Bike to ebike as only transportation

Sounds great. I would ride my bike more often if the landscape wasn't covered in snow and below-freezing temps for 17 months out of the year.

 

Cool - but not much exercise peddling an electric bike ?

 

I'm an avid cyclist. I haven't gone the e-bike route, but they are cool. I'm down to two bikes, a carbon gravel bike and a carbon TT-bike, all mechanical.

 

I'm 57 now. Thinking of ditching the car for a cargobike with 2 wheels in the front at some time in the future if I have the health. our balance is gettin worse as we get older.

 

May consider one when they put the grocery in by us; we'll be connected by wide walking trails. As of today the bike lanes between us and anywhere I need to go are far too narrow, and we're one of the worst states in the US for both DUI and bicyclist fatalities.

If you live somewhere with the infrastructure and where people respect riders, way better. Blows me away when I've been in Amsterdam. Shame our communities are mostly built around the car.

 

Don't think it would work out in Vermont. Would be cool for two months, though.

 

I think in the right circumstances it would be cool. I've ridden a friends ebike and was impressed. I used to ride a bicycle almost every day and felt great. I still have it.

 

I used to ride every day weather permitting. But now that I'm 60 I really don't feel like carrying my bike up and down 3 flights of stairs. Nowhere else to keep it though. If you leave them out, even covered they go to crap pretty quick

 

Difficult to haul a 4x12 and head on a bike.

 

I converted a hardtail mt bike to an e-bike using a kit from Luna Cycles. Pre-covid I was using it to commute to work-- about 20 miles each way. It is pedal assist, so you still need to pedal. But it turned 1.5h each way to just about 50 minutes each way, and I was not dog tired after the round trip so I could do it every day. When I was riding on pure human power I would only do it once or twice a week. 50 minutes each way sounds like a long time, but during rush hour I would actually make the trip in the same or shorter time than in a car due to the ability to use bike paths for much of the journey.

I currently live in an area blessed with good weather. However, from 1996 to 2001 I lived in Silver Spring, MD, and commuted regularly to downtown Washington, DC on a road bike or cyclocross bike, even in the dead of winter. I just had the right clothes for it. The only thing that would deter me was ice. Snow was OK as long as it was sticky and not more than a couple of inches deep. Getting exercise on a bicycle was a lot more exhilarating and a better use of my time than taking the same amount of time to get to work via an automobile or Metro/bus. That area has good bike paths, too, but I did have to share the road with cars in chunks of Rock Creek Park as well as in the heart of downtown DC. But I had bike-messenger type city bike handling chops. Not for the timid, and you have to really watch those taxis, but it is not as dangerous as some might assume....

The bike posted by the OP has nice fat tires so would do particularly well on slick roads.

 

Two huge myths:

1. You don't get a workout on an e-bike
2. It's uncomfortable to ride in cold/snow

My girlfriend just picked up a Juiced RipCurrent S, which of all e-bikes, has the most ridiculously huge and powerful battery. It also has 4-inch fatbike tires perfect for the loose sandy snowy high desert hereabouts. It is absolutely a blast to ride, and even more fun for me to be able to stretch my legs and not leave her behind.

E-bikes are so freakin' cool. I say this as a cyclist who didn't even own a car until I was 37, used to edit bicycle magazines, and still uses bicycles for commuting and primary transportation.

 

A few years ago I did something similar and sold my car. I bought a cyclocross bike with the proceeds.

Now, I don't exactly live anywhere remotely bike friendly for half the year. There are a few hardy souls who ride year round, but they are pretty rare. I take public transportation when I have to. I've never missed owning a car. Not even once. Late night sound gigs on the other side of town? Taxi. And when it's minus 30 outside, sitting in a car to warm it up is akin to being locked in a freezer. So, those days it's either bus/train/taxi or order in. There is something to be said for getting into an already warm vehicle. But the rest of the year is more than manageable on a bike.

I haven't gone the ebike route yet, but I would go that way before buying another car. The latest ebikes are very impressive. The tech is better, smaller, lighter, and the distances are great. And, being pedal assist, there is still exercise involved. You just travel faster.

 

I love cycling and have a stable of recumbent bikes. However, finding a safe place to ride here is a little difficult. Back in Alabama, the city had a system of greenways, MUTs and designated roads where I could easily put in a metric century (100K/62mi) anytime night or day. Here, they do have designated 'share the road' bike zones but they're limited to suburban routes and often broken up by murderous traffic zones. Although the beach roads are supposed to be bike friendly, they're not. Traffic is miserable and peds walk around like zombies with ear-buds and phones...and skimpy bikinis. It is hell, I tell ya.

Then there's the sand...even in my neighborhood the sand gathers in the corners making them very slippery. I'm on a recumbent so the fall isn't very far but my old hips and elbows are not looking forward to hitting the tarmac.

I'm still looking. I have a 3 mile loop in my neighborhood that is ok for a dozen laps or so. I have to get out on a 2-lane artery (no sidewalks, no shoulder) to get near any of the suburbs though. I occasionally see a cyclist there but it looks suicidal. Maybe I'm just getting old.

I've looked into retrofitting one of my recumbents to e-bike power. I think it would be very cool.

 

All sounds quite normal to me. Over here the e-bike is everywhere. Especially people over 60 use them but now even kids use them. The bikes are limited to 25km/h, faster is possible but then you need a helmet and extra insurance.

 

What's funny? The e-assist bikes are really great products for some people and even game changers.

I don't need a Kenworth anymore and diesel UTV replaced the pickup but I don't laugh at them. Well, some playing super trucker in fancy pickups are funny.

After observing a friend's bike and use I have more interest in one for my work commuter. We have employees who can't drive, who've got PSTD, and learning disabilities where they help their commuting. An acquaintance who was terminally ill really appreciated one.

 

I agree. The thing is, as I understand, you do peddle them like a regular bike. But the battery power is there to help you go up hills etc. if and when you need or want it. I bought one for my wife who loves it. I’m hoping I’ll be able to try riding it in a few months.

 

This thread is not only frightening me, but my little CRv is whining out in the garage, please daddy don't do it, just don't do it. Just say no to the bike. You know in California it's just like comfiting suicide, but doing it in plan sight beside the road. Think of the children and small animals who might see you lying there in the gutter, please daddy, don't go so fast! Don't ride!