Can my wife and I be compatible on the road?

[Brewerpaul]

Note-- this is pretty long so if you want to cut to the chase, scroll down to the ***
Actually, after 20 years, we're still exceedingly compatible. The issue now is our choice of 2 wheeled vehicles.
When we moved to Maryland 2 years ago we talked about getting a pair of gas motor scooters so we could take
rides together longer than the ones we can take on our pedal bikes. I'm good for 10-12 miles,depending on hills
but my wife can't go nearly that far. She's a big woman with back and knee problems which have required surgery.
She doesn't want to HAVE to pedal at all,although she's OK with pedaling on flat roads.
Storage of two of these is a problem. Our bikes live in a carpeted sunroom, but I'm not crazy about the idea of bringing
a gas scooter in there. Our garage is packed with no extra room.
My wife got a new job within easy range of an e-bike and I'm excited about them so we went and tried two Pedegos.
They're more than I want to spend, but I had a great time and am even more psyched. My wife wasn't happy though.
On the test ride in an empty parking lot, she forgot the instruction to stop pedaling and coast through curves. She overshot
the curve,hit a curb, and dumped herself and the bike. No serious damage to either of them but she's spooked. We had
rented gas mopeds in Bermuda and liked them so now that's what she wants.
The problem comes down to what we each want our vehicles to do. She wants to go to and from work,weather permitting
and go for rides together on country roads. Due to her weight, a 50cc scooter probably won't be suitable which means
getting a motorcycle license, taking a riding course,etc.
I wouldn't mind a gasser but it would not let me do many of the things that I really want to do, like riding on the C&O Canal Towpath,
wood roads, and gentle woodland trails. . If I got a folding bike, I could put it in my Mazda 3 hatchback and take it to many nearby places for riding eg
the Gettysburg Battlefield (I'd have to check the regs first). I've tinkered with bicycles for many years and could probably do most non-electric repairs
on an e-bike.
***So what it comes down to is, do you think we could be happy on those country backroads together if I had an e-bike and she had a gas scooter?
Recommendations? Thanks

 

[rich c]

My wife is my regional support team. We load my mini van up and do a day trip. She drops me off, then finds a coffee shop, local park, or other points of interest. We may eat lunch together, maybe not. Latter in the day when I’m tired, I text with my coordinates, and she picks me up. Not exactly a shared day, but she has zero interest in cycling and we do get to spend some time together.

 

[TaraBara]

Have you considered a Etrike for your wife? Honestly, they have some really nice options out there. Liberty trikes has some affordable choices.

They have some smaller models that fold that are still capable of storage, heavier rider, and a throttle. Good luck to you and I hope you find the perfect solution. ?

 

[J.R.]

Note-- this is pretty long so if you want to cut to the chase, scroll down to the ***
Actually, after 20 years, we're still exceedingly compatible. The issue now is our choice of 2 wheeled vehicles.
When we moved to Maryland 2 years ago we talked about getting a pair of gas motor scooters so we could take
rides together longer than the ones we can take on our pedal bikes. I'm good for 10-12 miles,depending on hills
but my wife can't go nearly that far. She's a big woman with back and knee problems which have required surgery.
She doesn't want to HAVE to pedal at all,although she's OK with pedaling on flat roads.
Storage of two of these is a problem. Our bikes live in a carpeted sunroom, but I'm not crazy about the idea of bringing
a gas scooter in there. Our garage is packed with no extra room.
My wife got a new job within easy range of an e-bike and I'm excited about them so we went and tried two Pedegos.
They're more than I want to spend, but I had a great time and am even more psyched. My wife wasn't happy though.
On the test ride in an empty parking lot, she forgot the instruction to stop pedaling and coast through curves. She overshot
the curve,hit a curb, and dumped herself and the bike. No serious damage to either of them but she's spooked. We had
rented gas mopeds in Bermuda and liked them so now that's what she wants.
The problem comes down to what we each want our vehicles to do. She wants to go to and from work,weather permitting
and go for rides together on country roads. Due to her weight, a 50cc scooter probably won't be suitable which means
getting a motorcycle license, taking a riding course,etc.
I wouldn't mind a gasser but it would not let me do many of the things that I really want to do, like riding on the C&O Canal Towpath,
wood roads, and gentle woodland trails. . If I got a folding bike, I could put it in my Mazda 3 hatchback and take it to many nearby places for riding eg
the Gettysburg Battlefield (I'd have to check the regs first). I've tinkered with bicycles for many years and could probably do most non-electric repairs
on an e-bike.
***So what it comes down to is, do you think we could be happy on those country backroads together if I had an e-bike and she had a gas scooter?
Recommendations? Thanks

I'm a lifelong motorcyclist and cyclist, I taught MC safety in the 90's and I would be concerned by the Pedego test ride you describe. Not that a person cannot learn to ride a motorcycle safely, but it takes time and dedication. From my experience weekend warriors have more issues than daily riders. Low power MC's and small wheel motor scooters are generally less safe than full size MC's of 250cc and up. There's plenty of stats available from the industry to back that up, if you do a search for it.

Gettysburg has ebike rentals and you can ride the auto-tour. They are also working on cycle paths, so you could do some nice testing of different bikes there. I believe you can rent mopeds there as well. You cannot ride offroad in the National Park. Paths and trails are off limits to all bikes. In Maryland there is the Torrey C. Brown Trail in northern Baltimore County. In Monkton, on the trail, there's a new ebike shop. You can do test rides on one of the nicest trails in the region.

As for riding an ebike with a gas bike rider, you'll want the gasser to always ride in the back, due to the exhaust. And of course you'll always be on roads. For me, that misses some of the best riding opportunities.

I would try to do more testing. You might have to have a bigger budget to get a bike your wife will like, but it would be worth it. Good luck.

 

[AlanDB]

Before you decide, I would suggest having your wife try another ebike with a mid drive motor, like the Bosch Active Line or Performance Line. My Gazelle Arroyo has the mid drive system, and my wife's Blix Aveny has the rear hub drive motor. They are both great rides, but the mid drive does give a more natural feel in the pedaling power. In my opinion, riding with the mid drive is more intuitive, and I think your wife wouldn't have made that mistake.

The only downside is that throttles are rare on mid drive ebikes, but they do exist. I think Evelo makes one.

 

[AHicks]

Here's my take, for what it's worth. With a small motorcycle or moped the relatively safety of sidewalks and bike trails will be lost to you. Anywhere you ride you will be riding in traffic with cars and pickups, exposing you to the danger of those too busy to pay attention to what they are doing or where they are going. Do as you wish, but that is not my cup of tea. Too many friends lost on motorcycles to drivers who "didn't see them". There was a day, now gone, when I felt I could react in time to avoid that scenario. For that reason, I now avoid it. I won't even ride in a "dedicated bike path" that runs adjacent to a road. That me though...

 

[Katysax]

Please be careful. Your Pedego experience is a huge red flag. I’ve owned a gas scooter, several motorcycles, numerous bicycles, three tadpole tricycles - basically any kind of two wheeled and some three wheeled vehicles. I am a 68 year old woman recovering from cancer and dealing with physical limitations. IMHO your wife will not be safe on a gas powered bike of any sort. The reason for that is weight of the vehicle and speed. I have a motorcycle license and years of motorcycle experience. I love riding motorcycles but value my life more; hence I reluctantly gave up motorcycles years ago. I’ll note that years ago I tried riding a motorbike with friends on bicycles. It did not work out well.

A trike was a pretty good suggestion. There are many moped like Ebikes with small fat wheels, you might look into some of those. Also there are some bikes that let you put your feet flat on the ground- that might make her feel more comfortable.

Finally riding might just not be something she enjoys. Sometimes I just have to accept that my spouse and I have different interests and we aren’t going to share everything or always enjoy the same things. Riding together might not be good for both of you.