Is an electric bike rider a serious cyclist ?

[very-near]

A chap I work with bought himself an electric bike Wisper 905) last year and has become failry fanatical about using it come good and bad weather. He bought it after knocking up 9 points (all speeding) and decided he needed to use a mode for commuting which didn't risk his license
.
Very nice, well made (£1300) machine with a 40+ mile range with good quality cycle parts, index gears etc etc.

He does however not actually pedal any more.

I had a conversation with my neighbour yesterday who is a very full on roadie, who thinks nothing of riding 60 or 70 miles on a sunday morning to see his in laws in Reading. He has seen my colleague on the road a few times and after hearing how much it cost him said he would rather put it in the tank of the car himself and enjoy the comfort which a car brings.

 

[Globalti]

I have to agree, your colleague is a motorcyclist not a cyclist.

 

[very-near]

I have to agree, your colleague is a motorcyclist not a cyclist.

He doesn't consider himself to be one and wouldn't consider using an electric (moped style) scooter - I think it might be the stigma he feels he would attract as well has having to wear a crash Helmet.

 

[fossyant]

You missed a point on there.....I'd rather stick a red hot poker in my eye than ride an electric bike.

If you can ride then do, if you have mobility problems, then an electric bike might be good.

 

[John the Monkey]

It's not for me, but whether they're serious cyclists or not, I have no real opinion. If they like riding it, and do so safely, more power to 'em. I'd sooner share the road with them than yet more cars.

 

[Landslide]

I have to agree, your colleague is a motorcyclist not a cyclist.

I broadly agree with this, but the poll is asking a wider question.

Electric assistance may be an absolute godsend to people with mobility problems, or may help as a stepping stone to riding without electric assistance.

 

[potsy]

I work with 2 guys that have these ,
No1- commutes 1.5 miles each way using the power all the way,he is similar weight and size to me but is not interested in getting any fitter/slimmer.
No2-commutes 8 miles each way,uses the power on hills and to get a quick start at lights/junctions,again he is overweight but can really shift when he wants to,keeps a 16-18mph average with no power on flat, and the bike and all his bags etc weighs 38kg
I thought about getting one when I deceided to get a bike,am so glad I didn't as it is far too easy to rely on it and would never feel the benefit.

 

[pinarelloFP5]

As a keen cyclist,and motorcyclist,i think that small electric bikes are a great thing for the road.As human beings,we all have interests,and we have to remember that some people hate cycling,the most probable cause of this is that they are just too lazy to expend energy.However,some people enjoy the buzz being on two wheels without the need to break a sweat,hence they ride a motorcycle or scooter,or an electric cycle.Like cars,motorcycles/scooters emit toxic emissions,where as electric cycles,like ordinary cycles are clean,and do not harm the environment.So what if "lazy cyclists" want to use electric bikes,if more people used them for the daily commute,or for pleasure,our roads would be far less congested,and less polluted,so lets give them our support.

 

[Fnaar]

I fancy one of these, myself

 

[Headgardener]

Although I voted no I do have two friends who ride these sort of bikes. One suffers from a respiratory ailment and uses the electric power to get up the hill to work then pedals/freewheels back home again, the other friend works on the other side of Southampton and just uses the electric as assistance on some of the hills but pedals the rest of the way. These bike are very heavy because of the battery and the motor unit so would only be of some use for short to medium length journeys.

 

[blazed]

No he's not a serious cyclist but neither are 95% of people on this forum which is mostly commuters and the kind who like to stop and take pictures of fields and have tea and cake.

 

[Dan B]

It's not cycling, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it

That said, it's only non-polluting if the electricity comes from non-polluting sources.

 

[marinyork]

I wouldn't class an electric bike rider as a serious cyclist. If they do no peddling I wouldn't regard it as cycling, if they did I would sort of. In actual fact, taking in terms of impact and whether someone is likely/able to cycle and where it might lead them, I'd actually be pretty happy if a lot more people did do it.

 

[User482]

It's a car off the road and a low-emission form of transport. This is a good thing!

Commuting is the only serious cycling I do, because all my other cycling is entirely frivolous.

 

[Davidc]

Although I basically think NO, I'm quite happy with them as a low energy, low impact form of personal transport. If I get to the stage, sometime in the future, when I can't ride a bike up hills or any distance I might consider one.