BigAura

The differentiation noted is No-Motor or Motor(ized). Very simple.

BTW: The concept of moving the motor-throttle which is a variable-motor-switch to the foot as an on-off-switch is a totally bogus bamboozle.

BikeLite

Agree with bogus bamboozle.

PedalingWalrus

Yeah, I don't want to sound pessimistic, especially since I've been using an e-bike for the past 5 years on occassion... Much less the past 2 years but nevertheless, I did put about 3000+ miles on my e-bike while commuting to work in the winter. I know how long it takes to recharge the batteries, I know how much the elevation profile affects the range and I also have some experience in using solar panels and know that the best way to get the juice is to be stationary and change the angle so that the panels are always optimal towards the sun. Those aspects mean you lose precious day hours that would be normally spent pedaling.

fietsbob

solar panels have to be really large to have enough power, so the plan will need a lot of days not moving , to charge the batteries.
off the mains it takes several hours..

but short travel days with lots of rest days for battery charging wont be stressful, quite a relaxed pace..

linus

Don't know why people hate e-bikes. It's something should be regulated so that people can use them safely. It will be a great feature for people to start cycling and use it as a viable option to replace cars. We have epidemic of people using cars for extremely short distance trips in North America and if European trend is right, it will transform a lot of people getting into cycling.

I do hate those electric scooters that just added pedals to make them e-bicycle. I don't want them to be on bike trails and IMO, defining them as a scooter to get them off the bike trails is important.

I guess time will tell.

Caretaker

I doubt 'European' trends can be exported to America, at least with regard to E-bikes. Europe is much more regulated and living tends to be centralised or to follow public transport links.

I keep hearing about Europeans touring on E-bikes but as a European who tours in Europe I've only ever seen two people doing this. I think many of these reports are from Americans who have been touring the Danube or Rhine where a lot of locals and tourists off river cruises use them for day trips. In Ireland where I live I have noticed an increase in pedalec usage but not by touring cyclists.

djb

Stephanie,
Don't know if you are still reading these comments, but I see that you did mention the model, and earlier I has brought up gearing, from my experience riding heavy touring bikes in mountains.
The trek you are interested in does in fact have excellent mountain bike gearing, a 15 tooth front gear, and a rear cassette 10 speed of 11-42, giving very very low gearing, remarkedly low gearing.
They state it weighs 50lbs naked, so if you carried only clothes, and your husband takes all his stuff plus the heavy stuff, you'd realistically still be on a 65lb bike--- for sections where you have to push walking.

I figure to be realistic, you guys need to look at the route and figure out perhaps doing a less technical section, as well as being realistic about charging possibilities and how it is to ride of the battery runs down.

There is lots of divide route detailed info out there, but electricity access won't be mentioned that much, other than distances from trail to towns, and I can't imagine one can sleep in hotels every night in towns, but research will show this.

Cheers

indyfabz

Personally, I am not buying this thread but...You can't. There are some stretches where, at a reasonable pace, you go for several days without any commercial establishments. Even water is scarce in the Great Basin segment. As such, doing short days while you take time to charge batteries via the sun brings up the issue of having enough food and water.

djb

I tend to agree, but I hope that the lady and her husband do responsible research, perhaps there are sections they can do and be closer to towns, I just don't know.

Lots of variables here, let alone getting into both of their riding abilities and any experience on gravel.....

jefnvk

Something to argue about? I do agree to an extent, if one wants to tour on them, and ask questions in the touring forum, it is simple enough to just ignore any thread that deals with it if one doesn't agree. I don't venture to the Ebike subforum ever, but I can't imagine that there is a great deal of information regarding touring there.

I saw enough in the Netherlands, and they are prevalent enough that the massive "Vrienden op de fiets" organization of low cost homestay locations for bicycle tourists specifically lists whether they have e-bike charging available on an accommodation's details.

jamawani 

I am from Wyoming.
I am grateful that non-motorized means non-motorized.

mtn_cyclist

There should definitely be no differentiation. If it has a motor for propulsion, it's a motorized vehicle.

jefnvk

Sure, but whats the effective difference to the environment, trail, and other users between granny on a 200W Ebike, and a MTBer who can put down 200W on their own?

If you want to tell me they shouldn't qualify for Strava records, I won't disagree, but from a practical standpoint I have a really hard time viewing a pedal assist, non throttled ebike that cut out over a moderate speed with the disdain some have. It just reeks too much of "us v them", and fighting to keep others off your little piece of the fifedom.

I've tried, I'd love to join the hater club, there is just nothing there for me to base it off.

jamawani 

A quick look at a satellite image of metro Detroit or metro Atlanta -
compared to the Red Desert of Wyoming - should be sufficient answer.

Darth_Firebolt

you're forgetting about the planetary gear built into the electric drive unit itself. every time the cranks go around once, the drive sprocket goes around 2.5 times.

djb

you know, that certainly makes more sense. I'm a gearing nerd, but couldnt quite get my head around a 15t chainring, and with a 42t cog, even with 29x3 tires, it gave out a stupid low gear inch number like 11 or something.

I actually havent a clue how the gearing works with those devices, but it makes sense purely from a practical side of things that there must be a multiplication thing going on here somewhere.

would be interesting to see what the actual gear inch range there is on that bike.

Stephanie, as a reference, one of my touring bikes has a 16.7 gear inch first gear, and Ive used it a lot.

jefnvk

I'm guessing this is directed at me, I'm not following the logic.

TallTourist

Ignoring the obvious objections to motorbike use on non motorized bike trails:

When I lived in Elkford there was a bridge out about halfway from Banff to Elkford, I couldn't cross it in my Jeep and sure as hell wouldn't try it on my feet. Met a couple of riders doing the route to Mexico in Elkford one night that said they forded the river with their bikes and gear doing several trips in the rushing deep waters basically holding their stuff over their heads like a military press...
So if you need assistance to ride what are you going to do when you have to ford? If you drop your bike in the water it might work on the other side but unless you thoroughly clean out every nook and cranny and connection with compressed air that crap's going to corrode and it'll probably stop working long before you're finished, do you really need more stuff to fix?

+1 to all the anti ebike stuff even though I like ebikes and motorcycles I think it's important to leave some things free of motorized vehicles in this world, there's not much left for people who enjoy silence that isn't a colossal pain in the arse to get to.

Hope you go though and enjoy it.

Leebo

Both are motorized, no difference.

Leebo

Hate is not the right word. How about right tool for the job. They make really good commuters, ya know, a place to plug in at the start and stop of the ride. Remote touring in the middle of nowhere? I 'm thinking not so much.

Leebo

OK. point taken. I'm coming from a mt biker background. Motorized vs not. Where is the line? 250, 500, 2,000 watts? How to tell by looking? You can't. 4-8,000 K full on electric dirt bikes are a thing. Slippery slope once started, IMHO.

linus

With that logic, we need to ban motorized wheelchairs on the sidewalk.

I never set it was right tool for touring. E-assist is great if you are a MT biker. No need for a gas vehicle to shuttle. Enjoy downhill all the way and pedal your way up to the top without shuttle.

PedalingWalrus

The rules have already been set at Pedelec type pedal assist bicycles with below 750 watts (or was it below 1000 ? I forgot) Anyway - the rules are set. I imagine this won't be an issue 90% of the time and in places where it becomes an issue it could be dealt with real quick by bringing a warden in and having them confiscate your illegal vehicle and a few other things with it.

350htrr

That is probably the biggest "problem"... Otherwise it is certainly doable, as I said in other threads like this, all it would take is to buy the right type of solar panel and some BIG $$$.

350htrr

Technically correct, but in real riding it is a totally different effect. E-Assist with a pressure sensor must be pedaled to go anywhere, E-Bike with a throttle or rotation sensor in crank, not a must to actually put any pressure onto the pedals.