Hello from San Francisco - two-year enthusiast

[bombadero]

Ok, round 3. Having some technical difficulties, every time I try to edit a post it gets deleted.

Anyhow, my spouse and I own a Riese & Muller Homage GT Nuvinci that we traded up from a Kalkhoff Tasman Classic, and a 2006 (!) HP Velotechnik Scorpion FS20 that I had retrofitted with the factory Go SwissDrive s-pedelec system about a year ago. We loved the Kalkhoff but unfortunately its Impulse drive system couldn't handle the grades and the lack of suspension made riding on San Francisco's rough streets a little uncomfortable. My spouse has a disability that prevents them from balancing properly on a bike which was the original reason for getting the Scorpion, but without assistance, it was pretty difficult to ride around the steep grades of San Francisco. Our dog loves to run off of the Scorpion attached on a bike leash, and makes it easier for my spouse to exercise her when their symptoms are acting up.

We share them both and use them for pretty much everything - getting around town, groceries, commuting, cargo, camping, offroad recreation, running the dog, et cetera. The only things our car gets used for now are getting out of town or carrying things the bikes can't handle. I also have an old 90's mtb I rebuilt to which I hope to add a LunaCycle kit eventually. I have a 2007 road bike and a single speed as well; I'd like to get a Rubbee X eventually so I can boost the range of the road bike and provide a rescue option on return trips if I push it too hard, and make the single speed rideable on hills. I've become a bit of an e-bike nut.

I've posted pics of the R&M and Scorpion together, plus the other bikes in my stable. The blue bike in an older pic is the Kalkhoff, which was our first e-bike purchase.

 

[indianajo]

Welcome to the site.
Electric assistance is so civilized in the city. They claim on the news we are killing millions of species, and I look down my nose. I only use the wife's car for vacation or lumberyard hauls. I bike everywhere else.

 

[bombadero]

Thanks; it's pretty great. We have a technically carbon neutral car, a 2001 TDI Beetle that runs biodiesel. It's a manual, and torquey for its size, so it's great on the hills here, but... it's still a car. We also had PV installed a few years ago, so it's nice knowing our bikes are mostly recharged from sunlight. All of that said, I have to be honest that the main reasons I like riding the e-bikes around town are all hedonistic or selfish! It's just funner to ride than drive; I get less stressed out; I don't have to worry about parking; I can easily defeat hills; I can skate by gridlocked street traffic during rush hour and smile. I see more and more e-bikes on the road, mostly ride shares, but a fair amount of owned bikes - but I'm amazed more people don't own them. They're more expensive than regular bikes, but much cheaper than cars - but most people seem determined to continue to suffer in their cars. Most people still seem to think of them as expensive toys rather than practical vehicles.

I would look down my nose, but unfortunately I'm too busy trying to stay alive in traffic. That's the only substantial down side.