Professorai
New Member
I just started riding a Specialized Vado 3. Pretty polished machine! I can't commute because Rt 20 and Rt 117 are bicycle death traps, so I'll just be recreational riding. I don't see many ebikes around here. Anyone?
Hello from Sudbury MA
- Thread starter Professorai
- Start date
medfordmike
New Member
Hello just joined myself. I live in Medford MA so not too far. I will soon get my Rad City. I commute to Worcester so no bike commuting for me either. But I am hoping to use it for recreation and quick errands on weekends.
LimboJim
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Howdy, Western "MA-hole" here; an eMTBer for 2+ years after 25+ years unassisted (purely recreational). I've owned a couple of Specialized analog MTBs - it's a quality company with a good LBS network. Congrats on your wise purchase!
You're not alone in that I've been riding pedelecs on trails 2-4X a week since 2015, and have thus far only encountered one other ebiker, and that was in CT. She's a downhill racer that uses a Turbo Levo for her "recovery" rides.
When I demonstrated ignorance about professional MTBing, however, our chat basically ended. That's been my experience all along; most cyclists I meet either seem to be full-on aficionados (often elitist, IMO), or casual "newbs" who understandably get intimidated by cars, hills, trail obstacles, and/or "expert" snobbery.
On the brighter side, are you familiar with the 100th Monkey effect (also known as the "tipping point" in the biz world)? As more cyclists exceed AARP-eligibility ages, they'll become less "badass" and more of them will adopt pedal assistance. Also, when I first listed used ebikes on Craigslist in early 2016, it took weeks if not months to sell them. This past Spring, however, I sold a few within a week or so of listing them, so we're leaning the right way! Unfortunately, however, the buyers were from NY and RI...
Still, I expect ebikes will catch on across age groups here like they have in Europe, California etc. But I also think it's incumbent upon major manufacturers like Specialized to aim their ebike PR campaigns at existing cyclists. To quote Padraig from RKP:
"If dedicated cyclists get the impression that they are irrelevant to the goals of the manufacturer, they are apt to turn their backs on those brands."
