Who's the numpty chasing the E Bike :-)

[Pat "5mph"]

For some reason, I don't even know why, but I've got a mental image of you chasing Grannies in the park waving a baguette.

I'm of grannie age!

 

[Doobiesis]

Trouble is with people on E bikes, they go passed you on a massive climb, they’re 9/10 doing it to piss you off! I’d rather do it with my own power. My legs.

Although I overtook a couple on an e bike today. Go me!

 

[jowwy]

Trouble is with people on E bikes, they go passed you on a massive climb, they’re 9/10 doing it to piss you off! I’d rather do it with my own power. My legs.

Although I overtook a couple on an e bike today. Go me!

Doing it to piss you off or just riding and enjoying their bikes. Must have one big ego if you think people ride ebikes just to piss you off.....sheeesh

 

[youngoldbloke]

I'm not actually in favour of banning e-bikes either, but I see them as something for use by "marginal cyclists" who might not otherwise be able to ride anything. I don't think they should be promoted as a labour-saving device, range extender, or a way of going up hills faster. ........

- so I'm no longer a 'Proper' cyclist, and now I'm a 'marginal cyclist' . After riding bikes for almost 60 years it's come to this

 

[Turdus philomelos]

I don't think I'm a marginal cyclist.

I have cycled both as a commuter and for fitness and leisure for over 8 years clocking on average 6000 miles per year.

At the beginning of the year I was in the market for a new commuting bike looking to fund through a cycle to work scheme.

It was Mr Turdus who first put the idea of a pedal assist bike in my head.

My initial reaction was, as like so many was , I will loose fitness, it will make me lazy, other cyclist will think I'm unfit/lazy, folk will think I have some sort of medical condition that prevents me from riding a proper bike.
After 6 months I can say is why didn't I buy one sooner.

I even heard the phrase it's cheating. Cheating at what? Cheating at battling into 30mph head wind? My commute is a mile longer, on quieter roads with a greater workout

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

6k is a lot of yearly miles, that's probably as much as my private car mileage and riding mileage added together.

I still can't see the attraction of the things personally, particularly if you have to cycle to a high-risk area, as you ideally want a worthless bike parked on the street unattended not a shiny new e-bike that any fool can see cost a lot of money. Security issues aside, to me, a bicycle should always be a simple, minimalist machine. I just want it comprised of the fewest number of parts that will get the job done, with no frills and as few potential things to fail on it as possible. This is one reason I refuse outright to have anything to do with suspension bikes, I won't even use a free one out of a bin as I reckon they are more trouble than they are worth. Same goes for anything with electric motors and batteries. They aren't essential to get from A to B so I don't want them.

 

[jowwy]

6k is a lot of yearly miles, that's probably as much as my private car mileage and riding mileage added together.

I still can't see the attraction of the things personally, particularly if you have to cycle to a high-risk area, as you ideally want a worthless bike parked on the street unattended not a shiny new e-bike that any fool can see cost a lot of money. Security issues aside, to me, a bicycle should always be a simple, minimalist machine. I just want it comprised of the fewest number of parts that will get the job done, with no frills and as few potential things to fail on it as possible. This is one reason I refuse outright to have anything to do with suspension bikes, I won't even use a free one out of a bin as I reckon they are more trouble than they are worth. Same goes for anything with electric motors and batteries. They aren't essential to get from A to B so I don't want them.

My office got these big secure things called secure parking for bikes. Hey they even lock up with a key and have cctv cameras pointing at the entry point and huge secure railings all around the car park..........our office lives in the 21st century and encourages cycling to work. So thats another myth of your busted.

 

[jowwy]

6k is a lot of yearly miles, that's probably as much as my private car mileage and riding mileage added together.

I still can't see the attraction of the things personally, particularly if you have to cycle to a high-risk area, as you ideally want a worthless bike parked on the street unattended not a shiny new e-bike that any fool can see cost a lot of money. Security issues aside, to me, a bicycle should always be a simple, minimalist machine. I just want it comprised of the fewest number of parts that will get the job done, with no frills and as few potential things to fail on it as possible. This is one reason I refuse outright to have anything to do with suspension bikes, I won't even use a free one out of a bin as I reckon they are more trouble than they are worth. Same goes for anything with electric motors and batteries. They aren't essential to get from A to B so I don't want them.

So your car has nothing electric or battery operated on it then???

 

[Jimidh]

I like the rise of the ebike as I am now seeing more people out riding that don’t fit with the traditional idea of a cyclist.

Most mornings I see an obviously overweight woman happily cycling up hill, to work I assume, - there’s no way she would have been doing that quite so happily without her ebike.

More people on bikes and the normalisation of cycling as a means of transport and leisure can only be a good thing.

I had a shot of one and it was great fun.

Not for me as i’m one of those pesky black Lycra clad ninjas but not going to castigate anyone who does.

 

[classic33]

I'm not actually in favour of banning e-bikes either, but I see them as something for use by "marginal cyclists" who might not otherwise be able to ride anything. I don't think they should be promoted as a labour-saving device, range extender, or a way of going up hills faster.
Whilst there is always going to be conflict between road users, e-bikes are certainly not going to help matters. Fortunately I don't yet see many of them around, no doubt due to cost, but it's clear a lot of the ones that are on the roads have been tampered with to turn them into electric mopeds capable of being ridden in a pretty antisocial and dangerous manner with little or no effort from the rider. An assisted bike is supposed to be just that, not a means of trying to circumvent road traffic law by running an unlicensed, unregistered, and uninsured moped. The danger here is that illegally doctored e-bikes will be taken up in large numbers by people with no licence, a driving ban, or enough convictions or accidents to make them uninsurable on a vehicle covered by the Road Traffic Act. A lot of those people are already cyclists under duress, since they can't get away with driving anything with a number plate on it, and they are not really the sort of people you want to go faster and further on bikes by giving them any help!

I'd class myself as a marginalist rider, I ride a recumbent Quad.

Due to the price tags associated with recumbents, you don't see many about. There's one other within 10 miles of me. Recumbent, not recumbent quad.

Recumbent trikes tend to attract people who'd otherwise either not be able to cycle, or would have to give up cycling due to balance problems.

I'm not the quickest vehicle on the roads, uphill. But it's easy enough keeping up with other traffic at the legal speed limit. But I've found out that some people don't like being behind another vehicle travelliing at the legal limit.

One thing I found out, very early on, was that the restrictions you talk about on speed, only apply if the "power is transmitted through the drivetrain or the wheels. Making a model jet engine exempt from the rules. Only cost is stopping me, for now!

 

[Turdus philomelos]

As we are all collectively grouped as vunerable road users I just dont understand any negativity of encouraging folk out of their cars and onto two/three wheels.
Right am off to ride my bike, but which one?

 

[classic33]

As we are all collectively grouped as vunerable road users I just dont understand any negativity of encouraging folk out of their cars and onto two/three wheels.
Right am off to ride my bike, but which one?

Ere, a quad has four, stop marginalising me.

 

[NickWi]

How about looking at the whole question from a different angle? You're riding along and see a bike up ahead and as previously described the red mist comes down and you're off, but you just can't catch the bugger. When he/she finally stops you discover it a 6.8kg UCI weignt limit Pinarello special worth the best part of £10k.

Now, whilst you might quietly curse to yourself and as the thread title (almost) says, 'whos-the-numpty-chasing-the-Pinarello', you don't go around calling him cheating, no good, son of a .... etc etc for having an unfair advantage over your 13.5kg Dawes Galaxey do you? Having riden at one end of the scale a 22.5kg Pashley Roadster and at the other one Colnago's finest, the difference in speed, feel and effort, particulary uphill, can feel like more than any (legal) electric motor can provide.

 

[Pale Rider]

Trouble is with people on E bikes, they go passed you on a massive climb, they’re 9/10 doing it to piss you off!

Being a sensitive soul I tend not to blast past push bikes on my ebike.

If I'm gaining on a push biker towards the top of the climb I may hang back, knowing the push biker will blast off into the distance once over the summit.

I've also apologised for passing push bikes.

For example, on the way to Brighton when I was trying to catch @ianrauk and chums in brisk mode.

I did rattle past two ladies on hybrids, but I also slowed for a second and briefly explained I was with the roadies up the road and trying to get back in touch with them.

Sensibilities, eh?

 

[Turdus philomelos]

Ere, a quad has four, stop marginalising me.

You mean if these bikes?