Is e-Biking Cheating?

[mrgold35]

One big issue I have is when the folks that call us "cheaters" are in a position to make laws against ebikes in their local area. Example of this is in Sedona, AZ, and ebikes are not allowed on walking/hiking/bike/MTB park trails within the city limits. You have to ride the same trails motorized vehicles. The same motorized dirt trails with offroad vehicles speeding along at 40-60 mph against me in my 12-15 mph fat tire bike. What could go wrong?

 

[JoePah]

One big issue I have is when the folks that call us "cheaters" are in a position to make laws against ebikes in their local area. Example of this is in Sedona, AZ, and ebikes are not allowed on walking/hiking/bike/MTB park trails within the city limits. You have to ride the same trails motorized vehicles. The same motorized dirt trails with offroad vehicles speeding along at 40-60 mph against me in my 12-15 mph fat tire bike. What could go wrong?

That is true in many states.. In Florida you can't ride on any sidewalks or any bikeways with an ebike.. The wording is "human only powered bikes allowed..."

 

[Davefl]

When riding with spouse, she is on an e-bike and would put me through a workout by twisting the accelerator with ease while my 21 speed bike needs my input of energy, but that is one of the reasons we ride. Recently bought a recumbent e-trike for her to make it easier, but turned out to be too hard to steer(shoulder injury), tried it. No saddle = No butt pain, No lost feeling in hands, no exercise sitting on a recliner with total comfort and a button to increase the speed, that is when it felt like cheating.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

As a rider with COPD, my choice is ebike or no bike, not ebike or pedal bike.

I do understand the satisfaction of feeling superior. It sneaks in on me from time to time in other ways. I try to be forgiving of flaws I haven't yet overcome in myself. "Try" being the operative word.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

One big issue I have is when the folks that call us "cheaters" are in a position to make laws against ebikes in their local area. Example of this is in Sedona, AZ, and ebikes are not allowed on walking/hiking/bike/MTB park trails within the city limits. You have to ride the same trails motorized vehicles. The same motorized dirt trails with offroad vehicles speeding along at 40-60 mph against me in my 12-15 mph fat tire bike. What could go wrong?

I live in a fairly remote area, but the economy is largely recreation-focused. We are lucky to have a local nonprofit that maintains a substantial network of trails in the area. Given that they have to work with multiple government agencies and literally hundreds of private landowners I understand why they do not permit e-bikes on their trails. Their pitch has always been about muscle-powered recreation and many would perceive e-bikes as not being muscle-powered. Their whole trail network depends on a fairly fragile consensus and cooperation between a lot of parties and they are rightly concerned about anything that might shatter that consensus.

The way I look at it, there are quite literally thousands of miles of ranch roads, logging roads, fire roads, and cattle drives in my area. Even on busy holiday weekends nearly all of those places are extremely lonely and you are unlikely to encounter anyone except on a few trunk roads.

I'm not even counting the great number of abandoned roads. There seems to be an underground group (or more likely several underground groups) that are doing clandestine trail maintenance to keep those roads rideable. Since they aren't even technically official trails they can't exactly ban e-bikes. One group marks their trails with animal skulls. Another group uses women's underwear -- from extremely large women.

 

[Chocolatehauler]

I wonder if Lance Armstrong thinks it's cheating?

 

[Kurt in CT]

Love all the comments here. Will keep some in my back pocket...
I guess i shouldn't be surprised that there are such jerks out there that make the comments. I could understand it, if we were ruining their experience, but we aren't. So, i simply have no use for these people.

I'm trying to think of an example that I could at least understand... Like a cross-country skier complaining about a snowmobiler on a trial. Noise, speed.... I get that. Or a hiker complaining about a dirt-biker. But not this...

 

[Alaskan]

It's either arrogance or envy, neither of which are particularly attractive human attributes.

 

[harryS]

That is true in many states.. In Florida you can't ride on any sidewalks or any bikeways with an ebike.. The wording is "human only powered bikes allowed..."

Hmm. I've toted ebikes in the car twice now to Florida for some (warmer) weather riding in winter. I
didn't see those signs. If anyone asks, I never saw your post.

By the way, I did see a guy with a gas powered bike on the Pinellas Trail.

 

[JoePah]

Hmm. I've toted ebikes in the car twice now to Florida for some (warmer) weather riding in winter. I
didn't see those signs. If anyone asks, I never saw your post.

By the way, I did see a guy with a gas powered bike on the Pinellas Trail.

You won't see that on a sign.. It is the wording in the state statute on bicycle paths and sidewalks.. Not sure anyone pays attention to it.

 

[AlanDB]

That is true in many states.. In Florida you can't ride on any sidewalks or any bikeways with an ebike.. The wording is "human only powered bikes allowed..."

I wonder if that ruling has changed recently. According to this article (https://www.evelo.com/florida-state-electric-bike-laws-license-ebike/) on the Evelo web site:

Where to Ride:
Electric bikes are allowed on roadways in the right lane, bike paths and trails and on sidewalks where pedestrians are present.

 

[JoePah]

I wonder if that ruling has changed recently. According to this article (https://www.evelo.com/florida-state-electric-bike-laws-license-ebike/) on the Evelo web site:

Where to Ride:
Electric bikes are allowed on roadways in the right lane, bike paths and trails and on sidewalks where pedestrians are present.

Hmmm I will check it out.

 

[harryS]

Electric fat bikes have been banned from Fort Meyers sidewalks and beaches because they go 20 mph. Bummer.
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/38041655/fort-myers-beach-e-bike-ban-to-affect-local-businesses

Maybe the rental shops should have disabled the throttles.

We were there last winter, but we took the bike lanes to Sanibel.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Electric fat bikes have been banned from Fort Meyers sidewalks and beaches because they go 20 mph. Bummer.
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/38041655/fort-myers-beach-e-bike-ban-to-affect-local-businesses

Maybe the rental shops should have disabled the throttles.

We were there last winter, but we took the bike lanes to Sanibel.

I can see not wanting fast vehicles in areas with heavy foot traffic.

IMHO, the ebike rental shops shot themselves in the foot with this one. There are bikes that have settings for maximum speed with the throttle. There are bikes that don't have throttles. If they couldn't see this coming, they didn't think it through.

I'm not crazy about bikes - any bike - on sidewalks under most conditions anyway. Separating vehicles from pedestrian traffic benefits both.

 

[eBikerSteven]

I think ebiking is definitely cheating:
- cheating death
- cheating obesity and other health related illnesses
- cheating on sedentary lifestyle
- cheating my doctor and other medical professionals out of a steady revenue stream because of poor health
- cheating car and gas companies out of easy money by ebike work commuting

This!

It blows my mind... How is it cheating and why do they care if it is? Ridiculous, if i was either going to ride an e-bike or drive whats better?...

 

[slomoshun]

...and why do they care...
...

Change can be threatening to some people. The blacksmiths who made horseshoes didn't like it when wagons became motorized. Evolution happens.

 

[J Miller]

If e-bikes are "cheating", I hate to think what that makes cars.

I think the problem is that some people (especially here in the States) seem to be stuck with this mindset that cycling is a recreational fitness activity, or worse, that it's only for racing and adventuring, instead of as a viable method of transportation.

The big exception I'll make are the people who think they should be able to ride ebikes at motorcycle speeds. I don't care what people do to injure themselves if it only affects them, but bikes are allowed to go on a lot more paths and have less requirements precisely because they're supposed to be lower speed vehicles.

Some of the ebike vendors in the US aren't helping with this either, with marketing that reeks of the same tactics used to sell high end sports cars.

 

[Dynamo Dan]

Remember the old joke that your parents used to say that when they were kids they would walk to school and it was 8 miles and uphill, in both directions.
I like to think of riding an ebike to work was being downhill in both directions.

 

[PowerMe]

It's not like our eBikes are out riding themselves. Now that would be cheating. Besides, cheating is when you are trying to win against someone else. Riding an eBike has nothing to do with anyone else and no one is out there racing against standard non eBikes, which would be "cheating."

I have to push those pedals (I don't ever use throttle) and even with assist, I work up a sweat. The difference is that instead of riding only 3 or 4 miles, having to walk a bike up every hill, and feeling frustrated, old, and out of shape, I can ride 20 mi, still get a rigorous workout, and at the same time accomplish a real ride and feel happy.

 

[PowerMe]

It's not like our eBikes are out riding themselves. Now that would be cheating. Besides, cheating is when you are trying to win against someone else. Riding an eBike has nothing to do with anyone else and no one is out there racing against standard non eBikes, which would be "cheating."

I have to push those pedals (I don't ever use throttle) and even with assist, I work up a sweat and end my rides with a bright red face. The difference is instead of riding only 3 or 4 miles, having to walk a bike up every hill, and feeling frustrated, old, and out of shape, I can ride 20 mi, still get a serious workout, and at the same time accomplish a real ride and feel happy.