I often see unfit/overweight people riding electric bicycles. One could assume that it means that these bikes don't provide a good workout, but one could also assume that these people would otherwise not be riding a bike. I'm leaning on the latter explanation, in most cases - especially an inductive argument can be made, since there seem to be many more bikers nowadays than a few years ago, and many of them ride electric. Though I think, if you're already riding a bike regularly, you probably shouldn't switch to electric, because it'll definitely mean less workout.
One thing that pisses me off from time to time, is that some (especially older folks) seem to overestimate themselves riding these - or rather, they underestimate the speed of seasoned 'manual' riders. They overtake other people last moment while coming my way and endanger themselves, others, and me. There were many instances where I had to brake hard or even go off-asphalt because of such maneuvers from people presumably aged 60+. The question I ask myself is: what to do about it. Willingly crash into them is out of question, since that'd probably fuck them up for good, considering their advanced age. But there's also nothing else to do other than brake or get out of the way, which can be immensely frustrating.
> Though I think, if you're already riding a bike regularly, you probably shouldn't switch to electric, because it'll definitely mean less workout.
If any part of your regular bike riding is for fun/exercise and not e.g. set commute trip, electric does not definitely mean less workout. It may mean less workout, but I'd argue that more likely it means you rides are longer and you ride faster, thus the total workout being at least the same. And this not even taking into account that with assistance you likely also ride more often.
Having done just this transition, the assistance means harder workouts. It effectively lets me set the load to however much exercise I'm willing to do at the moment, even down close to zero, which — paradoxically? — means I get more exercise.
I think the reason is I feel much less need to keep a reserve of energy so I can get home without getting exhausted.
Yeah the common idea (among drivers, as far as I can tell, people who have never once in their lives ridden a bicycle) is completely backwards. E-bikes lead to more exercise, not less. My e-bike even has an integration with my heart rate monitor to adjust the assist levels to maintain a given heart rate. It has radically improved my non-electric bicycling by giving me a structured workout, if I want it, on routes where I would have used a car before, and by giving me the state of mind that 28 MPH is a normal speed for a bicyclist to attain.
I'm not sure how you mean this. I thought ebikes cap at 25kmh and don't help beyond it? So it wouldn't be faster, if you're a seasoned biker (going 40 to 60). But yeah, those speeds make little sense on a commute, since you'd arrive sweaty. I meant for exercise, I suppose
Yes, they cap at 25kmh (in Europe). But that means you can keep that 25kmh in uphill/upwind as well and you accelerate faster. Admittably my experience is more on the mountain bike side, where 25kmh is relatively faster than on the road.
> But there's also nothing else to do other than brake or get out of the way, which can be immensely frustrating.
Well, yeah, but the nice thing about somebody being in any kind of not-car is you can talk to them like a normal person. Half the issue with shitty drivers is that cars bring out the obnoxious asshole in most people behind the wheel.
I don't think you can talk to someone zapping by at 25kmh while you're going the same, or faster speed, in the other direction. (Unless you were to follow them - which probably wouldn't be a friendly encounter, if you did it)
One thing that pisses me off from time to time, is that some (especially older folks) seem to overestimate themselves riding these - or rather, they underestimate the speed of seasoned 'manual' riders. They overtake other people last moment while coming my way and endanger themselves, others, and me. There were many instances where I had to brake hard or even go off-asphalt because of such maneuvers from people presumably aged 60+. The question I ask myself is: what to do about it. Willingly crash into them is out of question, since that'd probably fuck them up for good, considering their advanced age. But there's also nothing else to do other than brake or get out of the way, which can be immensely frustrating.