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I dont get ebikes. Surely the extra weight of a motor + battery offsets any advantages. Whats a more efficient source of work than the human body? I average abo

I dont get ebikes. Surely the extra weight of a motor + battery offsets any advantages. Whats a more efficient source of work than the human body? I average about 25kph on my road bike, on extremely hilly/crappy roads out where I live. I've gone over 70kph on it, but I would very rarely do that as it would be dangerously fast in most situations. If you cycle in and out to work every day your performance will increase as you get fitter / build up certain muscles. Cycling is an elegant, low carbon, solution to commuting + getting enough exercise.

tomjen3 10y ago
Ebikes means my mum doesn't take the car all the time. She isn't fit and there isn't a way to go that doesn't have steep hills. It might mean my grandparents were able to go see/do more things, if they weren't scared of them. They are less useful for healthy, young adults, though they might get more people to ride if they made it unnecessary to shower when you were done (it is not a problem to shower at work if that place has a gym, you just don't shower at home, however it is annoying having to shower when you get home again).
Avshalom 10y ago
>Whats a more efficient source of work than the human body probably almost anything?
- deleted 10y ago
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acoil 10y ago
I have a 250W e-bike and it cuts my 15 mile commute about in half which is the difference between my chubby ole self being able to do it twice a month or 4 days a week.
jseliger 10y ago
I dont get ebikes I didn't either, and then I rode one. Now I get it. Ride one.
- laughfactory 10y ago
  Yep. This. I finally rode one, and then _had_ to get one. Any kind of ebike is insanely fun, even the hub motor ones. Me and my wife use them for going almost everywhere when it's not too snowy or icy. My next one will be an electric fat tire bike. Can't wait! Riding an ebike beats sitting in a car (in traffic or not) any day of the week! Granted, I'm actually happy with being able to go 20-25 mph on mine, but what I want is just more acceleration so I can get to the max speed faster and climb hills easier/faster.
  - HNaTTY 10y ago
    You me and the author are on the same page. Top speed isn't the issue that the author is complaining about, and it's not the reason to get more power. It's about acceleration and hill climbing. That's why he wants more power, and it's why he hates hub motors big and small. In the author's case, it's so that he can power a heavy bike with 5.5" wide tires through deep snow. So many people in this thread don't ride like this, so they imagine 2500 watts powering their skimpy road bike with 110psi tires. He talks about it in this post: https://electricbike-blog.com/2016/12/21/electric-fat-biking-in-the-woods-is-so-much-fun-i-cant-believe-everyone-isnt-doing-it/ https://electricbike-blog.com/2016/12/21/electric-fat-biking...
    - laughfactory 10y ago
      Exactly. I'd happily buy another $3000+ ebike with a top speed of 20 mph if it could get to that speed faster, and maintain it up hills. The hills, especially, slow me down a lot, and more than I'm happy with.
loeg 10y ago
> Surely the extra weight of a motor + battery offsets any advantages It turns out, nope. It's still easier and faster. I don't ride e-bikes but I'm happy to see more people on bikes.
WD-42 10y ago
I agree with you. The reality though is that there is this huge population of people that aren't interested in doing anything difficult ever in their lives (the amount of times I've heard "sweating" as an excuse not to ride a bike makes me believe it) . I think this is why the bike industry has such a hard on for ebikes. It's a huge market to tap in to.

tomjen3 10y ago

Ebikes means my mum doesn't take the car all the time. She isn't fit and there isn't a way to go that doesn't have steep hills. It might mean my grandparents were able to go see/do more things, if they weren't scared of them. They are less useful for healthy, young adults, though they might get more people to ride if they made it unnecessary to shower when you were done (it is not a problem to shower at work if that place has a gym, you just don't shower at home, however it is annoying having to shower when you get home again).

Avshalom 10y ago

>Whats a more efficient source of work than the human body probably almost anything?

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

acoil 10y ago

I have a 250W e-bike and it cuts my 15 mile commute about in half which is the difference between my chubby ole self being able to do it twice a month or 4 days a week.

jseliger 10y ago

I dont get ebikes I didn't either, and then I rode one. Now I get it. Ride one.

laughfactory 10y ago
Yep. This. I finally rode one, and then _had_ to get one. Any kind of ebike is insanely fun, even the hub motor ones. Me and my wife use them for going almost everywhere when it's not too snowy or icy. My next one will be an electric fat tire bike. Can't wait! Riding an ebike beats sitting in a car (in traffic or not) any day of the week! Granted, I'm actually happy with being able to go 20-25 mph on mine, but what I want is just more acceleration so I can get to the max speed faster and climb hills easier/faster.
- HNaTTY 10y ago
  You me and the author are on the same page. Top speed isn't the issue that the author is complaining about, and it's not the reason to get more power. It's about acceleration and hill climbing. That's why he wants more power, and it's why he hates hub motors big and small. In the author's case, it's so that he can power a heavy bike with 5.5" wide tires through deep snow. So many people in this thread don't ride like this, so they imagine 2500 watts powering their skimpy road bike with 110psi tires. He talks about it in this post: https://electricbike-blog.com/2016/12/21/electric-fat-biking-in-the-woods-is-so-much-fun-i-cant-believe-everyone-isnt-doing-it/ https://electricbike-blog.com/2016/12/21/electric-fat-biking...
  - laughfactory 10y ago
    Exactly. I'd happily buy another $3000+ ebike with a top speed of 20 mph if it could get to that speed faster, and maintain it up hills. The hills, especially, slow me down a lot, and more than I'm happy with.

loeg 10y ago

> Surely the extra weight of a motor + battery offsets any advantages It turns out, nope. It's still easier and faster. I don't ride e-bikes but I'm happy to see more people on bikes.

WD-42 10y ago

I agree with you. The reality though is that there is this huge population of people that aren't interested in doing anything difficult ever in their lives (the amount of times I've heard "sweating" as an excuse not to ride a bike makes me believe it) . I think this is why the bike industry has such a hard on for ebikes. It's a huge market to tap in to.