Justifiable in New England?

[TryingToBeBetter]

Hi everyone first time here. I'm in the stage probably a lot of you have been in at some point, deliberation and justification. I think ebikes are absolutely amazing, I've never ridden one but I truly think it's the future of a large percentage of commuting for people.

One of my big hangups in committing to this lifestyle is that I live in a climate that is often very bike unfriendly. Am I being unrealistic in wanting an ebike to be usable for more than half the year? Or should I shift my mindset to the fact that maybe this is more of a luxury lifestyle aspect and that it doesn't have to be 100% pragmatic?

 

[PatriciaK]

Do you have a "regular" bike? Do you feel that choice was justified? How often will you ride an ebike during the half of the year it's feasible for you? I think many folks discover, once they go electric, that they're riding more than they would have on an acoustic model. If you ride your ebike, it will be justified .

Plus, when the weather is bad, there's gear for that!

 

[ruffruff]

I ride all year in Mn. In fact, I love the winter fat biking!
There are a lot of people around here that commute 365! I'm always amazed to see a lot of people biking in 0 degrees or less! I love winter riding but they got more seeds than me!

 

[indianajo]

The only time I don't ride is when there is ice on the streets or former snow is piled up in ice ridges in the "bike" lane. Bikes with non-studded tires won't stand up on ice. The last 2 years there were no days I could not ride because of ice. If winds gust over 25 mph I stay off the Ohio river bridge, and if gusts are over 32 mph I stay home. Being blown over is not advisable at age 69. Such events are usually only part of a day.
I'm an Army vet and am used to selecting clothes for the weather. Below 6 deg F I wear Lamont farmer mittens plus oven mitts, plus a welder's helmet liner in my bike helmet. Three layers below the waist and 6 layers above sometimes. I wear safety glasses if sleet is blowing in my face.
Due to bad visibility sometimes, I wear a ANSI Class II construction vest with reflective stripes, the green one. My front & rear flashing lights are brighter than 50 lumens.
BTW I don't drive a car anymore. They got too pricey with the 10 year before "check engine light" disease history. My new car might be unuseable at 20000 miles & 10 years life. ***** them, they should switch to 50 v sensors & computers which wouldn't oxidize the connections in 10 years.
Enjoy conquering your environment.

 

[ruffruff]

YES, right clothing is essential. And right clothing doesn't mean it has to be bike specific. I use a lot of my hunting gear for cold weather riding.

 

[Mike_V]

Hi TTBB
It's a fun and healthy, socially distant new hobby, without monthly payments ( right T ? ) or monthly dues, just don't go overboard at first anyway.

Mine was $1,600 and I've ridden ~900 miles in CT since September

It's relaxing and great exercise on the local rail trail.

No way would I ride on a paved road in Connecticut, I imagine bicycle commuting here would be scary, then worse.

Justification:
Boat 'motor' wore out; needed a interesting new hobby while pouring $$,000 into our floating summer cottage
And You know you want one
Mike

 

[Smong]

Get a fat ebike for winter with a set of 27.5" wheels and smaller tires for summer. That is a great solution for me living in Vermont. I think riding packed snow is better and more fun than dirt if you dress correctly.

 

[6zfshdb]

I'm retired and don't commute. It wouldn't be practical for me to do so anyway considering where I live. I rode conventional bikes for many years and invested in an ebike when my age related infirmities began to pile up. I can only ride seasonally and still consider the investment well worth it.

As others have said, clothing and equipment will allow year round commuting in your locale and riding for recreation will be an added bonus. Consider the local laws before you buy a bike though. https://wsd-pfb-sparkinfluence.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2020/01/E-Bike-Law-Handouts_MA_2020.pdf Massachusetts is not an ebike friendly state. Class 2 and 3 ebikes may not be legal in all places you plan to ride.

 

[pushkar]

Hey, I ride all 12 months in the Boston area. My path is more bike friendly (along the Charles) but depending on where you live, bike commuting infrastructure is getting better every few months.

I just switch to studded tires when it snows, and have a removable battery (so its not out in the cold).

Pretty great riding this past Win-autumn-ter in the area.

 

[steve marino]

Wouldn't it would be much better to move to a more enjoyable climate regardless of whether you ride a bike or not? I never understood why people live in these extreme cold weather areas anyway. Some point to friends, family, jobs, whatever, but just you watch what happens when you move to someplace like Hawaii. Everyone and their sister will want to come see you.

I once moved to Portland, Or and it was awful. Got depressed. Gloomy, drizzly, rainy, cloudy weather 8 months of the year. It was cold as heck too in winter, AND rainy. People were cranky a lot of the time, probably due to the climate. Places like New Mexico and Arizona are fantastic. Never cared much for Florida, but that was more about the people vs the weather and geography. I'm on my eBike every single day here in Tucson.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@TryingToBeBetter,

I bought my first e-bike in August, and the second one in October 2019. I live in Poland and our climate is not the easiest, although this Winter was exceptionally mild: almost no frosty days (temperatures between the 30's and 40's F) but marked with very strong and cold winds everyday. You live on the 42nd parallel (right?), I live on the 52nd parallel north.

When you have bought a good e-bike, you discover that almost magically you want to ride it everyday if your spare time allows it. To make the long story short, I made 2667 km (1657 mi) between October 1st, 2019 and March 21st, 2020. I must add I was not riding in December 2019 at all but not because of the weather; I simply had no time.

I ride e-bikes for pleasure and for health reasons. In the first three months of 2020, I lost 10 kg (22 lbs) of weight.

You must be worried about low temps. Don't. If you invest in proper clothing, no need to worry about the adverse climatic conditions. There are two large threads on this Forum dedicated to winter e-biking. You would only be rather careful to ride on ice (although spiked tyres do exist) and at very low temps.

Just buy yourself a good e-bike.

 

[rich c]

We each have our own means of justification. I doubt if my need for recreation, and mental/physical health during retirement will help you one little bit.

 

[Marci jo]

I’m in the upper Midwest with some pretty nasty winters
Not a winter rider but I still have justified TWO ebikes.
I’ve completely come over to the dark side and am totally hooked.

 

[AHicks]

EASILY justifiable from a recreational standpoint, maybe not so justifiable from a practical transportation standpoint.

 

[TryingToBeBetter]

EASILY justifiable from a recreational standpoint, maybe not so justifiable from a practical transportation standpoint.

See part of my internal justification is that I can make this a commuting alternative. I guess I'm still testing whether that pillar of my justification is placed on bed rock or sand right now :/

 

[AHicks]

In that case, I would be wondering how safe that commute can be made, considering available routes? Safety is a key issue. Speaking for myself, I refuse to ride with nothing but a painted line between myself and traffic and speed limits over about 25mph. Suppose that's a personal call though.

And then, there's the distance of the commute (the longer it is, the less likely you'll do it frequently on a long term basis?). -Al

 

[6zfshdb]

Is your goal to be able to give up a vehicle by bike commuting? If not, even part time bike commuting would be beneficial to both you and the environment. It's hard to put a $$ value on this though. As mentioned earlier, Winter weather commuting can be done with the proper clothing & equipment.

Here are a few other things to consider. How far is your commute? How fast do you need to travel for traffic conditions? Are there hills involved? Can you ride bike lanes or less traveled streets? Your safety is probably the most important factor. Once you get to work, can to lock up your bike in a secure location? Is it possible to charge your battery where you work? Safety and security are two things often overlooked by potential bike commuters.

I think you will find, as many here already have, ebiking is far too much fun for just commuting. It is quite possible you will eventually ride for pleasure as well which will put a serious dent in your 100% practical approach.

 

[TryingToBeBetter]

Is your goal to be able to give up a vehicle by bike commuting? If not, even part time bike commuting would be beneficial to both you and the environment. It's hard to put a $$ value on this though. As mentioned earlier, Winter weather commuting can be done with the proper clothing & equipment.

Here are a few other things to consider. How far is your commute? How fast do you need to travel for traffic conditions? Are there hills involved? Can you ride bike lanes or less traveled streets? Your safety is probably the most important factor. Once you get to work, can to lock up your bike in a secure location? Is it possible to charge your battery where you work? Safety and security are two things often overlooked by potential bike commuters.

I think you will find, as many here already have, ebiking is far too much fun for just commuting. It is quite possible you will eventually ride for pleasure as well which will put a serious dent in your 100% practical approach.

Oh I'm counting on it lol. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people who will feel guilty about the cost of my hobbies if they're not in some way "practical". So while I 100% expect this to be a ton of fun when I'm in "leisure mode" (ugh so cringy) if I can justify it with some practicality that would essentially allow me to fully enjoy the hobby. I do have a lot of hills on my commute, although Google Maps suggests an almost identical length (right arounf 10 miles one way) route with slightly less steepness to the hills. I still don't think it's a cake walk though. I'm not sure if you can tell % grade in Maps...

Knowing what I know about my commute (and also not knowing what I don't know like exact (ish) % grade) it also make me worry that I would need to make a sizable investment to allow me to make the commute with some kind of ease. The speed limit on most of that route I believe is no higher than 35 (maybe 40 for a short stretch) and pretty as back-roady as you can get in between suburbs. So at minimum I'm looking for a 28mph top speed and I'm inclined to over-spec to handle the hills.

 

[6zfshdb]

You can get elevation change from a topographic map or just use Google Earth. It will give you elevation for any point on the map using the cursor and allow you to measure distance. the % grade can then be calculated.

The "average" ebike will handle a 10% uphill grade for a mile or so but can overheat the motor if you go much farther. This varies greatly though from bike to bike.

As you probably know, 28 mph means a class 3 ebike which is not legal in many Massachusetts locations. You might be better off with a class 2 bike (20 mph max) if you want to stay within the law.

A 20 mile round trip should be no problem for most bikes so charging at work isn't an issue in you case.

 

[TryingToBeBetter]

All of these things are also complicated my height. I'm 5' 2" with about a 29" pant leg. So trying to find something that can climb hills, get me to work in a reasonable time, AND that I actually fit on has proven...challenging.