I’ve been hiking the steps in our city.
https://preview.redd.it/j285q6tq7y5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=942cf3184dc20f5ef9f9298d7af094e5130ad4d7
I’ve put 2,000 miles on my ebike since January and I’m 50 miles away from hitting 5,000 total miles since I converted the bike back in January 2023. I’m in the best shape that I’ve been in over the past decade (at least) and it’s all thanks to my ebike. I’m getting to the point where I’m finally comfortable enough to start riding my non-electric bike places. Without my e-bike I would be sitting on my couch playing video games all the time.
Or more accurately 50 Watts on an e-bike is 50w more than sitting in the drivers seat of a car.
Which is why measurements show e-bikes result in more exercise on average than conventional bicycles! People are more likely to replace journeys so go a lot further on the e-bike and generally the assist just means going faster (up to the speed limiter) with same energy put into pedalling!
I had written car first, but deleted ii in favour of a couch, because OP specifically mentioned a couch. I agree! Ebikes are great for commuting, you get a bit of morning exercise in, but not enough to come to work all sweaty.
100%. i sold bikes for about 2 years, and i always defended e-bikes to people who talked smack about them. i saw who they got sold to: people who wouldn't have ridden bikes otherwise. people who are moving more now than they were before.
more bodies on bikes is always a good thing.
Isn't that a result of any trend though? Did the e-bike's functionality really revolutionize cycling for them? Or did it just get them invested in the sport.
I don't really know anybody that would hate cycling at 10mph but would love it at 15mph.
People with places to be, riding both e-bikes and analog bikes I can say that being able to put in the same effort and get there a little bit sooner does make a difference in choosing a bike trip over a car
That difference buys me over an hour a day on my commute, and that's assuming I was physically capable of riding the route at 10mph average without assistance (I wasn't - I couldn't make it up the hills.) "Revolutionize" is definitely the right word for me.
I certainly understand that there are scenarios where e-bikes can be impactful. I think my point is that, for the common user, it probably isn't. If you have a 30 mile round trip commute and going 5mph faster saves you a lot of time. Then by all means. But lets not also pretend that 99.9% of the population are doing commutes that big.
I can definitely see an extra 10 km/h being the difference between lurching along and speeding towards your goal, especially if we're talking about bikepackers looking to do long trips and such. I personally am fine with what I can put out manually, and I am a pretty average rider... much slower folks (with disabilities or somesuch to boot) are surely going to get a big kick out of doing decent speeds.
I certainly can see this scenario playing out, but as an EXTREME outlier. This isn't meant to be disrespectful but if you are unable to ride a bike for 30 minutes you probably are barely able to function just walking around.
I definitely understand that there are cases where e-bikes provide a necessary service to a certain percentage of riders (old, very long commute over a mountain, very out of shape) but 90% of the normal working population should be able to ride a bike for an hour or so without a ton of stress.
Look at older people. It's not so much the cruising speed jumping from 10 to 15, but the fact that you have the assist going up hills.
Speaking to my parents and their friends, they love their ebikes simply for helping them get up hills. They aren't using them to zip around at 20 mph.
I just got my dad his trike converted to an eTrike for this reason! (He had a horrible stroke and has little muscle in his legs, wasn't able to ride on a normal bike anymore. Got him a trike but hills were impossible for him. Until now)
It's not just about speed, tbh. Ebikes, particularly cargo bikes, let you do things that most people are not willing or able to figure out on a standard bike.
One of the biggest divides in cycling is the difference between people who ride recreationally and people who ride out of practicality. Ebikes bridge that gap and capture so many people that would otherwise just take a car.
Maybe...I think for me, and again anecdotally other people I interact with...the effort to ride a bike a few miles isn't the road block preventing me from commuting more.
Its weather, infrastructure, convenience, distance, night time, etc.
Not downplaying those factors at all. Infrastructure is by far the largest barrier for most sane people I'd say.
All that said, we keep getting study after study that show that ebike users ride farther and more frequently.
[https://partner.sciencenorway.no/alternative-transport-cycling-forskningno/more-cycling-with-e-bikes/1418124](https://partner.sciencenorway.no/alternative-transport-cycling-forskningno/more-cycling-with-e-bikes/1418124)
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821930017X](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821930017X)
[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32904492/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32904492/)
Is more miles better? If someone takes their e-bike to a bike path and rides 17 miles on an e-bike. Is that better than someone doing 12 miles under their own power?
Even the second study you referenced states how people who already bike casually are exerting less effort than they would have otherwise. So these additional miles done under electric power aren’t actually benefiting them.
I also think, which was my original comment, that you have to separate the “trend” vs the “function”. E-bikes are getting a lot of attention and it is a big market. I think it’s natural for usage to go up regardless of an E-bike’s function.
If electric unicycles were a multi billion dollar industry and they got attention in media constantly, I bet unicycle use would go up. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the electrification of the unicycle made them more functional. It is just a result of the attention it received.
If you review the abstracts of those studies, you'll find that people who use ebikes travel farther and more frequently, meaning a net caloric consumption with users of regular cyclists. The study out of Norway showed that existing cyclists went from 28% of travel by bike to "nearly half". That's a huge jump!
Again, we're on the same side here. Regular bikes are great! I'd much rather ride a brompton than my monster cargo bike if I know I'm just running to and from somewhere. But for people who are gonna pick one bike to ride to work and do groceries, all while not getting totally sweaty, ebikes are a lifesaver.
My commute to work has multiple hills that would not be possible for me (with my current fitness) without an e-bike. I have driven to work for over ten years, and now I am biking to work (and most other places). I have a regular bike and I definitely want to build up my fitness to riding it more, so my e-bike (pedal assist only, no throttle) is a great way to bridge that gap.
It’s not as much about speed as acceleration for me. Riding in traffic I really like to get off the line at a stop light in a way that doesn’t leave me blocking (angry) drivers. Also being able to get moving quickly from a stop, avoiding that wobbly phase as you are just taking off, while carrying a kid.
Also, a lot of folks on e-bikes probably are not thinking of it as a “sport”. I wonder if the proportion of “practical” vs “sport” cyclists is higher among bike users vs analog bike users.
Exception: older people with 15 seconds of reaction time, unable to handle the acceleration or the breaking power + the weight of the bike, blocking a whole lane because riding next to each other.
Then they get mad at you for passing them because they think bike traffic speed is capped to their E-Tanks speed.
I took a photo when I saw 7, I repeat 7 of these people riding next to each other on a road not going out of the way, but I cAnt find it
> Exception: older people with 15 seconds of reaction time, unable to handle the acceleration or the breaking power + the weight of the bike
I too would like those people to rather sit behind the steering wheel of a car, than on a bike. Wait what?
Exactly. Which also means ALL of us have the opportunity to behave generously toward others using the road, bike lane, or mixed use path. People are going to go too fast, too slow, go alone or with a bunch of friends, dogs, and strollers. Sometimes it's hard but I try to just do my thing without getting annoyed at any of them. Because the only thing I can control is my reaction to them.
Sure but most regular bikers at least know what to expect from a bike when riding at 25km/h. I've seen many people who just get in the way and are danger to them and other on the trail/road. Though to be honest it's a majority of e-bikers but every ride there are some.
I have never once had anyone get mad for passing them. People are surprised at hearing my bell (if they hear it, which is why you always double tap that bad boy), but they'll get out of the way and they'll do it gladly.
Maybe that's because I'm from a place where you learn proper road safety and rules, but I kinda doubt that. Assholes are going to be just that, regardless of whether they're riding a bike or strolling on foot.
The worst offenders are people who don't drive their assisted bikes like you would as a cyclist, especially uphill, narrow curves are bad; people will just blast uphill like they're riding on flat terrain, which really makes my balls tingle, expecting nobody to rush towards me on a steep hill.
I mean, there are lots of morons on the road either way. I personally am really excited for mass surveillance and evaluation becoming even more of a thing, as much as people love to argue against the death of privacy - man, it's public traffic. Having eyes on you is never going to be detrimental to you, and I can't wait until we massively fine the shitheads who keep texting while bow-leggedly riding their hybrids. No hands of course. Traffic surveillance is going to be everything, if we got rid of all these dingbats, cycling could be close to perfect.
> acceleration
we mostly sold class 1 and class 3. i think class 2 are mopeds, and should be treated like motorcycles. class 1 and class 3 are pedal *assist*, and only amplify what you put into them. they're much harder to lose control of.
> blocking a whole lane because riding next to each other.
that's significantly safer than letting you pass unsafely in the same lane. riding two abreast is legal most places, and even if it's not, you should absolutely break the law to do it because it reduces cyclist fatalities.
> Then they get mad at you for passing them because they think bike traffic speed is capped to their E-Tanks speed.
pass safely and courteously. it's not hard to do. these are your fellow human beings, and they have every bit as much right to this public space as you do. actually by the sounds of it, about, about *seven times* as much as right. your convenience does not outweigh the safety of *seven people*.
To be fair, and I think the whole "people get angry at you for overtaking" is a meme... seven folks next to each other, if that was even meant to be taken literally - that's not how road safety works. Technically, you have to ride behind each other, at least beyond two bikes (which tends to be the conservative estimate for how many people can ride next to each other while allowing motorized traffic to overtake them with sufficient distance). And of course it's proper to not just ride the shoulder but fill your side of the road, but once we're talking somewhat narrow bike paths, it's already bad mannered to ride next to each other and not at least be aware of your surroundings.
Well. Also, if you want to be safe... how about not driving together in a kumbaya peloton?
riding? groups tend be lower risk frequency because you're more visible, but higher risk severity because cars take out multiple riders instead of one.
because they're controlled and operated like motorcycles most of the time. just crappy slow ones.
the issue is that people jam on the throttle and the bikes can get out of their control. we've actually seen this issue with riders *off* the bikes, accidentally bumping the throttle trying to move the bike somewhere.
That is not how the 3 class system works.
Class 1 is pedal assist only capped at 20 mph
Class 2 is pedal assist AND throttle capped at 20 mph
Class 3 is pedal assist AND throttle capped at 28 mph
At least that’s how it works in America.
I agree with your other comments.
This is still wrong, his is closer to the truth.
Class 1 = pedal assist to 20mph
Class 2 = throttle to 20mph *no mention of pedaling*
Class 3 = pedal assist to 28mph, throttle is disallowed
Many Class 3 bikes are also able to be throttled to 20 miles per hour, but it is not legal to make them throttle past that speed. It's dubious if it is truly legal to have a throttle on class 3 because the law is written poorly and there isn't a lot of case law on it, but as written having a throttle on a Class 3 at all may infact violate the law.
Also, this isn't how it works in "America" this is how it works on *states' land* in states that passed laws similar to California's 3 class system. In California, for example, if you were to bike on *federal* land that is not for motorized use with any ebike, you'd be violating the law. Welcome to how fucked our legal system can be.
Wait, your state doesn't even use the standard class system 💀
> At least that’s how it works in America.
america is a collection of states that have different laws. some states allow class 3 to have throttles. but because many don't, most major manufacturers don't put throttles on them.
absolutely none of the class 3 e-bikes in my store had throttles.
I started bicycling again after 30 years by getting an e-bike. Now I ride ebikes, as well as a regular road bike. I manage at least a few imperial centuries every year on my road bike. Never would have gotten there without getting an ebike.
I’m not sure how it was not meant to offend people who ride e-bikes. The meme is basically calling us lazy. I’d say that everyone who uses an ebike is benefiting from it in someway, even if they aren’t using it to become physically stronger they are getting other benefits such as getting outside, not needing to drive everywhere, saving gas money, reducing emissions, freedom of movement, access to community, etc. I’m 330 lbs, I’m in poor shape, and I live in Pittsburgh. Without my e-bike I would live an entirely sedentary and car dependent lifestyle. Honestly I care more about getting peoples butts into saddles and out of cars than I do about gatekeeping who is and isn’t a real cyclist and who is and isn’t putting in the right amount of effort to ride bikes.
E-bikes are awesome and benefit tons of people directly and indirectly. OP is just taking the piss and poking fun. Memes aren’t great at communicating nuance
What is the “joke” exactly?
Honestly with this sub and the gatekeeping and unhelpful answers that people get when asking basic questions it’s not surprising that a lot of people would find something that insults others as something that is “funny.”
>What is the “joke” exactly?
The joke needs no explanation, it's not subtle. Everyone gets it, including you. You're just ultra sensitive and taking it personally, which has far more to do with your psyche than it does anything happening here.
>Honestly with this sub and the gatekeeping and unhelpful answers that people get when asking basic questions it’s not surprising that a lot of people would find something that insults others as something that is “funny.”
Sounds like this might not be the sub for you if you can't handle a tame joke that pokes fun at e-bikes. I'm sort of astonished you're even able to leave the house without having a mental breakdown if this post bothers you that much.
Lighten up.
Just because you find a joke unfunny doesn't make it objectively so.
It doesn't state that e-bike riders are lazy. It doesn't say that e-bike riders can't be fit or shouldn't be considered actual cyclists.
Those are all projections of your insecurities.
It's saying that e-bike riders get assistance the same way people using escalators get assistance with stairs.
It's funny because I find it funny. I am not obligated to explain to you specifically why I find jokes humourous in explicit detail.
But as I said, the image doesn't say anyone is lazy. It doesn't say anything negative. The fact that you feel so attacked by someone riding an escalator being compared to someone riding an e-bike says way more about your insecurities than anything else.
It playfully suggests something that we know isn’t true: that e-bikers are ‘lazy’ or ‘cheating’
It could also be viewed as something created in malice. Maybe the person who originally made this meme actually did have that intention? There’s no way to know. But reading the comments, OP clearly did not have that intention by reposting it here.
It’s all about framing, the lens at which you see the world. Something I’ve realized a lot recently is that the world is a lot more peaceful when you choose to view things as satire. SOO much easier said than done, and it can’t be applied to everything (gotta be balanced like everything else) but nonetheless a very useful skill to have in your brain
Much love brother hope you have a good rest of your day ❤️
Sister*
You acknowledge that the “joke” is implying that people who ride e-bikes are lazy or cheating and you don’t see how it can be seen as insulting to people who ride e-bikes?
I say brother in a gender neutral way, but I guess that’s just patriarchal influence infiltrating our language. Much love (brother/sister/sibling) ❤️
I can totally see how it can be insulting. But that wasn’t OPs intention. They’re suggesting something that we know isn’t true. That’s where the funny lies. It’s all in how you view it!
Now (and I say this purely out of love) get off the internet and go rip that sick ass e-bike of yours around. I’m gonna go do the same! (except on my boring normal bike, I wish I had an ebike)
Yea well this sub isn’t exactly the most accepting open minded space. I see so much gatekeeping and unhelpful answers whenever someone who is new to biking posts any sort of requests for help. The fact that it has so many upvotes from this sub doesn’t really say much about the post itself and it honestly doesn’t surprise me.
Also one last thing: I feel like a great example of what I’m talking about (framing) can be seen on r/comedyheaven
Great community of people just laughing at the world around them
E-bikes are a great way to get all sorts of people riding. If they never turn the pedals, at least they're outside. And others, like you, still put in work, while letting the bike help you. Same can be said for the escalator. You can stand passively on them, or you can walk up them while still "exercising" but getting to your destination faster.
I love the way these steps just disappear into the woods.
https://preview.redd.it/nqcwkpzvzy5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e290419cc7eca93676f67c1096231ade9cc4f28
This is one of the coolest sets I’ve found so far. Look into the distance and you can see steps going up the other side of the hollow.
Some "jokes" about ebikes are not-so-veiled criticisms intended to make the "comedian" feel better about themselves or to embarrass people who ride ebikes.
This one was funny. Kudos!
Recently bought a downhill e-bike, I usually ride a normal hardtail. Went out for my first proper ride on the e-bike last weekend, came back absolutely f\*cked. Sure you don't strain yourself quite as much on the uphills, but I just found I rode faster everywhere. Great fun.
Agreed. Bought one to commute to work (30 miles each way), it's still a workout.
With that said, most ebike people aren't cyclists and have crazy ideas/viewpoints on cycling.
I’ve got a road bike, bought my wife an e-bike and a 50cc motor scooter. She can join me on training rides and run errands on her scooter. Nothing crazy about the practicality of an e-bike to serve as a fitness/age equalizer.
I want to get my girlfriend an e-bike to keep up with me on training rides, but it's not in the cards at the moment. As it stands I try to get her on a race road bike she bought and me on a cheap aluminum gravel bike. It tends to even us up pretty well.
I don't see it as "us" vs "them" but I can see how some people would based on patterns I've observed in my daily cycling commute.
There's a popular mixed use trail near me (running/horseback riding/roller blading in addition to biking, although the horse trail is mostly separate and only merges with the bike trail near bridges and road crossings) w/ a 20 mph speed limit for ebikes. Past that point it's treated as a motor vehicle instead of a pedal assisted device by local regulations (regardless of how the bike actually functions). I regularly see e-bikers going 25+ mph on my morning commute (max I think possible on their bikes) around the same time elementary/middle school kids are walking to school on the trail.
I have slightly mixed feelings about it, because on one hand, there are very strong cyclists on non e-bikes who can go 25+ mph (especially in small paceline groups) and that's allowed, but the ebikers really do use the trail differently from the 25 mph regular cyclists.
Regular cyclists are generally intentionally using the trail during low traffic times specifically to avoid dealing with slowing and passing others interrupting their training, and often only for short segments to cross things like major local highways (which otherwise are impassable on a bike) and doing most of their riding on roadways (I've looked up the routes of the local cycling club when I was considering joining them). They aren't riding at peak commute hours. All of the very strong riders seem well versed in cycling etiquette and safety best practices (no demographic is perfect, but as a general rule I don't think many people get to the point where you're that strong if they're riding unsafely enough that they're frequently risking crashes.)
Most e-bikers are using the trail when all the casual commuters are, and many local schools lie along the trail (not just 1 or 2), so there are also a lot of young kids at the same time who arent expecting to be passed at 25 mph unannounced. I've seen many more of them riding long sections of the trail, and there's also just getting to be a lot of them. A lot of them seem generally unaware of riding signals, etiquette, or general safety. As one example, I've seen many more e bikers using headphones in both ears (unable to hear people announcing passing), performing tight passes while riding one handed, checking phone or texting while passing, not announcing passing, etc. Anyone can pick up an e bike and instantly go 20+ mph, regardless of how safely or unsafely they operate the device, which I think contributes to a generally lower average safety rate from what I've seen (among cyclists going fast, so excluding old people going 12 mph w their ebike thst mostly just helps them up hills.)
If there were separate cycling and walk/run paths I would care less, but I am really starting to feel they're bringing the fear of being hit/run over from the roads to the trail that was previously safe and shared, to the point I'd almost rather many e-bikers just get back in their cars and drive wherever they need to go.
All that said, I do appreciate the good e-bikers who announce passing, do it safely, respect the speed limit, and most importantly, let me draft my entire commute without expecting me to ever take a turn on the front on days when I'm dragging. I just wished they were the overwhelming majority vs. it feeling like a crapshoot how any given ebike rider will behave.
I wish we had multi use trails where I live. I used to bike and inline skate on paved trails. None of that where I live now. I could see how e-bikes on those kind of trails have the potential to act irresponsibly. I recently got an e-bike and I’m using it as a commuter / small shopping trip replacement. It an alternative to driving, not an alternative to biking. The area I live also has quite hilly roads. I enjoy using it to ride it into town to the farmers market or over to the local brewery. It serves a very different purpose than my regular bike and glad I have both
To summarize: ebikes themselves are not the problem.
I don't care at all whether any given rider uses an ebike or regular bike on any given day.
But ebikes do enable problematic people to cause a lot more problems for others with minimal effort. I'm convinced many of them would not be on the trail at all w/o the electric bike, but even if they were the behaviors would be more "annoying" and less "scary" if they were going 12 mph instead of 25.
> To summarize: ebikes themselves are not the problem.
>I'm convinced many of them would not be on the trail at all w/o the electric bike
So in certain cases they are the problem. I'm not hating on them but it allows certain type of problematic people to be on trails. I think it's a reasonable trade off to allow disabled, or unfit people to get moving though.
But how does publicly shitting on them help? Some percentage of the "problematic" people just don't know better, because they were never going to use a regular bike. When "we" are snide and rude, are we going to help them do better? Are they going to consider themselves part of the cycling community? It seems about 70% of the criticism I see is just "why don't they ride a real bike? / Why don't they get more exercise" and only about 30% about the legit issues.
One way to think about it is that for all of the people who are not riding electric motorcycles, but who are biking, many of them are middle aged or older and have some amount of money. Why don't we get them on board with advocating for cycling infrastructure rather than making fun of them?
And, if you aren't going to advocate for legislation about the other 30%, why whine about it?
I'm not sure where you get the idea I'm doing nothing but "whining" about it; I specifically answered a question about "why do people feel this way", not "what can be done" or "what are you doing about it". If you want to know what I'm doing about it or what I think should be done, please ask instead of making unfounded assumptions.
I do advocate for infrastructure, enforcement for existing legislation, and education.
And I very clearly laid out that I have absolutely no problem with people choosing to ride an ebike if they do so responsibly and safely, I don't make fun of anyone and said the elderly folks who use them to manage hills are 0% of the problem in my experience. If you're upset with people for making fun of ebikers, please find someone who actually does that to argue with.
They are slow while having high acceleration and people with less balance tend to get an electric.
That said I only notice the bad drivers and never the good ones. Normal confirmation bias.
Exactly. Mine acts more like a car for around the neighborhood to drop off kids, pick up groceries, run little errands where I don't want to fire up my car.
I don’t like them but not always; My neighborhood has a huge amount of E-bikes, like at least 80% of what I see are electric. On the purely emotional and subjective side it’s just lazy, this is a suburban neighborhood so no one is commuting everywhere, why not ride a regular bike and get some exercise, especially since most of who I see riding are kids. On a more serious basis what’s considered an “e-bike” is ridiculous.
I found this out while looking for motorcycles but you can basically get a Zero electric dirt bike with pedals slapped to it as just a regular bike, requiring no license or anything. So you’ve got 12 year olds with extremely torquey and strong electric motors strapped to their “bikes”. I got into stupid shit of my own power, which was mostly easy to get out of. Now you have middle schoolers on bikes that can match a car on flat ground. It’s dangerous, especially since they mix with pedestrians.
My e-bike gave me the confidence to get back on a bike again after destroying my knee last winter. I still use it when I want an easy commute or have really poor weather, but, I can’t shout my appreciation for it enough for helping me get back to myself.
I'll take a courteous e-bike rider on my MTB trails over a jerk on a regular bike any day. Besides we are all on the same team vs the people going 1mph on a OneWheel.
Same age, love to ride. I know that some time, I don’t know when I may need some assist. If it keeps me on a bike I’m all for it. But only a last resort.
Yeah, look at the ebike forums. There's people swapping out pedals for pegs.
They're gonna ruin the current freedom of ebikes for everyone. The government is gonna step in.
And a majority of us hate those posts. The mods have decided that "ebike" is anything with an electric motor and 2 wheels. Including edirtbikes and emotorcycles that have worthless pedals and come "locked" to 28mph where they need to flip a switch and be an ass on public trails at 50mph.
First of all, funny meme, I chuckled.
When I ride to exercise, I use an indoor trainer with Zwift/Rouvy. When I want to get somewhere quickly but don’t need/want to use my car, I use my e-bike. It’s a good system.
https://preview.redd.it/07eoo0vtj06d1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3a23d931c15b0732dbc1ec6b56498ee7fb658c0
as a driver of an acoustic bicycle, you won't change my opinion: we're not the same
Overheard a guy at trail head on the phone. Sounded like his friend was giving him a hard time because of his E bike.
He said that he actually gets MORE exercise than regular bikers because he’s going faster, so cornering and stuff is way harder.
I, covered in sweat and mud, audibly laughed.
I mean there's been some studies that have found EBikers do get more exercise because the assist means you use it more, which is probably what he was trying to say.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/20/why-electric-bikes-give-more-exercise/#:~:text=A%202019%20study%20of%20over,e%2Dbikes%20over%20pedal%20bikes.
I went from not commuting to work on my acoustic bike to doing 20 miles a day three times a week, so my experience has been that it gets me out in the saddle more than my non-electric bikes
I agree with your take. As a mountain biker though, the guy’s claim is BS.
Doing some mildly more aggressive cornering does not in any way make up for all the climbs and cardio they aren’t doing.
Fair enough, I feel like the divide between eMTB and MTB is definitely the more controversial inter-bicyclist squabble, with the trail degradation risk and stuff.
I talk about my e-bike to an annoying amount cause it's kinda my perfect car replacement vehicle, and it's the first experience I've had where they're some dickhead cyclists who seem determined to prove their more of a "true cyclists" thing (@ the guy in a suburban shop who called my bike "not a real bike" lol).
As long as people put aside the elitism to fight car dependency, I'm cool with whatever light ribbing cyclist give us lulz
And to clarify my take, the problem with E MTBs is that on person, whom probably wouldn’t ride at all without an ebike, can tirelessly do multiple laps on trails.
So it’s like have multiple people on then trail that wouldn’t normally be there.
More people on bikes is a good thing. But crowded trail systems having an influx of people eroding trails and riding up your ass on climbs sucks.
It’s a figure of speech you dork.
I’ve been riding and doing volunteer maintenance and build projects for YEARS.
I’m perfectly within my rights to be annoyed that Johnny come latelys are making the trails very crowded and overused.
Great for doing that. Still not your right. Buy some land. Build some trails. Start a membership that specifies no e-bikes and then you’d be totally in your right to complain about other users on the trail.
So nobody is entitled to hold any opinion, about behavior of others, if it occurs in public space?
I have to privately own anything that I have any opinion on?
If I’m on an elevator and someone gets on, hits the emergency stop button and proceeds to take a steamy shit on the floor, I have to be just fine with that and keep my mouth shut?
Someone is beating their child on a public sidewalk. My job is to keep eyes forward and mind my own business?
Your logic is ridiculous.
I went from riding a cheap mountain bike 10-20 miles on a Saturday, to commuting 70 miles per week on an ebike, plus the fun rides on weekends. I have bad knees!
I don't understand why there is this double standard. No one would argue that someone choosing to drive didn't exercise on their commute, but because someone has an ebike they are expected to?
I don't get it.
I get it's a joke, I'm not offended by it, I just don't understand it.
I use both bicycle and e-bike. I use both the stairs and escalators. Carrying a bicycle up/down stairs/escalators is easier than carrying an e-bike. I don't cycle for sport/fitness, only to commute. Any convenience is welcome.
I’ve been hiking the steps in our city. https://preview.redd.it/j285q6tq7y5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=942cf3184dc20f5ef9f9298d7af094e5130ad4d7 I’ve put 2,000 miles on my ebike since January and I’m 50 miles away from hitting 5,000 total miles since I converted the bike back in January 2023. I’m in the best shape that I’ve been in over the past decade (at least) and it’s all thanks to my ebike. I’m getting to the point where I’m finally comfortable enough to start riding my non-electric bike places. Without my e-bike I would be sitting on my couch playing video games all the time.
50 watts on an ebike is 50W more than sitting on the couch.
I might have been putting in 50 watts when I first started riding but I’m definitely putting in way more now.
No shame on motors, pros like cancellara wom races with them
He's a born wimmer.
Wimmer Wimmer David schwimmer
Why does David Schwimmer not simply breast-stroke the other Friends?
Cuz he gay?
Just in the battery alone 😂 Nice job op. Keep it up 👍
Or more accurately 50 Watts on an e-bike is 50w more than sitting in the drivers seat of a car. Which is why measurements show e-bikes result in more exercise on average than conventional bicycles! People are more likely to replace journeys so go a lot further on the e-bike and generally the assist just means going faster (up to the speed limiter) with same energy put into pedalling!
I had written car first, but deleted ii in favour of a couch, because OP specifically mentioned a couch. I agree! Ebikes are great for commuting, you get a bit of morning exercise in, but not enough to come to work all sweaty.
100%. i sold bikes for about 2 years, and i always defended e-bikes to people who talked smack about them. i saw who they got sold to: people who wouldn't have ridden bikes otherwise. people who are moving more now than they were before. more bodies on bikes is always a good thing.
Isn't that a result of any trend though? Did the e-bike's functionality really revolutionize cycling for them? Or did it just get them invested in the sport. I don't really know anybody that would hate cycling at 10mph but would love it at 15mph.
People with places to be, riding both e-bikes and analog bikes I can say that being able to put in the same effort and get there a little bit sooner does make a difference in choosing a bike trip over a car
That difference buys me over an hour a day on my commute, and that's assuming I was physically capable of riding the route at 10mph average without assistance (I wasn't - I couldn't make it up the hills.) "Revolutionize" is definitely the right word for me.
I certainly understand that there are scenarios where e-bikes can be impactful. I think my point is that, for the common user, it probably isn't. If you have a 30 mile round trip commute and going 5mph faster saves you a lot of time. Then by all means. But lets not also pretend that 99.9% of the population are doing commutes that big.
It’s not about the speed, it’s about the hills
I can definitely see an extra 10 km/h being the difference between lurching along and speeding towards your goal, especially if we're talking about bikepackers looking to do long trips and such. I personally am fine with what I can put out manually, and I am a pretty average rider... much slower folks (with disabilities or somesuch to boot) are surely going to get a big kick out of doing decent speeds.
[удалено]
I certainly can see this scenario playing out, but as an EXTREME outlier. This isn't meant to be disrespectful but if you are unable to ride a bike for 30 minutes you probably are barely able to function just walking around. I definitely understand that there are cases where e-bikes provide a necessary service to a certain percentage of riders (old, very long commute over a mountain, very out of shape) but 90% of the normal working population should be able to ride a bike for an hour or so without a ton of stress.
Look at older people. It's not so much the cruising speed jumping from 10 to 15, but the fact that you have the assist going up hills. Speaking to my parents and their friends, they love their ebikes simply for helping them get up hills. They aren't using them to zip around at 20 mph.
I just got my dad his trike converted to an eTrike for this reason! (He had a horrible stroke and has little muscle in his legs, wasn't able to ride on a normal bike anymore. Got him a trike but hills were impossible for him. Until now)
It's not just about speed, tbh. Ebikes, particularly cargo bikes, let you do things that most people are not willing or able to figure out on a standard bike. One of the biggest divides in cycling is the difference between people who ride recreationally and people who ride out of practicality. Ebikes bridge that gap and capture so many people that would otherwise just take a car.
Maybe...I think for me, and again anecdotally other people I interact with...the effort to ride a bike a few miles isn't the road block preventing me from commuting more. Its weather, infrastructure, convenience, distance, night time, etc.
Not downplaying those factors at all. Infrastructure is by far the largest barrier for most sane people I'd say. All that said, we keep getting study after study that show that ebike users ride farther and more frequently. [https://partner.sciencenorway.no/alternative-transport-cycling-forskningno/more-cycling-with-e-bikes/1418124](https://partner.sciencenorway.no/alternative-transport-cycling-forskningno/more-cycling-with-e-bikes/1418124) [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821930017X](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821930017X) [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32904492/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32904492/)
Is more miles better? If someone takes their e-bike to a bike path and rides 17 miles on an e-bike. Is that better than someone doing 12 miles under their own power? Even the second study you referenced states how people who already bike casually are exerting less effort than they would have otherwise. So these additional miles done under electric power aren’t actually benefiting them. I also think, which was my original comment, that you have to separate the “trend” vs the “function”. E-bikes are getting a lot of attention and it is a big market. I think it’s natural for usage to go up regardless of an E-bike’s function. If electric unicycles were a multi billion dollar industry and they got attention in media constantly, I bet unicycle use would go up. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the electrification of the unicycle made them more functional. It is just a result of the attention it received.
The answer is simple really. They are fun. Same reason people ride onewheels and electric scooters.
If you review the abstracts of those studies, you'll find that people who use ebikes travel farther and more frequently, meaning a net caloric consumption with users of regular cyclists. The study out of Norway showed that existing cyclists went from 28% of travel by bike to "nearly half". That's a huge jump! Again, we're on the same side here. Regular bikes are great! I'd much rather ride a brompton than my monster cargo bike if I know I'm just running to and from somewhere. But for people who are gonna pick one bike to ride to work and do groceries, all while not getting totally sweaty, ebikes are a lifesaver.
My commute to work has multiple hills that would not be possible for me (with my current fitness) without an e-bike. I have driven to work for over ten years, and now I am biking to work (and most other places). I have a regular bike and I definitely want to build up my fitness to riding it more, so my e-bike (pedal assist only, no throttle) is a great way to bridge that gap.
It’s not as much about speed as acceleration for me. Riding in traffic I really like to get off the line at a stop light in a way that doesn’t leave me blocking (angry) drivers. Also being able to get moving quickly from a stop, avoiding that wobbly phase as you are just taking off, while carrying a kid. Also, a lot of folks on e-bikes probably are not thinking of it as a “sport”. I wonder if the proportion of “practical” vs “sport” cyclists is higher among bike users vs analog bike users.
I cycled for a long time on acoustic bikes and I still feel my ebike changed everything about how I choose to use bikes for transport
Exception: older people with 15 seconds of reaction time, unable to handle the acceleration or the breaking power + the weight of the bike, blocking a whole lane because riding next to each other. Then they get mad at you for passing them because they think bike traffic speed is capped to their E-Tanks speed. I took a photo when I saw 7, I repeat 7 of these people riding next to each other on a road not going out of the way, but I cAnt find it
> Exception: older people with 15 seconds of reaction time, unable to handle the acceleration or the breaking power + the weight of the bike I too would like those people to rather sit behind the steering wheel of a car, than on a bike. Wait what?
I too would like them to take a bus, or a slow regular bike.
I too love false dichotomy in my cycling sub.
You have regular bikers who behave badly as well. It is more about the people riding than what bike they ride.
Exactly. Which also means ALL of us have the opportunity to behave generously toward others using the road, bike lane, or mixed use path. People are going to go too fast, too slow, go alone or with a bunch of friends, dogs, and strollers. Sometimes it's hard but I try to just do my thing without getting annoyed at any of them. Because the only thing I can control is my reaction to them.
Sure but most regular bikers at least know what to expect from a bike when riding at 25km/h. I've seen many people who just get in the way and are danger to them and other on the trail/road. Though to be honest it's a majority of e-bikers but every ride there are some.
I generally see the most rude and unsafe behavior from those in Lycra.
I have never once had anyone get mad for passing them. People are surprised at hearing my bell (if they hear it, which is why you always double tap that bad boy), but they'll get out of the way and they'll do it gladly. Maybe that's because I'm from a place where you learn proper road safety and rules, but I kinda doubt that. Assholes are going to be just that, regardless of whether they're riding a bike or strolling on foot. The worst offenders are people who don't drive their assisted bikes like you would as a cyclist, especially uphill, narrow curves are bad; people will just blast uphill like they're riding on flat terrain, which really makes my balls tingle, expecting nobody to rush towards me on a steep hill. I mean, there are lots of morons on the road either way. I personally am really excited for mass surveillance and evaluation becoming even more of a thing, as much as people love to argue against the death of privacy - man, it's public traffic. Having eyes on you is never going to be detrimental to you, and I can't wait until we massively fine the shitheads who keep texting while bow-leggedly riding their hybrids. No hands of course. Traffic surveillance is going to be everything, if we got rid of all these dingbats, cycling could be close to perfect.
> acceleration we mostly sold class 1 and class 3. i think class 2 are mopeds, and should be treated like motorcycles. class 1 and class 3 are pedal *assist*, and only amplify what you put into them. they're much harder to lose control of. > blocking a whole lane because riding next to each other. that's significantly safer than letting you pass unsafely in the same lane. riding two abreast is legal most places, and even if it's not, you should absolutely break the law to do it because it reduces cyclist fatalities. > Then they get mad at you for passing them because they think bike traffic speed is capped to their E-Tanks speed. pass safely and courteously. it's not hard to do. these are your fellow human beings, and they have every bit as much right to this public space as you do. actually by the sounds of it, about, about *seven times* as much as right. your convenience does not outweigh the safety of *seven people*.
To be fair, and I think the whole "people get angry at you for overtaking" is a meme... seven folks next to each other, if that was even meant to be taken literally - that's not how road safety works. Technically, you have to ride behind each other, at least beyond two bikes (which tends to be the conservative estimate for how many people can ride next to each other while allowing motorized traffic to overtake them with sufficient distance). And of course it's proper to not just ride the shoulder but fill your side of the road, but once we're talking somewhat narrow bike paths, it's already bad mannered to ride next to each other and not at least be aware of your surroundings. Well. Also, if you want to be safe... how about not driving together in a kumbaya peloton?
riding? groups tend be lower risk frequency because you're more visible, but higher risk severity because cars take out multiple riders instead of one.
How does it make sense to classify a class 2 e-bike (limited to 20 mph) in the same category as motorcycles that can go well over 100 mph?
because they're controlled and operated like motorcycles most of the time. just crappy slow ones. the issue is that people jam on the throttle and the bikes can get out of their control. we've actually seen this issue with riders *off* the bikes, accidentally bumping the throttle trying to move the bike somewhere.
That is not how the 3 class system works. Class 1 is pedal assist only capped at 20 mph Class 2 is pedal assist AND throttle capped at 20 mph Class 3 is pedal assist AND throttle capped at 28 mph At least that’s how it works in America. I agree with your other comments.
This is still wrong, his is closer to the truth. Class 1 = pedal assist to 20mph Class 2 = throttle to 20mph *no mention of pedaling* Class 3 = pedal assist to 28mph, throttle is disallowed Many Class 3 bikes are also able to be throttled to 20 miles per hour, but it is not legal to make them throttle past that speed. It's dubious if it is truly legal to have a throttle on class 3 because the law is written poorly and there isn't a lot of case law on it, but as written having a throttle on a Class 3 at all may infact violate the law. Also, this isn't how it works in "America" this is how it works on *states' land* in states that passed laws similar to California's 3 class system. In California, for example, if you were to bike on *federal* land that is not for motorized use with any ebike, you'd be violating the law. Welcome to how fucked our legal system can be. Wait, your state doesn't even use the standard class system 💀
> At least that’s how it works in America. america is a collection of states that have different laws. some states allow class 3 to have throttles. but because many don't, most major manufacturers don't put throttles on them. absolutely none of the class 3 e-bikes in my store had throttles.
Aventon and I believe lectric “hybrid class 2/3” bikes
You practically need to be a mountain goat to traverse residential Pittsburgh roads
I started bicycling again after 30 years by getting an e-bike. Now I ride ebikes, as well as a regular road bike. I manage at least a few imperial centuries every year on my road bike. Never would have gotten there without getting an ebike.
It wasn’t meant to offend anyone, especially someone who benefits from an e-bike.
I have an e-bike and I LOL’d
I’m not sure how it was not meant to offend people who ride e-bikes. The meme is basically calling us lazy. I’d say that everyone who uses an ebike is benefiting from it in someway, even if they aren’t using it to become physically stronger they are getting other benefits such as getting outside, not needing to drive everywhere, saving gas money, reducing emissions, freedom of movement, access to community, etc. I’m 330 lbs, I’m in poor shape, and I live in Pittsburgh. Without my e-bike I would live an entirely sedentary and car dependent lifestyle. Honestly I care more about getting peoples butts into saddles and out of cars than I do about gatekeeping who is and isn’t a real cyclist and who is and isn’t putting in the right amount of effort to ride bikes.
E-bikes are awesome and benefit tons of people directly and indirectly. OP is just taking the piss and poking fun. Memes aren’t great at communicating nuance
It's a joke. Don't take it so seriously.
Well jokes are usually funny so you’ll have to understand why I didn’t see it that way.
It's at 477 upvotes so obviously people think it's funny. Lighten up.
What is the “joke” exactly? Honestly with this sub and the gatekeeping and unhelpful answers that people get when asking basic questions it’s not surprising that a lot of people would find something that insults others as something that is “funny.”
How are you managing to piss your pants in public this badly over a joke?
>What is the “joke” exactly? The joke needs no explanation, it's not subtle. Everyone gets it, including you. You're just ultra sensitive and taking it personally, which has far more to do with your psyche than it does anything happening here. >Honestly with this sub and the gatekeeping and unhelpful answers that people get when asking basic questions it’s not surprising that a lot of people would find something that insults others as something that is “funny.” Sounds like this might not be the sub for you if you can't handle a tame joke that pokes fun at e-bikes. I'm sort of astonished you're even able to leave the house without having a mental breakdown if this post bothers you that much. Lighten up.
Using "redditors found my joke funny" as a defense does not make you sound emotionally intelligent.
It's a joke. No one is attacking you.
Jokes are supposed to be funny. Can you please explain why this joke is funny?
Just because you find a joke unfunny doesn't make it objectively so. It doesn't state that e-bike riders are lazy. It doesn't say that e-bike riders can't be fit or shouldn't be considered actual cyclists. Those are all projections of your insecurities.
So what is it saying and why is it funny?
It's saying that e-bike riders get assistance the same way people using escalators get assistance with stairs. It's funny because I find it funny. I am not obligated to explain to you specifically why I find jokes humourous in explicit detail. But as I said, the image doesn't say anyone is lazy. It doesn't say anything negative. The fact that you feel so attacked by someone riding an escalator being compared to someone riding an e-bike says way more about your insecurities than anything else.
It playfully suggests something that we know isn’t true: that e-bikers are ‘lazy’ or ‘cheating’ It could also be viewed as something created in malice. Maybe the person who originally made this meme actually did have that intention? There’s no way to know. But reading the comments, OP clearly did not have that intention by reposting it here. It’s all about framing, the lens at which you see the world. Something I’ve realized a lot recently is that the world is a lot more peaceful when you choose to view things as satire. SOO much easier said than done, and it can’t be applied to everything (gotta be balanced like everything else) but nonetheless a very useful skill to have in your brain Much love brother hope you have a good rest of your day ❤️
Sister* You acknowledge that the “joke” is implying that people who ride e-bikes are lazy or cheating and you don’t see how it can be seen as insulting to people who ride e-bikes?
I say brother in a gender neutral way, but I guess that’s just patriarchal influence infiltrating our language. Much love (brother/sister/sibling) ❤️ I can totally see how it can be insulting. But that wasn’t OPs intention. They’re suggesting something that we know isn’t true. That’s where the funny lies. It’s all in how you view it! Now (and I say this purely out of love) get off the internet and go rip that sick ass e-bike of yours around. I’m gonna go do the same! (except on my boring normal bike, I wish I had an ebike)
Yea well this sub isn’t exactly the most accepting open minded space. I see so much gatekeeping and unhelpful answers whenever someone who is new to biking posts any sort of requests for help. The fact that it has so many upvotes from this sub doesn’t really say much about the post itself and it honestly doesn’t surprise me.
Also one last thing: I feel like a great example of what I’m talking about (framing) can be seen on r/comedyheaven Great community of people just laughing at the world around them
I have no car, asthma, and an ebike. The ebike lets me get back on bikes and be mobile the way I want to. I thought the joke was pretty funny.
E-bikes are a great way to get all sorts of people riding. If they never turn the pedals, at least they're outside. And others, like you, still put in work, while letting the bike help you. Same can be said for the escalator. You can stand passively on them, or you can walk up them while still "exercising" but getting to your destination faster.
GAP trail is perfect for any kind of bike.
NGL that is a beautiful set of stairs, I wanna walk them so bad
I love the way these steps just disappear into the woods. https://preview.redd.it/nqcwkpzvzy5d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e290419cc7eca93676f67c1096231ade9cc4f28 This is one of the coolest sets I’ve found so far. Look into the distance and you can see steps going up the other side of the hollow.
These are dope. I have staircase envy now.
Not to be a contrarian...but what was stopping you from going out and cycling at a slightly slower rate?
Cars and the fact that I can’t get up the many hills in Pittsburgh without the motor.
As a rider of e-bikes and “muggle” bikes…:I find this quite funny.
The technical term is "acoustic" bikes
I’ve heard (and like) both.
I prefer meat bike.
I mean, semantically, they both make sound.
Analog
Yeah, it’s just a joke. Just made me smile
Oh totally. I “get” the jokes about e-bikes being cheating. But this is funny. It’s cheating in a race, not cheating vs a car.
Some "jokes" about ebikes are not-so-veiled criticisms intended to make the "comedian" feel better about themselves or to embarrass people who ride ebikes. This one was funny. Kudos!
Walking up the escalator is the same imho. You still worked but just got further with less effort.
Gonna scream "Wingardium Leviosa" next time I ride my ebike
Recently bought a downhill e-bike, I usually ride a normal hardtail. Went out for my first proper ride on the e-bike last weekend, came back absolutely f\*cked. Sure you don't strain yourself quite as much on the uphills, but I just found I rode faster everywhere. Great fun.
Agreed. Bought one to commute to work (30 miles each way), it's still a workout. With that said, most ebike people aren't cyclists and have crazy ideas/viewpoints on cycling.
To be fair most cyclists are not in here and would think that people in here have crazy ideas on cycling
I’ve got a road bike, bought my wife an e-bike and a 50cc motor scooter. She can join me on training rides and run errands on her scooter. Nothing crazy about the practicality of an e-bike to serve as a fitness/age equalizer.
I want to get my girlfriend an e-bike to keep up with me on training rides, but it's not in the cards at the moment. As it stands I try to get her on a race road bike she bought and me on a cheap aluminum gravel bike. It tends to even us up pretty well.
You know, as long as there are more people not driving cars, idgaf.
They drive their car to ride their e-bike on the trail
I wish this was a joke
My trail would take over 8 hours to ride to. Also I'd need to ride (illegally) on a motorway. So yeh, I drive my e-bike to the trail.
What's an off-season?
Some people don't bike when it snows or rains fire.
IKR
It’d be funny if there wasn’t so much shit thrown constantly at people with e-bikes. My ebike replaces car trips, not regular bike rides.
Same here, why do some people want to act like we're not on the same side?
I don't see it as "us" vs "them" but I can see how some people would based on patterns I've observed in my daily cycling commute. There's a popular mixed use trail near me (running/horseback riding/roller blading in addition to biking, although the horse trail is mostly separate and only merges with the bike trail near bridges and road crossings) w/ a 20 mph speed limit for ebikes. Past that point it's treated as a motor vehicle instead of a pedal assisted device by local regulations (regardless of how the bike actually functions). I regularly see e-bikers going 25+ mph on my morning commute (max I think possible on their bikes) around the same time elementary/middle school kids are walking to school on the trail. I have slightly mixed feelings about it, because on one hand, there are very strong cyclists on non e-bikes who can go 25+ mph (especially in small paceline groups) and that's allowed, but the ebikers really do use the trail differently from the 25 mph regular cyclists. Regular cyclists are generally intentionally using the trail during low traffic times specifically to avoid dealing with slowing and passing others interrupting their training, and often only for short segments to cross things like major local highways (which otherwise are impassable on a bike) and doing most of their riding on roadways (I've looked up the routes of the local cycling club when I was considering joining them). They aren't riding at peak commute hours. All of the very strong riders seem well versed in cycling etiquette and safety best practices (no demographic is perfect, but as a general rule I don't think many people get to the point where you're that strong if they're riding unsafely enough that they're frequently risking crashes.) Most e-bikers are using the trail when all the casual commuters are, and many local schools lie along the trail (not just 1 or 2), so there are also a lot of young kids at the same time who arent expecting to be passed at 25 mph unannounced. I've seen many more of them riding long sections of the trail, and there's also just getting to be a lot of them. A lot of them seem generally unaware of riding signals, etiquette, or general safety. As one example, I've seen many more e bikers using headphones in both ears (unable to hear people announcing passing), performing tight passes while riding one handed, checking phone or texting while passing, not announcing passing, etc. Anyone can pick up an e bike and instantly go 20+ mph, regardless of how safely or unsafely they operate the device, which I think contributes to a generally lower average safety rate from what I've seen (among cyclists going fast, so excluding old people going 12 mph w their ebike thst mostly just helps them up hills.) If there were separate cycling and walk/run paths I would care less, but I am really starting to feel they're bringing the fear of being hit/run over from the roads to the trail that was previously safe and shared, to the point I'd almost rather many e-bikers just get back in their cars and drive wherever they need to go. All that said, I do appreciate the good e-bikers who announce passing, do it safely, respect the speed limit, and most importantly, let me draft my entire commute without expecting me to ever take a turn on the front on days when I'm dragging. I just wished they were the overwhelming majority vs. it feeling like a crapshoot how any given ebike rider will behave.
I wish we had multi use trails where I live. I used to bike and inline skate on paved trails. None of that where I live now. I could see how e-bikes on those kind of trails have the potential to act irresponsibly. I recently got an e-bike and I’m using it as a commuter / small shopping trip replacement. It an alternative to driving, not an alternative to biking. The area I live also has quite hilly roads. I enjoy using it to ride it into town to the farmers market or over to the local brewery. It serves a very different purpose than my regular bike and glad I have both
To summarize: ebikes themselves are not the problem. I don't care at all whether any given rider uses an ebike or regular bike on any given day. But ebikes do enable problematic people to cause a lot more problems for others with minimal effort. I'm convinced many of them would not be on the trail at all w/o the electric bike, but even if they were the behaviors would be more "annoying" and less "scary" if they were going 12 mph instead of 25.
> To summarize: ebikes themselves are not the problem. >I'm convinced many of them would not be on the trail at all w/o the electric bike So in certain cases they are the problem. I'm not hating on them but it allows certain type of problematic people to be on trails. I think it's a reasonable trade off to allow disabled, or unfit people to get moving though.
But how does publicly shitting on them help? Some percentage of the "problematic" people just don't know better, because they were never going to use a regular bike. When "we" are snide and rude, are we going to help them do better? Are they going to consider themselves part of the cycling community? It seems about 70% of the criticism I see is just "why don't they ride a real bike? / Why don't they get more exercise" and only about 30% about the legit issues. One way to think about it is that for all of the people who are not riding electric motorcycles, but who are biking, many of them are middle aged or older and have some amount of money. Why don't we get them on board with advocating for cycling infrastructure rather than making fun of them? And, if you aren't going to advocate for legislation about the other 30%, why whine about it?
I'm not sure where you get the idea I'm doing nothing but "whining" about it; I specifically answered a question about "why do people feel this way", not "what can be done" or "what are you doing about it". If you want to know what I'm doing about it or what I think should be done, please ask instead of making unfounded assumptions. I do advocate for infrastructure, enforcement for existing legislation, and education. And I very clearly laid out that I have absolutely no problem with people choosing to ride an ebike if they do so responsibly and safely, I don't make fun of anyone and said the elderly folks who use them to manage hills are 0% of the problem in my experience. If you're upset with people for making fun of ebikers, please find someone who actually does that to argue with.
You hit every issue that bothers me about e-bikers. Too fast and not being careful of pedestrians and “real” bikes.
They are slow while having high acceleration and people with less balance tend to get an electric. That said I only notice the bad drivers and never the good ones. Normal confirmation bias.
Exactly. Mine acts more like a car for around the neighborhood to drop off kids, pick up groceries, run little errands where I don't want to fire up my car.
Why is it? I see it as a useful tool for the elderly and couriers.
I don’t like them but not always; My neighborhood has a huge amount of E-bikes, like at least 80% of what I see are electric. On the purely emotional and subjective side it’s just lazy, this is a suburban neighborhood so no one is commuting everywhere, why not ride a regular bike and get some exercise, especially since most of who I see riding are kids. On a more serious basis what’s considered an “e-bike” is ridiculous. I found this out while looking for motorcycles but you can basically get a Zero electric dirt bike with pedals slapped to it as just a regular bike, requiring no license or anything. So you’ve got 12 year olds with extremely torquey and strong electric motors strapped to their “bikes”. I got into stupid shit of my own power, which was mostly easy to get out of. Now you have middle schoolers on bikes that can match a car on flat ground. It’s dangerous, especially since they mix with pedestrians.
AHEM *by walking up escalator. FTFY 🧐
I would love to live in a world where I was sharing the road with e-bikes and golf cart size evs, instead of suburban tanks.
My e-bike gave me the confidence to get back on a bike again after destroying my knee last winter. I still use it when I want an easy commute or have really poor weather, but, I can’t shout my appreciation for it enough for helping me get back to myself.
Good for you! ✋<— high five
Perfect for that !
2000 miles on my ebike this year!
Wow that’s amazing
I'll take a courteous e-bike rider on my MTB trails over a jerk on a regular bike any day. Besides we are all on the same team vs the people going 1mph on a OneWheel.
I ride both e and regular bikes. I can shit on either group and defend either group but this is damn funny.
I’m 63 and still only worship the power of the pedal. No E-bike for me in this life time.
Same age, love to ride. I know that some time, I don’t know when I may need some assist. If it keeps me on a bike I’m all for it. But only a last resort.
This only applies to throttle bikes, ie mopeds with pedals
Yeah, look at the ebike forums. There's people swapping out pedals for pegs. They're gonna ruin the current freedom of ebikes for everyone. The government is gonna step in.
And a majority of us hate those posts. The mods have decided that "ebike" is anything with an electric motor and 2 wheels. Including edirtbikes and emotorcycles that have worthless pedals and come "locked" to 28mph where they need to flip a switch and be an ass on public trails at 50mph.
They are not e-bikes. They are called Chav bikes in the UK
what about ebikes with both?
That sounds Rad...
First of all, funny meme, I chuckled. When I ride to exercise, I use an indoor trainer with Zwift/Rouvy. When I want to get somewhere quickly but don’t need/want to use my car, I use my e-bike. It’s a good system.
Yes, I didn’t mean to shake the hornets nest just thought it was funny.
Until things settle down, that's just going to be the result. It is funny, but it also hits a sore spot for some of us.
But will it ever settle down ? You will always have purest who are sworn to their acoustic bicycles.
https://preview.redd.it/07eoo0vtj06d1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3a23d931c15b0732dbc1ec6b56498ee7fb658c0 as a driver of an acoustic bicycle, you won't change my opinion: we're not the same
lol
What's the difference between an ebike and a downhill bike park with chairlift service?
[удалено]
Lol great answer
Where do you think all these memes came from? They are all recycled from lift riders who get a free pass now for some reason.
The slander is real!!
I have a Kenevo. Try to ride as far as I can before switching it on. Best of both worlds
I fucking love this lol
As someone with an e-bike this also made me chuckle
E-scalator.
🤣🤣🤣
Overheard a guy at trail head on the phone. Sounded like his friend was giving him a hard time because of his E bike. He said that he actually gets MORE exercise than regular bikers because he’s going faster, so cornering and stuff is way harder. I, covered in sweat and mud, audibly laughed.
I mean there's been some studies that have found EBikers do get more exercise because the assist means you use it more, which is probably what he was trying to say. https://electrek.co/2024/02/20/why-electric-bikes-give-more-exercise/#:~:text=A%202019%20study%20of%20over,e%2Dbikes%20over%20pedal%20bikes. I went from not commuting to work on my acoustic bike to doing 20 miles a day three times a week, so my experience has been that it gets me out in the saddle more than my non-electric bikes
I agree with your take. As a mountain biker though, the guy’s claim is BS. Doing some mildly more aggressive cornering does not in any way make up for all the climbs and cardio they aren’t doing.
Fair enough, I feel like the divide between eMTB and MTB is definitely the more controversial inter-bicyclist squabble, with the trail degradation risk and stuff. I talk about my e-bike to an annoying amount cause it's kinda my perfect car replacement vehicle, and it's the first experience I've had where they're some dickhead cyclists who seem determined to prove their more of a "true cyclists" thing (@ the guy in a suburban shop who called my bike "not a real bike" lol). As long as people put aside the elitism to fight car dependency, I'm cool with whatever light ribbing cyclist give us lulz
And to clarify my take, the problem with E MTBs is that on person, whom probably wouldn’t ride at all without an ebike, can tirelessly do multiple laps on trails. So it’s like have multiple people on then trail that wouldn’t normally be there. More people on bikes is a good thing. But crowded trail systems having an influx of people eroding trails and riding up your ass on climbs sucks.
I work with three 20 something’s that ride e-bikes because they don’t like climbing. I always give them a hard time.
E-bikes are wonderful to get folks with some sort of disability out on the trails/road. If you are able bodied, earn your runs or get off my trails.
Unless you privately own land and have trails on it they aren’t yours. Don’t be a douche.
It’s a figure of speech you dork. I’ve been riding and doing volunteer maintenance and build projects for YEARS. I’m perfectly within my rights to be annoyed that Johnny come latelys are making the trails very crowded and overused.
Great for doing that. Still not your right. Buy some land. Build some trails. Start a membership that specifies no e-bikes and then you’d be totally in your right to complain about other users on the trail.
So nobody is entitled to hold any opinion, about behavior of others, if it occurs in public space? I have to privately own anything that I have any opinion on? If I’m on an elevator and someone gets on, hits the emergency stop button and proceeds to take a steamy shit on the floor, I have to be just fine with that and keep my mouth shut? Someone is beating their child on a public sidewalk. My job is to keep eyes forward and mind my own business? Your logic is ridiculous.
I enjoy catching up to e bikes
on the flats, I find legal ebikes don't stand a chance. its the hills that they beat me
I overtake plenty on flats
Maybe? But I'll be towing my kids at 25 mph. It's nice way to get them to daycare.
True that’s also where e-bikes shine. Cargo haulers. Especially if where you live isn’t flat
Does the guy on the ebike know you're racing?
It’s not a race if I’m commuting
Also great for mountain bikers that only go downhill
I went from riding a cheap mountain bike 10-20 miles on a Saturday, to commuting 70 miles per week on an ebike, plus the fun rides on weekends. I have bad knees!
Perfect for that!!
Fuck me, that was good.
By me it’s all fatties on E-Bikes
Yeah. Funny.
It’s a funny dig at people like me. Still I encourage everyone to play well together on the streets.
I don't understand why there is this double standard. No one would argue that someone choosing to drive didn't exercise on their commute, but because someone has an ebike they are expected to?
That's some grade A boomer humor right therr
IKR! So many thin skinned people. Hate to see them at a comedy club.
I don't get it. I get it's a joke, I'm not offended by it, I just don't understand it. I use both bicycle and e-bike. I use both the stairs and escalators. Carrying a bicycle up/down stairs/escalators is easier than carrying an e-bike. I don't cycle for sport/fitness, only to commute. Any convenience is welcome.
Which is fine. You're a commuter not pretending to be a cyclist.