Surgery recover/an ebike mainly for hill assist???

[jodi2]

Probably in your state of health. I could ride the SL without assistance only for a few km, in emergency. (Check Jodi what "angioplasty" stands for).
And I had to ride my "big" Vado unpowered for 15 km once. It was an ordeal.

I think this is a misunderstanding Stefan. No one wants to tell anyone how much motor support he/she has to use or what ebike to ride. I/"we" only say, that ebikes with assist drives like SL are so light and ride almost like a normal bike, that you can even benefit from them/more than from a acoustic bike, if you use only little or once in a while motor support. Of course one can use more and all the time motor support for whatever reason, then the benefit frome the ebike is even greater.
But you said (as far as I understood you), that one has no benefits riding a light (SL) ebike if he/she does not use much motor support and that's not true. These light ebikes close the bridge to normal bikes and therefore it needs less use of the motor then normal ebikes and you already benefit, can ride longer and more interesting tours, etc.

If 15km without motor is a torture for you with the big a Vado (it is as well for me with the Stromer...), then a smiliar torture with the lighter Vado SL would be maybe 25km and with an even lighter normal acoustic bike maybe 30km.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

But you said (as far as I understood you), that one has no benefits riding a light (SL) ebike if he/she does not use much motor support and that's not true.

I said no one has more benefits from riding unassisted.
I said a human can input as much of energy in pedalling as their body allows them.
Unassisted, an e-bike rides slower. Given the same rider's input, assisted e-bike rides faster (unless it hits the funny limit of 25 km/h).

We are in thread by title "Surgery recover/an ebike mainly for hill assist???" One user suggested that the OP bought himself a lightweight traditional bike "to get more workout". I don't buy it. Although I respect people who only turn the assist on uphill or upwind, I don't think it was the major idea behind e-bikes in the first place.

 

[jodi2]

I think the main idea of ebike is to increase your personal amount of cycling/to decrease the obstacles which prevent you from cycling. Usually this goes along with more fun&joy and a higher average speed, no matter if you use the motor a lot or very little. Of course average speed will be lower and an ebike is useless, if you NEVER use the motor...
Much of this is true for a new/better acoustic bike as well. It can make you cycle more and if your actual bike is very terrible, it CAN make cycling also a little bit easier for you, also with some health issues. But I'm sure that usually an ebike can do much better in that case...

 

[6zfshdb]

Keep in mind, the good folks here on EBR represent a great variety of cyclists in different age groups, physical abilities, nationalities and riding styles.
These issues can be debated endlessly. I find it interesting to see how much opinions vary depending on one's personal point of view.
Bicycles, both conventional and electric, are tools. Just like a hammer, you buy the one that suits the task at hand and your own wants, needs & personal preference.

 

[GenXrider]

If hills and headwinds didn't exist, I wouldn't have bought an e-bike. When riding my standard bike over the years and was riding up a big hill or into a strong headwind, I would think it would sure be nice to have an e-bike at times like that. And when I finally got my e-bike, I'm using it for those things just as I had always expected I would. On the flats without headwinds, my 62 pound e-bike rides fine, although I've kicked up the power a few times when being chased by a dog or rushing home as a storm was rolling in.