E-bikes need more exposure

[CodyDog]

I live 20 miles outside of Austin in the Hill Country area. We saw our first e-bikes (a couple on Rad Rovers) 2 months ago. That was the first time we actually saw e-bikes in the wild. Talking with our friends, I am surprised how many people are unfamiliar with e-bikes. Austin is a big biking area (traditional bikes) and roughly 2.5 people million in the metro area. Lance Armstrong trained in our immediate areas so we see a ton of road bikers around here but basically no e-bikers.

Since I just purchased a Rad Rover this past week and did a lot of research, I have been sharing my findings with a lot of our friends. Many of them are wanting to come over and test ride my bike and are somewhat excited to look into the e-bikes. Our age group is the 50/60 year old crowd. All of our friends seem to be surprised about e-bikes.

As many e-bike companies that are out there, I am surprised that we don't here more about them outside of the bike crowd.

 

[ebikemom]

The best PR is to be out there riding our bikes! I see mostly conventional bikes when I'm out cycling, but see a few ebikes, at least, per week... sometimes a couple in one day. They can be tricky to spot, because some have batteries integrated into the tubing. I'm sure I miss those!

 

[Nova Haibike]

I am surprised how many people are unfamiliar with e-bikes.

As many e-bike companies that are out there, I am surprised that we don't here more about them outside of the bike crowd.

That is because e-bikes are not (yet) sold at Wally World or Target. Also, even though there are many e--bike companies, the overall number of e-bikes sold is a teeny-tiny fraction of the total bike market. When you walk into your LBS, you'd be lucky to see more than a handful of e-bikes on display. If you weren't aware of them, or looking for them specifically, you'd likely miss seeing them altogether.

I actually had my first "in-the-wild" conversation with someone about e-bikes last night. I was out riding and stopped at the Lincoln Memorial for a break. A woman said she saw me and rushed over to catch me; she had never seen anyone with an e-bike; she was wanting one and had a ton of questions. I talked to her about the different types, showed her some models she might like...and directed her here to EBR.

 

[MikeDD]

I did not realize how advanced e-bikes were until I started looking for an e-trike for my handicapped wife. Then I wanted one. Since I bought a Rad Mini, I get plenty of questions. I think most people are surprised about the power levels and that you can still get a work out.

 

[elizilla]

I am fortunate enough to live on a side street that is the connector between two segments of a popular recreational trail. On a nice Saturday, hundreds of bicycles pass my house. I see e-bikes almost every day. They are getting very popular around here. I also see a lot of recumbents and tadpole trikes and tandems. It is really fun. Anyways, they are out there, more all the time.

I am on my third one. I sold my first one to my neighbor but I see a lot of others go by, not just him.

 

[Franklo]

I was watching the tour de france last week and trek ran a commercial where you win a trek e-bike. the commentators even elaborated on e-bikes a bit after the ad ran. so that was something - even though it was the tour de france and on a somewhat obscure sports channel. It was still nice to see and hear. Actually it was Specialized for the turbo Vado. Not trek....

 

[MikeDD]

I saw three different e-bikes this week in our town of 2000.

 

[Gator]

I just got back from Hilton Head SC. Hundreds of miles of bike paths. I saw one E-bike, a Rad Mini, the 4 days I was there. I was surprised I did not see more. I thought maybe the locals would be more into them. Maybe I'll see more next year.

 

[Franklo]

I was in Cape May NJ last week and like you, I didn't see many e-bikes. But the one guy i saw when i asked him about his was very eager to talk about it and seemed thankful that he had a like minded person to talk with.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

We were at Guilford College for a church thing from Wednesday through Sunday last week. Didn't see any other ebikes, but if we'd had them for sale, we could have sold 5 or 6. So many people asked questions and I'm positive a bunch of them will show up next year with ebikes. It's a perfect solution for a lot of different folks.

 

[Camac]

The recreational group I look after will have 60 or so turn up to ride and about 40% of them are Ebikes. There is no animosity between the different types. MTB are accepted at all tracks, parks and mtb areas. I always have a peddler lead the group and I run as Tail End Charlie. That way I don't get blamed for setting too fast a pace.