Anrai wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2024 4:36 pm
Bit of a crosspost but I had the thought running parallel to this that the speeds the 2-stroke bike kids I complain about hoon around at are attainable by a young and fit cyclist, and
obviously they're not averse to spending time riding recreationally.
There's got to be some kind of mentality that either cycling is somehow not worth the effort to get fit enough to go as fast as they want, or
a lot of them really do just want to be riding a motorbike while justifying to themselves that they can run on bicycle laws (which is often false on the devices of choice!)
I think there's going to be more cyclists on e-bikes than actual bikes within a few years so I'm trying to keep an open mind on the matter. This is hard because I basically just don't use a bike as transport - it's all about exercise for me. I can entirely understand the benefits of electric assistance for transport though and just wish I was in a position to consider the same (my commute by any type of bicycle is hideously dangerous - I'll only do it on weekends).
There are some e-bike proponents twisting themselves into knots to find evidence that e-bikes are better exercise than self-propelled bikes.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/20/why-elec ... l%20bikes.
I think for some people and some bikes they may be. But these don't include the massive fat tyred things with 1000W motors where the pedals basically operate as a switch for the motor. Or even worse just run on a throttle. That's not exercise, that's a motorbike without registration. And yes they do have some utility as (illegal) transport but are not bicycles in any way, shape or form.
I can see myself considering a light 250W e-bike at some stage when I get too old and decrepit to climb as much as I do. But I figure the longer I put off that step the less rapidly I'll reach that stage. I am a bit saddened by the current generation of teenagers (and younger kids for that matter) that seem to be jumping straight onto electrical assistance from their start on two wheels. It's not unusual to see 4-5 year old kids riding along with their parents on a child's e-bike around here.
Ah well, still better than another car on the road. Though I'd appreciate not being buzzed by e-scooters doing 70-80km/hr+ so often on our bikeways.