Shunned by bike club?

[Douglas Wever]

So after buying an ebike last week (Raleigh) I reached out to the members' coordinator of a very large bike community here with organized rides most days of the month. To say I got a terse e-mail response would be an understatement.

Are owner's of traditional bikes and more specifically the traditional bike clubs non accepting of e-bikes, or think they don't belong together? One of the ride coordinators I followed up with was very nice but texted me, "my main concern is safety."

So apparently there are some issues here I am not aware of, and for the moment this e-bike is just too fun/addictive to break out my traditional Motobecane (heck I'm already researching a Class 3 [Pedelec] - Trek XM 700+). And, I'm not aware of any real ebike community here in Huntsville, Alabama.

 

[Adrian]

By "safety" perhaps he meant someone might do you harm if they saw you riding an ebike. Gawd knows I've seen enough silly comments on ebike articles threatening as much.

 

[opimax]

Start your own that doesn't care electric or not !!!

 

[vincent]

i cannot see what any concerns would be, but maybe someone else has other insight

think they just dont like change at all, it is ridiculous and sorry the bike clubs are acting like that

maybe it would be smart to start your own club

or surely there are some other bike clubs there...

 

[Jack Tyler]

I think a reasonable guess is that this comment - "my main concern is safety." - is just coming from a fellow biker who knows zip/zilch/zero/nada/bumpkis about ebikes, and so the person is imagining a moped-like powered bike in the midst of a very mixed rider group, including older folks, new-to-biking folks and so forth. I'd encourage you to follow up with the group. Best guess: You show up in your Raleigh, the ride begins and folks only notice that you are riding a 'bike'...and in fact, a well known brand of 'bike'.

 

[Jolly]

Start your own club and open it up to electric and non electric.

 

[vincent]

you are probably right jack, but it just seems amazing that at this point they havent seen some ebikes and dont have a clue

think if i want to try something like that i will just show up and ride, see if anyone says anything and if they do , deal with it then

 

[vincent]

jayvee lol lol lol

 

[JoePah]

The only bicycle clugbs that would accept electric bikes are social gatherings to ride a bike, like Critical Mass or Bike Emerge.

I ride with two clubs and can't imagine they would accept an ebike. These are exercise groups.

Start your own club and show them!

 

[William Hemmingsen]

I ride at least at least 80 miles a week on a regular bike. The other day I mentioned to a fellow rider that I was getting an electric bike. You would of think I told him I was joining a cult and was traveling to Zeta Reticuli.

Whats wrong with adding a bit of fun into your exercise? These guys are strung as tight as their Lycra.

I ride about 20 miles 4 days a week, I am getting an ebike for the in-between days for stress free fun.

 

[Nutella]

If it was a fitness ride, it would be a bit weird for you to show up on an ebike, but if it was a social ride, I don't see the harm in it. I'd just show up, be friendly and ride. You can always play the sympathy card if you get any flack.

 

[opimax]

if you want extra exercise you could start at no power and see if you could keep up. If it is a fitness ride somewhere between regen 2 and max power i could equal his power (probably near max power) i hope and if i rode at that setting for hoursi would get just as tired if not more(being in not good shape n general). and f they want extra exercise I am sure I could leave it in regen and he can charge my battery for me if he can keep up which i doubt...my point is you get as much exercise as you wish with an ebike ...NEXT Lycra excuse please

 

[J.R.]

Just about every county or town have social riding groups or clubs. If there's a park bike path or rail trail, call the county parks department and ask about any organized rides. Paced/training road rides aren't social events in any way, shape or form. They would not be my idea of a fun time. The county where I live has a weekly ride of about 20 miles and several moonlight rides during the summer, all on the local rail trail. Very casual, very friendly and very accepting of ebikes.

Last week:



There were about 25 riders in all, only 2 were riding ebikes. There was no hating on ebikes. There were a lot of curious, enthusiastic questions though.

 

[Douglas Wever]

I decided not to go today. I'm going to go on my regular Trek first, see what the vibe is, then decide.

I bought my Raleigh ebike because of a neck fusion and I need to go easy, but I really like eriding and I ordered a Pedelic Trek yesterday that is due in between August and October.

 

[MLB]

It's Sociology folks. People like to band together with other like minded folks to enjoy shared interests.
What a great idea! And of course it IS, and that is what forums and clubs are all about.
Then human nature continues its ways and that "group" becomes comfortable in their common interest (and common-ness) and BOOM< now any OTHER kind of bike is NOT OURS and thus weird and to be avoided. Sometimes you should even say nasty things if you think those folks aren't doing it "the right way" and are CHEATING!!! (how dare we!)
It was the same thing with recumbents for the past 20 years that I've been riding them. Shunned by the spandex crowd, if not laughed at openly. Banned from rides and racing.
So came Bentrideronline.com, a great recumbent sight with many open minded folks (cuz we all ride weird bikes eh) and years later, guess what? They can't stand ANY OTHER kind of bike and put the people down and laugh at the concepts of new and interesting (but different) designs becaue they aren't "theirs".
ie: I purchased an Eliptigo, an amazing workout vehicle. Kind of a stepper bike. I was blown away by it and posted. Well do you think ANYONE could see any value in such a device that was NOT recumbent? Oh hell no. LOL

Human nature sucks sometimes.

 

[vincent]

lol MLB

that is funny and i totally agree with you

crazy how people are like that
and a hassle for those of us who are not

 

[Joe Remi]

I would take my electric to the San Jose Bike Party..that's just a random bunch of people on bikes. What you're discussing sounds like a "club ride", which is traditionally reserved for non-assisted bicycles that are expected to stick together within a narrow range of speed/ability. In that situation even a non-e recumbent is often frowned upon because it will climb slower, disrupting the flow of the ride. When the ride leader mentioned safety, he was likely thinking about a motored vehicle interfering with this flow in a way that could surprise and confuse the group. I would not attempt to join a ride like that with an ebike.