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I have no plans on competing; for a purely civilian purpose, is there a way to get the "motor doping" stuff for bikes? It seems like it would be kind of cool to

I have no plans on competing; for a purely civilian purpose, is there a way to get the "motor doping" stuff for bikes? It seems like it would be kind of cool to get a bit of an artificial push when biking.

zacharycohn 2y ago
That's just an ebike. There are many available, and even conversion kits for your existing bike.
- andrewf 2y ago
  Something I didn't realize before trying one is the different assist settings available. The lowest one just made it feel like I'd slept better and was having an easy ride. The highest assist setting had a really obvious "kick". The bike I used didn't have a "cruise" setting that moved the bike along while your legs sat still, like I've seen on some bikes.
- MengerSponge 2y ago
  And yes, it's beyond kind of cool. It's a total game changer to be able to ride that fast with so little exertion. It feels like a superpower. Fun fact: net net, people are more active with an ebike, even though they expend less energy at any point of any particular ride.
  - sahila 2y ago
    What does net net mean in this context? Is the implication that there's more riding ebikes vs regular ones and so they're more active? Hard to imagine that there's people taking long rides on ebikes, if they even last that long (25+ miles rides).
    - tim333 2y ago
      I think that quote is based on survey research such as mentioned here https://storybicycles.com/blogs/ebike-blog/study-shows-e-bike-riders-get-more-exercise-than-traditional-bike-riders https://storybicycles.com/blogs/ebike-blog/study-shows-e-bik... Obviously it's going to vary a bit with individual cases. As an ebike myself it's handy you can choose the effort required depending on your mood etc.
    - weberer 2y ago
      I make frequent bike rides to work on my ebike that I would never do on a regular bike since the last stretch is uphill and I don't want to arrive sweaty. So that's 5mi vs 0 in that specific example.
  - bombcar 2y ago
    My experience with an e-bike is that range anxiety goes away. You don’t mind traveling further because you know that if you get really tired, the motor will bring you back.
    - hasbot 2y ago
      Yes and hill anxiety goes away too because I know the e-bike will help me up the worst gradient.
- jwagenet 2y ago
  I think the ask is for a cheeky, hidden seat tube motor like one referenced in the article to preserve the bike aesthetic rather than external mounted stuff: https://goatbikes.com/vivax-assist/ https://goatbikes.com/vivax-assist/
  - pierrefermat1 2y ago
    https://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/products/bike-ebikes-road https://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/products/bike-ebikes-road I think Scott has one of the cleanest looking road bike ebikes around, but many other brands do the same. With how chunky aero bikes are they are indistungishable to the masses.
andix 2y ago
Just get a regular pedelec that doesn't look like a regular pedelec. For example something from Fazua (https://fazua.com/ https://fazua.com/), it doesn't scream pedelec right away, still it provides decent electric support and can also be used without the motor. There are for sure way more stealth solutions.
- andix 2y ago
  PS: this is not a recommendation to buy Fazua, they seem to have quite mixed reviews regarding reliability.
danglish 2y ago
[flagged]
- YPPH 2y ago
  Please be polite. It’s in the site guidelines.
Aperocky 2y ago
If you don't need it to fit into your existing skinny road bike tube you might actually get one that last for a few hour instead of a few minutes lol.
dtgriscom 2y ago
I've rented an e-bike where you have to pedal, and it adds "oomph" to your efforts. It feels like having a superpower, pedaling easily up a steep hill.
toast0 2y ago
Something like this looks pretty ordinary, but has a motor. https://www.bianchi.com/store/us_EN/yqbn8-aria-e-road-ultegra-11sp-0.html https://www.bianchi.com/store/us_EN/yqbn8-aria-e-road-ultegr... I think your usual high end bike makers all have some e-road bikes, some of which are going to be pretty stealth.

zacharycohn 2y ago

That's just an ebike. There are many available, and even conversion kits for your existing bike.

andrewf 2y ago
Something I didn't realize before trying one is the different assist settings available. The lowest one just made it feel like I'd slept better and was having an easy ride. The highest assist setting had a really obvious "kick". The bike I used didn't have a "cruise" setting that moved the bike along while your legs sat still, like I've seen on some bikes.
MengerSponge 2y ago
And yes, it's beyond kind of cool. It's a total game changer to be able to ride that fast with so little exertion. It feels like a superpower. Fun fact: net net, people are more active with an ebike, even though they expend less energy at any point of any particular ride.
- sahila 2y ago
  What does net net mean in this context? Is the implication that there's more riding ebikes vs regular ones and so they're more active? Hard to imagine that there's people taking long rides on ebikes, if they even last that long (25+ miles rides).
  - tim333 2y ago
    I think that quote is based on survey research such as mentioned here https://storybicycles.com/blogs/ebike-blog/study-shows-e-bike-riders-get-more-exercise-than-traditional-bike-riders https://storybicycles.com/blogs/ebike-blog/study-shows-e-bik... Obviously it's going to vary a bit with individual cases. As an ebike myself it's handy you can choose the effort required depending on your mood etc.
  - weberer 2y ago
    I make frequent bike rides to work on my ebike that I would never do on a regular bike since the last stretch is uphill and I don't want to arrive sweaty. So that's 5mi vs 0 in that specific example.
- bombcar 2y ago
  My experience with an e-bike is that range anxiety goes away. You don’t mind traveling further because you know that if you get really tired, the motor will bring you back.
  - hasbot 2y ago
    Yes and hill anxiety goes away too because I know the e-bike will help me up the worst gradient.
jwagenet 2y ago
I think the ask is for a cheeky, hidden seat tube motor like one referenced in the article to preserve the bike aesthetic rather than external mounted stuff: https://goatbikes.com/vivax-assist/ https://goatbikes.com/vivax-assist/
- pierrefermat1 2y ago
  https://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/products/bike-ebikes-road https://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/products/bike-ebikes-road I think Scott has one of the cleanest looking road bike ebikes around, but many other brands do the same. With how chunky aero bikes are they are indistungishable to the masses.

andix 2y ago

Just get a regular pedelec that doesn't look like a regular pedelec. For example something from Fazua (https://fazua.com/ https://fazua.com/), it doesn't scream pedelec right away, still it provides decent electric support and can also be used without the motor. There are for sure way more stealth solutions.

andix 2y ago
PS: this is not a recommendation to buy Fazua, they seem to have quite mixed reviews regarding reliability.

danglish 2y ago

[flagged]

YPPH 2y ago
Please be polite. It’s in the site guidelines.

Aperocky 2y ago

If you don't need it to fit into your existing skinny road bike tube you might actually get one that last for a few hour instead of a few minutes lol.

dtgriscom 2y ago

I've rented an e-bike where you have to pedal, and it adds "oomph" to your efforts. It feels like having a superpower, pedaling easily up a steep hill.

toast0 2y ago

Something like this looks pretty ordinary, but has a motor. https://www.bianchi.com/store/us_EN/yqbn8-aria-e-road-ultegra-11sp-0.html https://www.bianchi.com/store/us_EN/yqbn8-aria-e-road-ultegr... I think your usual high end bike makers all have some e-road bikes, some of which are going to be pretty stealth.