lbs of worthless wt. around until I can get charged up.
And also where, when, how often can I get charged up. And how long it takes.
Just might be not worth the trouble.
Just saying.
Right now I don't need it and don't have the budget for it. And I have no need to judge someone should they do so.

Because lazy-butt-motor-heads climbed on the backs of the disabled and hood-winked the politicians into making an absurd law.

I think it's more - try it, you might like it. I love riding our e-assist conversation, though I'll usually get back with a nearly full battery. Jetting across an intersection, topping a long grade, accelerating through a curve, cheating a headwind...it's simply a fun time.

And ours weighs 30+ lbs unloaded and sits you upright, I am hardly avoiding a work-out while on that bike...I suspect many e-bike riders get a better work-out than if they were non-e lightweight bikes. For touring I wouldn't hesitate... if I could figure out how to charge it in the wild.

I probably made the mistake of replying in this thread since its in the Touring forum, and well, I don't tour. I just ride recreationally. But, since many of the comments have strayed from touring and are just general negative statements about e-bikes, I will share with you my experience. Last year at 39 and overweight, I decided to ride my old (non e-bike) MTB for the first time in 15 years. I live in a very hilly area, and I also have a set of bad knees which limit the amount of pressure I can exert, especially after riding for a while. At this time, I didn't know anything about e-bikes. I honestly didn't even know they existed, although if the thought had crossed my mind, I would have assumed they did exist. The point being, I didn't start my adventure by first looking into e-bikes. I was simply looking for a fun recreational activity and to get back on a bike for the first time in a long time. So, I road that old MTB on the rolling hills of Chester County, PA. Well, at least I road it in the valleys in between, because getting up those hills was impossible for me. So, after I'd get about 1/8th up the hill, I'd have to hop off the bike and walk it the rest of the way. Sure, still getting exercise, but not exactly my idea of fun. But, I did this several more times and just by happenstance (in searching for something bike related) I came across an article about e-bikes. I was intrigued. I didn't want to negate getting exercise, but part of the reason I wanted to ride a bike in the first place was for a fun recreational activity combined with a sense of exploration. Anyway, fast forward to now and I have a stable full of cycling options, including a couple e-bikes, my original good old MTB, and also a recumbent trike (leg powered, not e-assist) that I just added a couple months ago, and of course I ride all of them. When I want to ride hilly areas like around my neighborhood or Valley Forge National Park, I typically use an e-bike because I can still get some exercise but I can also get up all the hills without resorting to walking the bike, and I can avoid putting too much stress on my knees. But even with pedal assist, on some of these hills I'm still getting a workout, with my heart rate easily getting into the 170s, sometimes 180s. The e-bike allows me to go further than I could otherwise, which fulfills that sense of exploration. When I feel like heading out to a rail trail, yes, I've used e-bikes (often turning off e-assist altogether), but I also use my old MTB and the trike. So you see, it might be hard to stereotype me when I'm out there taking advantage of the various cycling technology the world has to offer, and I'm doing it as a means of enjoyment, with the side benefit of getting some fresh air and some exercise. And there is nothing wrong with that.

Yeah, that huge ebike lobby sure pulled a fast one over on us. Better watch out, next thing you know they'll talk Congress into FORCING you to use a motor :rolleyes:

Not a thing in the world RavingRoo.

I've nothing against people having motorized fun! Stay on the motorized infrastructure that encompasses the world. There is VERY limited infrastructure that was intended for human-power vehicles stay off it with your motorized vehicles.

http://cdn.compliancesigns.com/media...-16984_150.gif

Once again, the CPSC with the weight of US federal law does not agree with your definition.

http://www.cpsc.gov/PageFiles/93295/low.pdf

Darn Right there! RavinRoo should have known his place and stayed in a car!:foo:

Yes, very nice....
This is a touring site. You make it sound like you are a victim of having to read this site. Everyone is a victim of some sort of discrimination. I get it.
What does your little blurb have to do with anything on a TOURING site?

I'm sure it's 'fun', but you like some others here are missing the point I was trying to make in the OP. It's not about me or people my age, it's about young healthy people taking on physical and mental challenges by motorising. I find it sad and worry that it may become the norm.

Others may take a different view but that's their privilege.

Read the thread.

The person you are quoting never used the word "discrimination." You are the only person who used it, in a clear attempt to discredit the person you quoted. Further, the person you quoted mentioned riding "Valley Forge National Park." To the person you are quoting that may have been touring; or are you, and e-bike de-riders, to become some type of judges, determining what is, and isn't, cycle touring.

The e-bike de-riders derailed this thread several pages ago. Yes, it should have stayed on the topic of touring on e-bikes. However, the de-riders could not do it. They had to threadjack. It is interesting that the de-riders are quick to post off-topic, and just as quick to accuse others of doing the same.

IMHO This thread really should have been closed, or moved, several pages ago. However, the Mods clearly decided not to, that is their decision. However, for the de-riders to post generalized anti e-bike rants and then cry "off topic!" when people reply is a bit disingenuous.