People are strange

[BTB]

I like it when a go fast rider catches my tail just to get motor paced and then thanks me for the pull. Are we both cheaters, or is it just me? I prefer to call it fun.

 

[skp3003]

I ride early (5:30am) at a local park closed off to traffic and reserved for cyclists, a place I've ridden since the early 90's on my conventional bikes. Passing the peloton ocasionally I get a snide remark. A few weeks ago one fellow yelled "turn it off!" To which I responded "Nah, why don't you turn yours on??!!" . Usually I give a friendly wave and carry on. I am not competing nor racing against anyone, nor am I trying to be sneaky about being on an e-bike. What I AM doing is exercising in my HR zone for 45 to 75 minutes and enjoying the ride more than on my conventional bikes, thanks to the thrill of gliding along at 40kph+, covering more ground and getting my geek on with the ST2"s technology.

 

[Phanes]

Yesterday I could not get out for a long ride but I went to the store with my 16 month old daughter in the Burley. I picked up some minor items. When I came out to where my bike was locked up a man was kind of following me. He was interested in how I was going to haul 3 bags of groceries and the baby at the same time. When he saw my setup and was really impressed. We chatted a bit about using an eBike instead of the car. In this instance even though I did not have time to formally exercise on the bike that day I was getting in a 7 mile ride doing errands. In the end he did say, "isn't an eBike cheating?" I said, "Sure if we are in a road race or something. The purpose of the eBike is to replace your car with it and enjoy exercise more not to cheat at racing." Case in point usually I would have taken the van to do those errands but instead I got out and got my big butt moving.

He asked me where I got mine and we chatted a bit more. He admitted that his wife had gained 60 pounds with their two children and was looking for a way to exercise and be able to include the kids. He was going to head to eBikes of NE with his wife this weekend to see if they can't get her moving again. He did ask about the price and then responded if that is what it takes to get her healthy again then it is worth every penny. I hope the guy is successful with his plan.

 

[Douglas Ruby]

I am retired and don't use an ebike for commuting, so "Is it cheating?"....Well, my daughter is 36, I am 64. While I raced bicycles in my youth (1971-74), she plays ice hockey 3 times a week and coaches at the school she teaches at. She can sustain a heart rate above 150 bpm for hours on end. I had a heart attack 16 years ago and with meds, my heart rate stops at around 100. She is in good shape. I am 5' 11" and 240 lbs.

To me, an ebike means that I can go on rides with my daughter and not hold her up. Instead of having to stop to recover my heart rate and breathing every 5 miles or so, I can go on 30+ mile rides with her maintaining a 14-16 mph average. I am able to carefully keep my exercise aerobic and stay away from the anaerobic that will cause potential problems for me.

I get to enjoy the outdoors, meet people, enjoy my daughter's company, and have fun. Is it cheating? Who cares?

Doug

 

[skp3003]

Doug that is definitely cheating.....the Grim Reaper! Excellent story.

 

[J.R.]

This is all good news for ebiking in the North America. We had a couple conversations a year ago on this very subject and the good news is more people know about ebikes in America!

I probably allow 10 or so people to test ride my bike every year and if I had the time and battery I could do this on most every ride. Two and a half years ago I'd have said: What's an ebike? At the time' my cycling ability had been seriously reduced, due to spine surgeries. I was shopping for a custom, extremely expensive lightweight, hand made bike in hopes that I could still get out and continue to ride a few times a week. I stumbled across ebikes somewhere and stumbled across EBR. I read all I could and watched as many reviews as I could find, which weren't that many. But by late summer of 2014 I had my first ebike and in late summer 2015 I had my second ebike.

When I started ebiking I didn't know anyone else that even knew what an ebike was, much less own one. Now I have more than a half dozen friends and acquaintances that ride ebikes and that number is growing. Cheating, what's cheating? This is the beginnings is a revolution in cycling! It's already happened in many parts of Europe and Asia. It's just started in North America, but there's no stopping it now

 

[ST2]

I rode to work today and heard from one of my co-workers, "hey, that's cheating!", to which I replied, "I'm pedaling just like you; I'm just going twice as fast!"

 

[jstepy]

I commute 15 miles each way to my office along PCH in Southern California. It takes me only 5-10 minutes more on average to get to work with my ST2s vs. the car. Sometimes like today when their is an accident I probably save 20-30 minutes. I get to skip the cardio at the gym while enjoying beautiful views of the Pacific along the way and it's also a great way to unwind after a day at the office.

9 out of 10 riders I pass that can catch me at a light ask to draft off of me. I kindly oblige and they thank me.

For that 1 rider that makes snide remarks I just chalk up to ignorance.

My only real issue with e-bikes is the fact that it's ruined my desire to use my Pinarello road bike... Going 28-30 mph is much more enjoyable

 

[Neil]

I commute 15 miles each way to my office along PCH in Southern California. It takes me only 5-10 minutes more on average to get to work with my ST2s vs. the car. Sometimes like today when their is an accident I probably save 20-30 minutes. I get to skip the cardio at the gym while enjoying beautiful views of the Pacific along the way and it's also a great way to unwind after a day at the office.

9 out of 10 riders I pass that can catch me at a light ask to draft off of me. I kindly oblige and they thank me.

For that 1 rider that makes snide remarks I just chalk up to ignorance.

My only real issue with e-bikes is the fact that it's ruined my desire to use my Pinarello road bike... Going 28-30 mph is much more enjoyable

I could not agree more with you @jstepy. I commute 30km each way to work most days when the weather allows. Commuting home I have a 4km climb that is pretty steep in places. I could not do that every day on my road bike, it becomes unpleasant, to say the least. I can get to work in 45 min and home in just under 60 min. That is pretty much the same as my car. When there are traffic delays, it brings a smile to your face as you fly by the traffic jams. I look forward to the commute most days and figure it is a great stress reliever. I knew very little about e-bikes 2 years ago, now I could not imagine life without one.

 

[jstepy]

I could not agree more with you @jstepy. I commute 30km each way to work most days when the weather allows. Commuting home I have a 4km climb that is pretty steep in places. I could not do that every day on my road bike, it becomes unpleasant, to say the least. I can get to work in 45 min and home in just under 60 min. That is pretty much the same as my car. When there are traffic delays, it brings a smile to your face as you fly by the traffic jams. I look forward to the commute most days and figure it is a great stress reliever. I knew very little about e-bikes 2 years ago, now I could not imagine life without one.

Wow Neil! Your commute if it is anything like your profile picture is absolutely stunning. Who wouldn't want to breathe fresh air and look at those mountains.

I got into e-bikes about 3 years ago when I was taking spin classes in the gym after work and then getting in my car to drive home. I thought there has got to be a better way and I stumbled upon the first Specialized Turbo when it was just released... I chose the Specialized cause the fit and finish in my opinion was a little nicer then the ST1 back in the day. Once I saw the ST2(S) the fit and finish caught up and I was hooked on Stromer. It was so easy selling my Turbo to a friend who at first laughed and called me a "cheater" but was quickly converted after hopping on one time.

I get to kill two birds with one stone and spend an extra hour home with my family every day by skipping the gym.

For my workout junky friends I used to tell them to get on the Turbo and put it into Regen Mode... you can easily do some serious interval training on e-bikes.

 

[Neil]

Love the look of the ST2S. I have Di2 on my road bike and love the gear change, it makes a huge difference. I have done 1500km on my St2 and with the cable stretch, I could not get it to change into the lowest gear. I have tuned it now and it is better. Love the fact that the Di2 never has those issues. The back brakes on the St2 squeal as has been well documented. I will change the brake pads when these are worn out (or sooner) to try and get rid of that. I believe the Magura on the S are upgraded and do not have that issue. The bigger battery must be nice as well. I recharge at work because I use up to 70% of the battery going home if it is windy and with the climb at the end... One thing that concerns me is that I get the motor over temp warning almost every day, almost at the end of my ride. I just back off a little or stop for a minute to give the motor a chance to cool down. Not sure if this is necessary?
The 60km a day is definitely a work out...some days I can make it really hard by dialing down the assist when climbing...