Ebikes….Cheating?
- Thread starter Decho
- Start date
I usually wouldn't upvote a sexual innuendo but that was pretty good and not in bad taste. LolSo you cheated on the trail with a fit women? Abreast, you say? Good for you.
It is disappointing that so many people worry about some "e-bike police" that are monitoring the bikes used on bike paths and isssuing citations. So easily intimidated by the powers that might be. In the USA the only regs apply to bike paths and all I have seen thus far are speed limits in locations where we have lots of dumb pedestrians walking 3, 4, or 5 abreast, chit chatting or texting or otherwise fully mentally immersed and often blocking the bike path entirely for cyclists or runners.
A rider on a bicycle needs 20% of the energy to travel a mile as a runner as the rider's weight is supported by the bike and its wheels. Running is tougher on joints, including knee and hip, and I do wonder why so many people insist on running on hard pavement. Cycling and swimming are the most joint friendly activities and best for most people. That some folks can run for 30 years with no problems is much like those who have smoked for their entire adult lives and believe that there has been no damage to their heart and lungs.
In American cities more than half the real estate is taken up by automobiles and the roads are designed for motor vehicles and generally unsafe for cyclists and for pedestrians. If more people are using bicycles instead of cars because they have bought e-bikes then this is a very good thing in every respect. The person who drives to a trail to run and then again to a McDonalds for a beef burger and then to a grocery store to buy more meat, and then drives back home and thinks this is not detrimental to the environment and their overall health is cheating in the truest sense.
A rider on a bicycle needs 20% of the energy to travel a mile as a runner as the rider's weight is supported by the bike and its wheels. Running is tougher on joints, including knee and hip, and I do wonder why so many people insist on running on hard pavement. Cycling and swimming are the most joint friendly activities and best for most people. That some folks can run for 30 years with no problems is much like those who have smoked for their entire adult lives and believe that there has been no damage to their heart and lungs.
In American cities more than half the real estate is taken up by automobiles and the roads are designed for motor vehicles and generally unsafe for cyclists and for pedestrians. If more people are using bicycles instead of cars because they have bought e-bikes then this is a very good thing in every respect. The person who drives to a trail to run and then again to a McDonalds for a beef burger and then to a grocery store to buy more meat, and then drives back home and thinks this is not detrimental to the environment and their overall health is cheating in the truest sense.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Roadies hate rain, cold, headwind, and hills in the first place
kahn
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- northWET washington
You've got my number (American idiom - you have me pegged or characterized)! But I feel the same way hiking - rain is just not my cup of cold, drizzling tea! I might get caught in it but don't necessarily volunteer to hike, bike or cross-country ski in it. Electric bike or just electronics in the rain is avoided because I prefer to just avoid it anyway.Roadies hate rain, cold, headwind, and hills in the first place
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
I have ridden all e-bikes I owned in the rain without adverse outcome. What makes roadie/e-roadie different is this group needs to wear proper clothes and behave as expected. While a regular e-biker can wear any clothes he pleases
For instance, I wore hiking boots for today's ride on cold weather. Would you wear such boots for a road e-bike? (I doubt) (I haven't heard of cleated hiking shoes and I can bet kahn you are expected to use clipless pedals!)
kahn
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- northWET washington
I have used SPD pedals for decades now and my Creo is no different. I have had some more robust cleated shoes for biking to a trail and then hiking. I wore my spd shoes while biking the red slickrock in Moab, Utah. I have also very cold sensitive toes and so wear booties and electric socks or insoles for cooler weather biking. I've gotten back to the car from cross-country skiing and take off my boots and my toes are dead white and painful while the rest of my foot is a nice warm pink and actually steaming.I have ridden all e-bikes I owned in the rain without adverse outcome. What makes roadie/e-roadie different is this group needs to wear proper clothes and behave as expected. While a regular e-biker can wear any clothes he pleases
(I haven't heard of cleated hiking shoes and I can bet kahn you are expected to use clipless pedals!)
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
I cheated this much today.
mschwett
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Roadies hate rain, cold, headwind, and hills in the first place
i don't mind cold, and hills are great, you get to go down them after going up! and the views...
but rain is a no-go for sure. headwinds are unfortunate but unavoidable around these parts... rain, on the other hand is very rare. too rare - less than 10 inches for the entire rainy season last year.
although my rides match those of a committed roadie, i don't do the superhero outfits. nice properly fitted cycling specific MTB clothes are great, and totally acceptable to walk into a cafe or market during a ride.
kahn
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- northWET washington
If you saw this very round body in one of those "superhero outfits" you would.... I will leave it blank. Seriously I have outgrown my Lycra (spell checker wanted that uppercase) and spandex but I prefer the fewer seams and stuff myself into ancient clothing. But I wore that same clothing when I did mountain biking, well, in the mountains. But I interchangeably rode either my mtn bike or road bike on my 17 mile, one-way commute and still wore Lycra for comfort!!! I left a change of clothes (suit and tie) including underwear in my office.i don't mind cold, and hills are great, you get to go down them after going up! and the views...
but rain is a no-go for sure. headwinds are unfortunate but unavoidable around these parts... rain, on the other hand is very rare. too rare - less than 10 inches for the entire rainy season last year.
although my rides match those of a committed roadie, i don't do the superhero outfits. nice properly fitted cycling specific MTB clothes are great, and totally acceptable to walk into a cafe or market during a ride.
mschwett
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
exactly! some people ride fast, some slow, some uphill, some flat … some even draft behind other riders in a group, gaining as much of an advantage as some ebikes give on their lower power settings.… Her comment was "Did you get a good workout? Did you sweat? Then stop talking about it!"
mschwett
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
i’m still trying to figure out the change of clothes thing. our office bike facilities have showers, and day lockers … but nothing overnight. in an ideal world, i could ride to work on a long workout route in bike gear, with no backpack or bags, get to the office, shower and put on clean work clothes. or the opposite, leave everything at the office and ride home in bike clothes. but the logistics don’t work out. it’s like that riddle with the fox, chicken, rabbit etc trying to cross the river in their e-boat.
kahn
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- northWET washington
Actually, we did not have shower facilities and the selfish police dept would not share theirs with other depts. (I worked for a city). So I would sponge bathe in the restroom and change into my office attire. The worst day was when it decided to drizzle after Doppler showed it okay. It had not rained in a while and I was splattered with road oil and grime and it made a smeary mess!!!! I had slacks, blazer and ties in my office and a stash of clean underwear and socks. Sometimes putting the damp bike clothes back on in the afternoon left something to be desired! I was also lucky that I had my own office and stored my bike there during the day.
Those days are now long behind me. RETIREMENT is fun but came about 20 years too late!
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