Teams & Riders Will e-bikes be the end of cycling?

[Miss Violet Smith]

I'm thinking of getting one for commuting to work; I'd emoto in the morning and ride back unassisted in the evening. Maybe.

 

[noob]

Whether ebikes or not the problem in bike lanes is speed. I have oftentimes wished there were systems like those in public swimming pools which has lanes for swimmers who are fast vs those who are not. The most vocal people wants fast speeds no matter what they use. But old people who are not very mobile might want to ride their bikes too. So commuting lanes should be different from sightseeing lanes where speeds sometimes isn't much faster than walking or running.

 

[awavey]

For me I think ebikes have two sides, in the UK the ones that are speed limited are a great way to get more people cycling, they are just bikes really with a bit of motor assistance, and I've no problem with them at all, even when they breeze past me.

It is quite funny though I can always catch them again down hill I guess it's confidence or gravity one of the two 🤣

The other side though are the ebikes that really are e-motorbikes, but always get labelled ebikes. They're unrestricted on speed, technically illegal to ride on roads in the UK and their riders whilst also lacking basic road sense don't seem to appreciate the speed disparity they have which inevitably means when they crash they'll be seriously hurt.

And those I don't like, especially the ones ive encoutered travelling near motor vehicle speeds on cycle paths or, on roads, and those worry me more because those are the ones the politicians with axes to grind with cycling, label as out of control cyclists and are more likely to bring in legislation that impacts all cyclists simply because the authorities will argue its hard for them to check rules about motor power and so on and why can't they just blanket frame a rule instead.

 

[awavey]

Perfect example here a Sur-ron is an electric motorbike, and yet it's referred to throughout as an ebike and the rider as a cyclist.

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/25224719.dangerous-e-bike-rider-kicks-police-officer-haverhill/

 

[RedheadDane]

No, I don't think e-bikes will be the end of cycling. Neither in terms of the sport, nor the basic purpose of simply getting around.
Though, it is kinda jarring the first couple of times you struggle to get up a hill, and then some old lady on an e-bike just rides past you...

 

[Cookster15]

it is kinda jarring the first couple of times you struggle to get up a hill, and then some old lady on an e-bike just rides past you...

Been happening to me for a few years on a local climb . And yes it is annoying although I don't fear for the future of cycling.

Most commercially sold e-bikes are limited to a 250 watt motor. An old lady might be able to sustain 50 watts. 300 watts can get most who aren't super heavy up a 6% grade pretty quick.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

I think it will be split in two directions in the future, e-bikers and a culture in more dedicated training.

Mid town in my city now almost everybody have converted to e-bikes, but in my sattelite town it's filled with oldfashioned race bike training, both solo and groups, as well as continuous expansions of quality MTB tracks, well-visited by all ages.

Both of the latter are healthy growing here, so frankly I have hard times taking the dark glasses on here.

Only thing is the family group rides on classic everyday bikes of which seems to have left the surface. Ofc it stiches in my heart, for instance in late 70ies and early 80ies you had bigger cycling events for the entire family with the participation of the very youngest family members, of which now have been fully replaced by dedicated competitive recreational events, and I really miss that common culture....