I don’t use an E-bike, just my road bike, but I know there are quite a few around and people seem to like them. I suspect that at some point the hills will be too much for me and I will succumb.
@sammydog01 Well, not completely! Sure, I now take medicines, as oppoised to earlier when I took none regularly, and I coan’t go up hills as well, but overall things are pretty good.
@andyw My neighbors are pushing 70 and bought e-bikes. They take them camping and would probably not be biking without them. I need to be more like my neighbors.
@sammydog01 I’m glad they are enjoying them. You could start with a basic bike (and helmet) first to see how you like it and what you think you’ll need. I’d recommend a bike store for better advice and better bikes than you will find at big box retailers. They also will be assembled for you better.
@sammydog01 If it has been a while, you may need to replace the tires and tubes as the rubber ages even when not used. Also that hap[pens to the brake pads on the older rim brakes. The chain will need a light lube and the gear shifters might also. Have fun.
I know people who had to give up cycling due to bad knees and such. E-bikes allowed them to enjoy at least some of the aspects of riding again.
There’s also something to be said for getting to your destination and not being all sweaty.
E-bikes are incredible. F all the jerks talking about “lazy people.” Some of us hardcore cyclists like e-bikes just fine because we realize how much sense they make. They cost a few pennies per mile to charge and can be taken pretty much anywhere in a city. They get you to work without a sweat and are easily stored in even the smallest of garages.
Just about everyone who lives in a city should have one.
@btwonder I will also point out that many electric bikes (and almost universally in Europe) still require you to pedal, just at reduced effort. You can adjust the level of assist and even turn it off. I still ride a traditional bike, but I can envision the day that the advantages of the e-bike win me over. If nothing else, as a safe-guard if I poop-out miles from home.
Not all city dwellers have garages, nor live in buildings that have a dedicated bike room. Imagine schlepping your bike up and down 3, 4, even 5 flights of stairs every time you use it. Plus not all cities are densely developed enough to successfully use an Ebike or even a regukar one . I’m originally from metro NY, and it works for a lot of people- I know someone who has an Ebike, keeps it in his office and uses it around Manhattan There’s also a small percentage of commuters that bike to the train stations and will either lock their bikes there, or bring them on the train.
I’m in a city in the midwest now, and an Ebike would be perfect for joyriding, but absolutely impractical for much else. Everything is spread out, with the main roads 45 -50 mph. Its only the residential side streets with 25-30 mph. Until they develop public transportation a car not only rules here, it is a necessity.
@futurian I recently got an e cargo bike, and I’ve not only found myself using it to replace car trips (assisted pedaling is much better exercise than driving), I’ve also been riding my acoustic bike more than I did before. Many people have the same experience.
@futurian
Bike riding can be about exercise, or it can be about getting to and from something relatively nearby when walking would take too long. I’ve gone after groceries on my bike many times in the past, and only got out of the habit a few years ago when my partner was dying of cancer and I dared not get more than a few minutes away. And then I lost her, and lost interest in a lot of things. I’m starting to recover now. And getting back on the bike has a priority…
I’m in the process of converting my Worksman trike to an e-bike. I made it four years pedaling around town on a one speed bike that weighs considerably more than I do, but I moved to a house in a neighborhood with hills.
I have an ebike and in the past 18 months i have put nearly 2500 miles on it. While the exercise part isn’t as intense as it would be on a purely manual bike, it’s 2500 miles i have not put on my car, It’s also far more exercize then driving. I ride it across town a few times a week. During lockdown it was a great way to just get out of my house for a few hours on the weekends.
I don’t use an E-bike, just my road bike, but I know there are quite a few around and people seem to like them. I suspect that at some point the hills will be too much for me and I will succumb.
@andyw Getting older is a bitch.
@sammydog01 Well, not completely! Sure, I now take medicines, as oppoised to earlier when I took none regularly, and I coan’t go up hills as well, but overall things are pretty good.
@andyw My neighbors are pushing 70 and bought e-bikes. They take them camping and would probably not be biking without them. I need to be more like my neighbors.
@sammydog01 I’m glad they are enjoying them. You could start with a basic bike (and helmet) first to see how you like it and what you think you’ll need. I’d recommend a bike store for better advice and better bikes than you will find at big box retailers. They also will be assembled for you better.
@andyw I bought a bike at a bike shop many years ago. I need try riding it again. They just put new bike paths in my neighborhood too.
@sammydog01 If it has been a while, you may need to replace the tires and tubes as the rubber ages even when not used. Also that hap[pens to the brake pads on the older rim brakes. The chain will need a light lube and the gear shifters might also. Have fun.
@andyw Yeah I need to put some cash into getting it serviced. So it’s a big maybe.
Lazy people want the illusion of riding bikes.
@hchavers Yes, exactly, thank you!
@escalante @hchavers I was going to say, “There will always be lazy people.” I am one of them.
@hchavers being on a bike instead of a car is never lazy, even if the bike has a pedal assist
After we run out of gasoline, they will be here until we run out of the petroleum or coal that generates the electricity to charge the batteries.
Sadly the motorcycles are hear to stay. If they didn’t help help with Strava times they could have been a fad.
$6 gas and lazy people…
I know people who had to give up cycling due to bad knees and such. E-bikes allowed them to enjoy at least some of the aspects of riding again.
There’s also something to be said for getting to your destination and not being all sweaty.
E-bikes are incredible. F all the jerks talking about “lazy people.” Some of us hardcore cyclists like e-bikes just fine because we realize how much sense they make. They cost a few pennies per mile to charge and can be taken pretty much anywhere in a city. They get you to work without a sweat and are easily stored in even the smallest of garages.
Just about everyone who lives in a city should have one.
@btwonder I will also point out that many electric bikes (and almost universally in Europe) still require you to pedal, just at reduced effort. You can adjust the level of assist and even turn it off. I still ride a traditional bike, but I can envision the day that the advantages of the e-bike win me over. If nothing else, as a safe-guard if I poop-out miles from home.
Not all city dwellers have garages, nor live in buildings that have a dedicated bike room. Imagine schlepping your bike up and down 3, 4, even 5 flights of stairs every time you use it. Plus not all cities are densely developed enough to successfully use an Ebike or even a regukar one . I’m originally from metro NY, and it works for a lot of people- I know someone who has an Ebike, keeps it in his office and uses it around Manhattan There’s also a small percentage of commuters that bike to the train stations and will either lock their bikes there, or bring them on the train.
I’m in a city in the midwest now, and an Ebike would be perfect for joyriding, but absolutely impractical for much else. Everything is spread out, with the main roads 45 -50 mph. Its only the residential side streets with 25-30 mph. Until they develop public transportation a car not only rules here, it is a necessity.
@Faffs Good public transportation is very important for all of us!
isn’t bike riding supposed to be about excersize?? use it or lose it…
@futurian I recently got an e cargo bike, and I’ve not only found myself using it to replace car trips (assisted pedaling is much better exercise than driving), I’ve also been riding my acoustic bike more than I did before. Many people have the same experience.
@futurian @tpope
“acoustic bike” - I like that.
@futurian
Bike riding can be about exercise, or it can be about getting to and from something relatively nearby when walking would take too long. I’ve gone after groceries on my bike many times in the past, and only got out of the habit a few years ago when my partner was dying of cancer and I dared not get more than a few minutes away. And then I lost her, and lost interest in a lot of things. I’m starting to recover now. And getting back on the bike has a priority…
I don’t cycle at all, but I’d say they’re probably here to stay.
I see it here to stay. Probably would be a great to invest into charging stations and physical security for ebikes.
I’m in the process of converting my Worksman trike to an e-bike. I made it four years pedaling around town on a one speed bike that weighs considerably more than I do, but I moved to a house in a neighborhood with hills.
I have an ebike and in the past 18 months i have put nearly 2500 miles on it. While the exercise part isn’t as intense as it would be on a purely manual bike, it’s 2500 miles i have not put on my car, It’s also far more exercize then driving. I ride it across town a few times a week. During lockdown it was a great way to just get out of my house for a few hours on the weekends.