E-bikes are a thing

Ebikes??

  • I have never ridden one

    Votes: 98 40.3%

  • I have ridden one for over an hour on a trail and I’ll never buy one

    Votes: 9 3.7%

  • I have ridden one in a trail for over an hr and I am considering one

    Votes: 19 7.8%

  • I’ll never give up my analog bike but I’ll still get an ebike

    Votes: 35 14.4%

  • Did he just say analog bike?

    Votes: 36 14.8%

  • My knees are failing and an ebike in inevitable

    Votes: 17 7.0%

  • My next bike will certainly be an ebike.

    Votes: 19 7.8%

  • I’ll never own an ebike, even when I’m 90

    Votes: 25 10.3%

  • Ebikes cause more trail damage than analog bikes

    Votes: 8 3.3%

  • Ebikes have no more trail impact than a traditional bike.

    Votes: 64 26.3%

  • I hate anyone on an ebike

    Votes: 7 2.9%

  • Anyone on a bike is a friend of mine, ebike or not

    Votes: 92 37.9%

  • I’ve been seeing ebikes in the woods regularly

    Votes: 53 21.8%

  • I’ve never seen an ebike on the trail

    Votes: 15 6.2%

  • It's called an Acoustic bike

    Votes: 14 5.8%

  • “I may consider one after my body is all used up and broken"

    Votes: 63 25.9%

  • I already own an off-road Ebike

    Votes: 36 14.8%

  • I have no interest in an e-bike

    Votes: 13 5.3%

  • Arguing against ebikes is kerfuffle

    Votes: 15 6.2%

  • I like Matty no matter what he rides

    Votes: 19 7.8%
  • Total voters
    243
Bike N Gear said:
My dad worked as an "Electrical Engineer" for 50+ years, but could never sign a set of plans. Started as a draftsman at 18 and just stuck to it. Good luck starting out like that today.
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That's basically what I've done for the past 20+ years. I was dumb and missed the window when I could have applied for the EIT and PE in PA based on experience, but that path closed some 15+ years ago. At this point at age 53, I don't really care about that. I make enough money doing what I do and I already have more responsibilities and stress than I ever bargained for. Being a PE would just add more. Trying to keep my head down and power through until I can hopefully retire at 60.

I rode at Kingdom Trails with old friends on Sat. One rode her Trek e-bike - the lower powered one that doesn't scream "this is an e-bike!!" like her Heckler does, although she said it definitely is harder to climb on. She didn't power away from us like she normally does. We rode about 16 miles and it went through about 75% of the battery. I think they planned to ride East Haven on Sunday which is a spot where having an e-bike would be awesome.
 
When I ride my Kenevo with friends on mtb’s , I just ride in economy mode. When I ride by myself I ride in trail mode. I only use turbo mode on the road or when I am going to try to climb something really crazy. As for the road e bikes, they have replaced the old two stroke mopeds. They do need to be regulated like the old mopeds.
 
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scott62 said:
When I ride my Kenevo with friends on mtb’s , I just ride in economy mode. When I ride by myself I ride in trail mode. I only use turbo mode on the road or when I am going to try to climb something really crazy. As for the road e bikes, they have replaced the old two stroke mopeds. They do need to be regulated like the old mopeds.
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What??

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mfennell said:
I've never seen an e-bike like that on the road. The ones I see are functionally equivalent to a moped. They never seem to pedal them, just buzz along down the road.
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Yeah I think the point is, mopeds weren't that highly in use. Mostly kids who hadn't gotten their licenses yet or weirdos.

Now there's a ton of electric bike offerings that are basically electric mopeds but are more widely used and ridden by people at high speeds without helmets and not like a regular vehicle. Riding on sidewalks, not following regular rules of the road etc.

Probably not a bad thing if people were educated and road safely. Better for road infrastructure and the environment than using a 3,500lb car for the same trip.

And what's up with electric fat bikes, is that a thing? I keep seeing more and more of them on the bike path by my house. I assume they're more stable than a regular bike for older folk? In the past 8 months of riding Pisgah/Dupont on a regular basis I haven't seen a single fat bike on the trails, but see more and more electric fat bikes on the rail trail.
 
Santapez said:
And what's up with electric fat bikes, is that a thing? I keep seeing more and more of them on the bike path by my house. I assume they're more stable than a regular bike for older folk? In the past 8 months of riding Pisgah/Dupont on a regular basis I haven't seen a single fat bike on the trails, but see more and more electric fat bikes on the rail trail.
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People that haven't ridden a bike in 15 years like fat tires because you can put 100% of your weight on your butt and just cruise.

It is two fundamentally different ways of riding a bike. I'm usually pedalling always but sometimes i'll lower the seat and turn off my legs and the experience feels very different.

Ride over some rocks or gravel with all your weight on the seat it is not a pleasant experience, you are usually sharing the pressure with your hands and feet.
 
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Ironjunk said:
People that haven't ridden a bike in 15 years like fat tires because you can put 100% of your weight on your butt and just cruise.

It is two fundamentally different ways of riding a bike. I'm usually pedalling always but sometimes i'll lower the seat and turn off my legs and the experience feels very different.

Ride over some rocks or gravel with all your weight on the seat it is not a pleasant experience, you are usually sharing the pressure with your hands and feet.
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Well yeah, these are all people on the rail trail cruising around. So while they may be pedalling, they're definitely upright. Basically they could/should be an a hybrid E-Bike but are on electric fat bikes. Which with the electric boost is probably better than hybrid for stability but doesn't have the issue of pedalling.

We were talking to our neighbors this weekend who have got to be late 70s, early 80s but extremely outgoing and really into rail trails all over and go on road trips to them in their camper. She had a stroke 2 years ago and was saying how it wasn't the issue of pedaling but the balance. That after 10 miles so much effort went into pedaling & balance she couldn't ride much further and so the e-bike helps a lot in regards to that.
 
mfennell said:
I've never seen an e-bike like that on the road. The ones I see are functionally equivalent to a moped. They never seem to pedal them, just buzz along down the road.
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I've seen a few in FL. I also see the big fat tire bikes that guys zip around on the road without peddling.
 
mfennell said:
I've never seen an e-bike like that on the road. The ones I see are functionally equivalent to a moped. They never seem to pedal them, just buzz along down the road.
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Same here. Most of them do have lights, although few are wearing helmets - but no MC helmet law in PA (nor NH), so not surprising. I think we refer to these as "DUI cyclists" - they would be driving if they could, but they can't so this is what they use to get to work. Day, night, sun, rain, snow, etc... at first they were on creaky dept store mtn bikes (some still are). Now they're on these. They usually have fat tires.
 
Putting everything in one package, what could go wrong? I have seen numbers of 3%- to almost 20% failure rate on e bike drive systems depending on the brand, now let’s shove a drivetrain into the box. Pass on being a beta tester.
 
Ever notice that many, if not most, of the "cheap" or value (sub $2k) e-mountain bikes are fat bikes? Why do you suppose that is? The only explanation I can think of is because they have hub motors and they're wider than a standard non-fat rear hub? I do see sub $2K ebikes with hub motors that are not fat but they're not mountain bikes, or mount bike shaped, so the hub motors are smaller. What do you think?
 
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tonyride said:
Ever notice that many, if not most, of the "cheap" or value (sub $2k) e-mountain bikes are fat bikes? Why do you suppose that is? The only explanation I can think of is because they have hub motors and they're wider than a standard non-fat rear hub? I do see sub $2K ebikes with hub motors that are not fat but they're not mountain bikes, or mount bike shaped, so the hub motors are smaller. What do you think?
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Now I'm wondering if all these E-Fat bikes I keep seeing on the rail trail are actually just really cheap and that's why I see them. Also probably cheaper to have a smooth ride with huge tires and rigid frame and fork as opposed to a suspension.

I think stability for new riders is probably the best reason. And more burly?

I remember reading an article that a bike shop owner in England saying that all the cheaper bike sales went fat bikes because everyone wants a burly looking bike. Same logic as a Jeep buyer.
 
Santapez said:
Now I'm wondering if all these E-Fat bikes I keep seeing on the rail trail are actually just really cheap and that's why I see them. Also probably cheaper to have a smooth ride with huge tires and rigid frame and fork as opposed to a suspension.

I think stability for new riders is probably the best reason. And more burly?

I remember reading an article that a bike shop owner in England saying that all the cheaper bike sales went fat bikes because everyone wants a burly looking bike. Same logic as a Jeep buyer.
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Anyone one of the explanations could be true. I just thought it was insane to make an already pretty heavy bike even heavier by giving it heavier wheels and tires. I saw a review of one that was 78 pounds. Transporting that sucker must be fun.
 
Santapez said:
Same logic as a Jeep buyer.
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Whatever jeep did to make everyone need to make jeep their persona was genious. I built my XJ and got over it because it's NJ not wyoming, but also gas prices. I guess everyone just accepted the gas prices and instead of buying something reasonable just took it as a chance to have an identity.

I gues you can't really reason with someone rolling 38" MTRs wahwahwahwahwahing down the parkway with 37 identity affirming ducks on the dash.

Back to fat tire ebikes, there is another thing unreasonable. Hey i want a folding bike but i need it to be 78lbs, said nobody reasonable.
 
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