Electric bikes

[rpm]

On my commute this morning I was going downhill toward a bridge when some guy sitting upright on a heavy-duty hybrid pulled right out in front of me at the bottom of the hill. I was annoyed and started to pass him on the bridge when I looked over and he was speeding up! I really had to dig into the wind to get by him.

On the bike path on the other side, he came around me and I finally figured out why he was so fast--he had an electric bike. The thing was deceptive because it made no noise and he was still pedaling. This was the first one I had seen on the road.

I'm ambivalent about them. I'm sure they're going to to be great for the elderly and those with physical limitations, but they're also going to make a bunch of bad riders faster, and that's not good.

[jr59]

I think e-bikes are a good thing.

Anything that allows people to use their bike in place of their car I'm all for.

I don't think I have ever seen a road/race e-bike.

Most are commutor or cargo type bikes! And I'm good with that also.

Also, I could care less if bad riders get fast, I'm not in a race with them anyway.

[learningtoride]

I have to agree with you. Here in Az. there are people riding them everywhere. (Got to love college towns) I had a '79 Shovelhead Harley a decade or so ago and really started falling back in love with the bicycle not long after. You want something motorized get a motorcycle or even a vespa and leave the bikes to those of us that actually enjoy the body making the movement. Just IMO.

[biker72]

I don't think I have ever seen a road/race e-bike.

I’ve seen one. A road racer with an injured leg outfitted a road bike with an electric assist setup used in Trek hybrids.. The battery in this case was mounted on the down tube. The amount of assist is adjustable from the handlebar.

The bike warranty is of course voided and this particular electric setup is illegal in the USA because the rider can achieve almost 30mph. The software in the Trek hybrids limits the top speed to 20mph.

[rpm]

Actually what I meant about bad riders was not bad in the sense of going slow, but bad in the sense of sketchy riding and doing dumb things at higher speeds.


I think e-bikes are a good thing.

Anything that allows people to use their bike in place of their car I'm all for.

I don't think I have ever seen a road/race e-bike.

Most are commutor or cargo type bikes! And I'm good with that also.

Also, I could care less if bad riders get fast, I'm not in a race with them anyway.

[rice rocket]

I think most e-bikes have pretty long wheelbases and slack head tubes for this reason. Not that that replaces bad habits.

[mudhead]

I don't think I have ever seen a road/race e-bike.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh064q_highlights-from-2010-paris-roubaix_sport

[benb]

I have seen a bunch of them and have rode 3.

All of them were about the quality of a Walmart bike, including the braking ability, but they weigh like 75lbs and allow a clueless rider to go 20mph down the MUT.

I'm fine with them on the road, but think they should be banned from the MUT. As far as I'm concerned they are motor vehicles.