Are e-Bikes real bikes? Are they good or bad? Opinions?

[MomOnBike]

The question is, what will the (any) bike be used for? For instance, a light weight racing bike that would be perfect for, say RAAM, would be less than useful for, say, a loaded tour across the country. Different problems, different solutions.

To address the electric bike issue specifically, electrics have a high "hopability factor." You can just hop on and go. The batteries are heavy, yes, and the bikes themselves tend heavy. This slows a person down, but is less a factor on flat roads. Once you are up to speed, no matter what the bike, maintaining speed is not a big deal. Hills, on the other hand. . ., but that's what the motor is for. With exceptions, the people riding electrics aren't vitally interested in land speed records, anyway.

**Rant Alert**

The assumption that annoys me is that the only reason for getting a bike is for sport and for getting in shape. It is possible to get on and ride for the pleasure of spending a day outside at a leisurely pace. Or to go to the store for a small purchase. Or to meander over to a friend's house for a cup of coffee. Or go out to a nice dinner with your love. Relaxed transportation, in other words, can be a valid goal. Getting in shape doesn't have to be a factor, though it can be a nice side effect.

/rant

shorter me: Figure out what you want in a bike first, then go shopping. There is room for electric bikes, if not in the same space as other bikes inhabit.

One other thing. Where is it written that a person is only allowed one kind of bike? What would be the problem with an electric for general transportation, a LWB recumbent for touring, and a lightweight racer for (duh) racing, or any other mix that you can think of? Fit the solution to the problem.

[PscyclePath]

One other consideration is that e-bikes in most states are regulated differently under the state traffic codes, because you have added a motor to an otherwise human-powered machine, and now you are the driver of a motor vehicle... so there may be a mandatory helmet law, a requirement to have a drivers license for your machine, and you may find yourself banned from multi-use and other bike paths, because these facilities are closed to "motor vehicles."

I'm not against e-bikes, and I have several friends who live in hilly areas of town and swear by their machines in getting around town. And truly, I'd rather see them ride e-bikes than add more cars to the traffic mess. But just be sure what kind of riding you plan to do with it, since the shift from pedal-power to battery power can make a sharp difference in where and how you can ride with it.

Tom
LCI #1853M

[BikeDutchess]

The assumption that annoys me is that the only reason for getting a bike is for sport and for getting in shape. It is possible to get on and ride for the pleasure of spending a day outside at a leisurely pace. Or to go to the store for a small purchase. Or to meander over to a friend's house for a cup of coffee. Or go out to a nice dinner with your love. Relaxed transportation, in other words, can be a valid goal. Getting in shape doesn't have to be a factor, though it can be a nice side effect.

Well said, I agree!

[Kiwi Stoker]

In NZ I ride with a veterans cycle club. So I get to see people aged 60, 70, 80 and 90 plus enjoying cycling, on normal bikes. The 90 year old doesn't cycle hills, he simply does a 25km circuit on the flat around the club house and people who want to can join him. He enjoys being out and about and ctaching up with everyone.

In Singpore e-bikes are a big thing, being imported down from China. They can go pretty fast, 40km+. It was annoying when one passed our tandem when we were doing 35km/hr.

E-bikes have some problems-
They are silent- so you cannot hear them coming. And of course quite a few e-bike riders ride them on footpaths as they are afraid of the roads. Accidents happen and these things are heavy and fast.
E-bike riders often ignore rules- they don't consider themselves car or motorbikes so ride everywhere and don't even wear cycle helmets.
E-bikes often put power in the hands of someone unable to handle it- just like motorised scooters for the elderly, sometimes having power in the hands of someone unable to control it being either too young or frail of health also can cause accidents.

I once worked for a company that tried to sell e-bikes to postal workers. At that time the batteries were not reliable and without power the bike became difficult to ride. It seems that the posties liked having simple mechanical bikes as they knew how to fix them and it wasn't a disaster then the battery failed.

[NbyNW]

E-bikes have some problems-
They are silent- so you cannot hear them coming. And of course quite a few e-bike riders ride them on footpaths as they are afraid of the roads. Accidents happen and these things are heavy and fast.
E-bike riders often ignore rules- they don't consider themselves car or motorbikes so ride everywhere and don't even wear cycle helmets.
E-bikes often put power in the hands of someone unable to handle it- just like motorised scooters for the elderly, sometimes having power in the hands of someone unable to control it being either too young or frail of health also can cause accidents.

I'm glad you brought this up, since I for one have limited exposure to these bikes (have seen them but have not ridden one or shared traffic with one) -- but I think these are problems can definitely benefit from some public education and safety awareness/classes, much as non-motorized bicycling has come a long way, and continues to. Every now and then I meet another person who thinks it's safer to bike on the left side of the road and I think these are just typical growing pains as two-wheeled transportation becomes more popular -- we go through a learning curve trying to figure out how to share the road.

Pardon my syntax, I've had a couple glasses of wine

[Selkie]

I think an ebike is an oxymoron. Why bother? Just get a scooter (as in Vespa not "scooter store chair") and stick to the road.

There's no indignity to walking a bike up a hill. Who cares what anyone else thinks?

[OakLeaf]

I wasn't quite sure how I felt (other than being aware of some snobbery that I knew was kind of inappropriate) until reading some of the comments here.

Now, I know what I think.

An "e-bike" is only marginally "greener" than a 50cc scooter, if at all, considering the much larger battery and the carbon cost of recharging it. A quality scooter will cost more - especially one with a catalytic converter - but a cheap Chinese scooter will price out around the same as an e-bike or an add-on electric assist. Speed and road limitations are about the same. A scooter is heavier, obviously, but that'll help it feel more planted on the road, and no one is really going to want to push either a scooter or an e-bike for any distance - particularly someone who doesn't have the physical capability to ride a bike unassisted. And, if you should run out of juice on the road, it's a lot easier and quicker to get to a gas station than to recharge a battery.

If someone's just looking for practical two-wheeled transport, most scooters offer lockable compartments, and aftermarket hard luggage is available for probably all scooters, which is the #1 factor that makes a bicycle impractical.

If someone chooses an "e-bike" over a scooter, I have serious concerns about their attitude towards safety. Do they feel they can ride an e-bike, but not a scooter, without paying attention to traffic? On the sidewalk? Without a helmet? Without good motor control? Without good leg strength to support the bike at a stop? None of the above are true.

[Biciclista]

what a great bunch of thoughtful posts.
I confess that I was a little concerned about the mother being able to handle such a heavy bike if she isn't strong enough to ride a regular one. As people become frail, they lose things like strength and sense of balance. combined with an electric motor, that could be a real problem.

[PamNY]

If someone chooses an "e-bike" over a scooter, I have serious concerns about their attitude towards safety. Do they feel they can ride an e-bike, but not a scooter, without paying attention to traffic? On the sidewalk? Without a helmet? Without good motor control? Without good leg strength to support the bike at a stop? None of the above are true.

You raise interesting questions. I see quite a few e-bikes in Manhattan and haven't noticed unsafe riding. As a group, I'd label them conservative riders (this is just an impression, of course, not a scientific observation). They do ride on the bike path, which is probably technically a violation of the motorized vehicles rule, but they don't cause problems that I've seen.

In Manhattan, and I'd guess in other urban areas as well, e-bikes do offer advantages over scooters. First, you can bring a bike inside an apartment building, so there's less danger of theft. Second, gas stations are few and far between.

[Fredwina]

The assumption that annoys me is that the only reason for getting a bike is for sport and for getting in shape. It is possible to get on and ride for the pleasure of spending a day outside at a leisurely pace. Or to go to the store for a small purchase. Or to meander over to a friend's house for a cup of coffee. Or go out to a nice dinner with your love. Relaxed transportation, in other words, can be a valid goal. Getting in shape doesn't have to be a factor, though it can be a nice side effect.

+2
yes, I've thought about getting one