e-Bikes – Let’s talk

[creadinger]

@cvcalhoun 164352 wrote:

So what I’m getting from this is that my excessive body weight plus the weight of my overloaded heavy (but unassisted) hybrid is such that I shouldn’t be allowed on the trails, either. Good to know.

Yeah, I’m looking forward to breaking that stupid rule in the future myself.

[petego]

I’ve got elderly friends who like e-bikes because they can still enjoy riding and occasionally have a brake on steep slopes or just when they get tired, though I personally almost drove right into the wall right after I sat. Hope they won’t get to make a driverless bike (though there are plans to do driverless motorbikes and even mobile homes https://tranio.com/world/spotlight/self-driving-mobile-homes-how-driverless-cars-will-change-the-property-market_5354/ ) But it all just kills the joy imho

[huskerdont]

No way you’d be able to tell the new Orbeas are eBikes.

http://www.roadbikereview.com/reviews/orbea-launches-gain-road-and-gravel-e-bikes

Do not like. If you’re getting e-assist, you should be made to look like it with some embarrassingly large clunky thing, preferably in some color that you’d normally only find in dried puke along the sidewalk on a Sunday morning.

[Tania]

I had riders on e-bikes behind me on two different up-hills on the Custis yesterday. Both waited until oncoming traffic cleared, both rang their bells, pass politely and both actually looked like they were exerting a little effort and actually PEDALING up the hill. 😮

Although I saw last week an e-biker flying by me with an Iron Man tattoo on his right calf. Brought to mind that scene from Sons of Anarchy where they removed one guy’s gang tattoos with a belt sander or an iron (can’t remember the tool) after he was kicked out of their club.

[bentbike33]

@huskerdont 165171 wrote:

If you’re getting e-assist, you should be made to look like it with some embarrassingly large clunky thing, preferably in some color that you’d normally only find in dried puke along the sidewalk on a Sunday morning.

Or be required to wear a Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops (or Wellies in cold weather).

Definitely no manufacturers’ team kit.

[hozn]

@huskerdont 165171 wrote:

No way you’d be able to tell the new Orbeas are eBikes.

http://www.roadbikereview.com/reviews/orbea-launches-gain-road-and-gravel-e-bikes

Do not like. If you’re getting e-assist, you should be made to look like it with some embarrassingly large clunky thing, preferably in some color that you’d normally only find in dried puke along the sidewalk on a Sunday morning.

It doesn’t matter. They wouldn’t be welcome in road-bike group rides — and obviously can’t race. If someone just wants a better looking e-bike, then this certainly fits the bill. If someone really wants to pretend they’re faster than they are for some sort of cat6 competition, the only loser in that scenario is the one on the e-bike.

[huskerdont]

@Tania 165173 wrote:

Although I saw last week an e-biker flying by me with an Iron Man tattoo on his right calf. Brought to mind that scene from Sons of Anarchy where they removed one guy’s gang tattoos with a belt sander or an iron (can’t remember the tool) after he was kicked out of their club.

If you’re gonna ride, ride with your tats on to be in my head on the ride home now.

[Crickey7]

I totally don’t get what market Orbea is going for here. This one’s a head scratcher.

[Judd]

@Crickey7 165182 wrote:

I totally don’t get what market Orbea is going for here. This one’s a head scratcher.

From the site: “And what if this bicycle is also SEXY?”

They’re going for people that want a sexy bike. And also don’t want people to know that they’re cheating.

[Oldtowner]

Saw my first kitted-up e-biker this week. So I think there might be a market for the well-concealed ebike.

[Sunyata]

@hozn 165177 wrote:

It doesn’t matter. They wouldn’t be welcome in road-bike group rides — and obviously can’t race. If someone just wants a better looking e-bike, then this certainly fits the bill. If someone really wants to pretend they’re faster than they are for some sort of cat6 competition, the only loser in that scenario is the one on the e-bike.

I had my first taste of telling someone they could not join in on a group mountain bike ride because they were on an e-bike a couple of weeks ago. That was an interesting conversation… :confused:

[hozn]

@Sunyata 165222 wrote:

I had my first taste of telling someone they could not join in on a group mountain bike ride because they were on an e-bike a couple of weeks ago. That was an interesting conversation… :confused:

Interesting! — I have yet to witness such a conversation for someone wanting to join a group ride. Was it just “you’re not welcome” or are e-bikes specifically forbidden from our MTB trails? I don’t know the policy on that here. I believe that in general out west they’re not allowed except where specifically allowed (along with motorbikes?). Seems appropriate. I don’t get e-MTB at all. I mean, any differently than I appreciate that some people want to ride dirt bikes — sure, there’s a course for that [somewhere, presumably].

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Sunyata 165222 wrote:

I had my first taste of telling someone they could not join in on a group mountain bike ride because they were on an e-bike a couple of weeks ago. That was an interesting conversation… :confused:

Since tone and nuance tend to get lost from forum posts, and this seems to be a controversial topic, I’m prefacing this with 1)This is actually an earnest question and 2)This doesn’t affect me so I’m asking purely out of curiosity and not as an effort to alter anyone’s stance or defend e-bikes. You can ban orange bikes or Specialized bikes or whatever from groups rides for all I care…

Anyway, assuming the e-bike rider rides/behaves like everyone else, what’s the reasoning for excluding them? I guess I understand if there’s a competitive nature to these rides, but if someone is just riding in a pack, what’s the issue? Same goes for road rides…If someone wants to ride responsibly in the pack, but just not get as good of a workout (or maybe they’re not as fit and want to get a good workout while keeping up with a fast group), why is that an issue for others in the group? Is it like a precautionary thing, where the potential for an e-bike to just blow up the pack makes it not worth including them?

[bentbike33]

@TwoWheelsDC 165226 wrote:

Since tone and nuance tend to get lost from forum posts, and this seems to be a controversial topic, I’m prefacing this with 1)This is actually an earnest question and 2)This doesn’t affect me so I’m asking purely out of curiosity and not as an effort to alter anyone’s stance or defend e-bikes. You can ban orange bikes or Specialized bikes or whatever from groups rides for all I care…

Anyway, assuming the e-bike rider rides/behaves like everyone else, what’s the reasoning for excluding them? I guess I understand if there’s a competitive nature to these rides, but if someone is just riding in a pack, what’s the issue? Same goes for road rides…If someone wants to ride responsibly in the pack, but just not get as good of a workout (or maybe they’re not as fit and want to get a good workout while keeping up with a fast group), why is that an issue for others in the group? Is it like a precautionary thing, where the potential for an e-bike to just blow up the pack makes it not worth including them?

In the group ride context, I think in the end it boils down to the constitutional right of people with like toys to peaceably assemble, and their corollary right to tell people who bring the wrong toys to the assembly to sod off.

[drevil]

@TwoWheelsDC 165226 wrote:

Since tone and nuance tend to get lost from forum posts, and this seems to be a controversial topic, I’m prefacing this with 1)This is actually an earnest question and 2)This doesn’t affect me so I’m asking purely out of curiosity and not as an effort to alter anyone’s stance or defend e-bikes. You can ban orange bikes or Specialized bikes or whatever from groups rides for all I care…

Anyway, assuming the e-bike rider rides/behaves like everyone else, what’s the reasoning for excluding them? I guess I understand if there’s a competitive nature to these rides, but if someone is just riding in a pack, what’s the issue? Same goes for road rides…If someone wants to ride responsibly in the pack, but just not get as good of a workout (or maybe they’re not as fit and want to get a good workout while keeping up with a fast group), why is that an issue for others in the group? Is it like a precautionary thing, where the potential for an e-bike to just blow up the pack makes it not worth including them?

This is a good question as someone else who leads mountain bike rides occasionally. Was this a MORE ride, Sunyata? For those that don’t know, on MORE-sponsored rides, the leader is required to get everyone’s signature on a waiver before the ride starts. I wonder if e-bike accidents and injuries during the ride get the same coverage?

BTW, if it was my ride and someone showed up on an e-bike, I’d probably let them on as long as they signed the waiver… then I’d go down the roughest trails Off the top of my head, the reasons I wouldn’t let someone join my ride is if:

1. They refused to wear a helmet
2. They won’t sign the waiver
3. They acted like a jerkface

(1 and 3 has happened before.)

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