Article: "Riding an Electric Bike is NOT Cheating. Here’s the Data to Prove It."

@DismalScientist 132591 wrote:

How does this article show that it is not cheating? It says that he goes 50% more miles with the same effort. Just because he (and perhaps he is in a distinct minority) tends to put out the same instantaneous effort (i.e. at any given moment) whether riding a regular or e-bike, this does not mean that a ride of a given distance does not require more overall effort on a regular bike.

What he says. Also, I highly doubt that the guy on the ebike who zipped past me on the 14th Street bridge this morning while I was fighting against the wind was putting out the same power as I was. At least this time he was kind enough to call his pass.

@DismalScientist 132591 wrote:

How does this article show that it is not cheating? It says that he goes 50% more miles with the same effort. Just because he (and perhaps he is in a distinct minority) tends to put out the same instantaneous effort (i.e. at any given moment) whether riding a regular or e-bike, this does not mean that a ride of a given distance does not require more overall effort on a regular bike.

It’s all BS. If going faster or farther with the same effort is cheating, then Tim Kelley is cheating every time he gets on a bike. Ben King is cheating more.

@dasgeh 132595 wrote:

It’s all BS. If going faster or farther with the same effort is cheating, then Tim Kelley is cheating every time he gets on a bike. Ben King is cheating more.

All winners of physical contests are cheaters by definition? It’s a brave new world we are entering.:rolleyes:

@DismalScientist 132604 wrote:

All winners of physical contests are cheaters by definition? It’s a brave new world we are entering.:rolleyes:

So, you gotta love handicapped thoroughbred horse racing? :p

@DismalScientist 132600 wrote:

It means you can get to work in one third less time and with one third less overall physical effort.

So everyone who is bike commuting on anything other than a youth sized Road Master Ultra Terrain Extreme is cheating?

@consularrider 132605 wrote:

And that’s “cheating” how [unless of course you really don’t want to get to work in any big hurry]?

It’s “cheating” if your commute is simultaneously counting for mileage in a winter cycling challenge based on mileage.:rolleyes:

Furthermore, it’s “cheating” if you simultaneously claim that you are working as hard as a rider on a regular bicycle.

None of this constitutes a criticism of e-bikes.

Bicycle commuting spans a huge range in terms of effort per mile, with an unloaded, un-pedaled e-assist bike near one end and perhaps Rod’s extreme cargo rides on the other. Nobody calls higher-end road bikes and racing bikes “cheaters” and yet I expect they are advantageous for long distances. My bike is on the heavier end (30 lb mountain trek), though I hope to acquire a bike that’s more toward the fast side of the spectrum when my office moves north next month. I’d agree with the author that you can get a good workout on anything. But it’s not an even playing field. Bicycle commuting was never meant to be.