What have you learned from your e-bike experiences?

[Jeremy McCreary]

I have learned not to wave at guys on dino bikes dressed in their kit. They despise us.. Not all of them but it's a pretty fair generalization.

That hasn't been my experience, and I live in a place crawling with both serious roadies and ebikers. There are plenty of friendly riders and jerks in both camps.

Best that we all deal with each other on an individual basis and skip the generalizations. I wave at most cyclists. Ebikers are no more likely to wave back.

 

[mschwett]

That hasn't been my experience, and I live in a place crawling with both serious roadies and ebikers. There are plenty of friendly riders and jerks in both camps.

Best that we all deal with each other on an individual basis and skip the generalizations. I wave at most cyclists. Ebikers are no more likely to wave back.

if i waved at every passing bike, i’d never have my hands on the bars

on a long ride far from the city, i will give a friendly gesture, which is almost always reciprocated. sometimes just a nod or a hand signal.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

i have three pairs of padded shorts. nothing goes under them. nothing. wear each in sequence, then wash. repeat. no cream, no lotion, shower after each ride.

That's the policy going forward. Just need to add 1-2 more pairs of padded shorts to the rotation.

 

[mschwett]

That's the policy going forward. Just need to add 1-2 more pairs of padded shorts to the rotation.

also, they need to fit snugly - without movement, there is no friction. the movement goes between the shorts and the saddle, not between the shorts and the skin.

have you done the specialized sit bone measure thing?

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

also, they need to fit snugly - without movement, there is no friction. the movement goes between the shorts and the saddle, not between the shorts and the skin.

have you done the specialized sit bone measure thing?

Yes, the bike shorts I usually wear are snug (typical lycra design), and that's what I'll wear exclusively going forward.

Measured for the SQlab saddle on my commuter, but that may be irrelevant in this case. The stock Specialized Bridge saddle on the problem bike (my Vado SL 1) felt great from the outset ~2,700 mi ago, and has never been an issue till this episode, which I now think was all about shorts, not the saddle.

 

[DDBB]

I've actually had dino bike riders spit at the ground when they pass and see I'm on an ebike. Of course it takes all kinds and some will be very friendly but don't count on it

 

[6zfshdb]

I have learned not to wave at guys on dino bikes dressed in their kit. They despise us.. Not all of them but it's a pretty fair generalization.

I've learned that this behavior depends mostly on where and when I ride. I go to rural or semi rural locations and avoid weekends & holidays. By doing this, most of the people I encounter are older, like minded individuals and not hard core roadies.

 

[stompandgo]

Yes, the bike shorts I usually wear are snug (typical lycra design), and that's what I'll wear exclusively going forward.

Measured for the SQlab saddle on my commuter, but that may be irrelevant in this case. The stock Specialized Bridge saddle on the problem bike (my Vado SL 1) felt great from the outset ~2,700 mi ago, and has never been an issue till this episode, which I now think was all about shorts, not the saddle.

The proper saddle width, particularly if it was derived from measurements, is your proper saddle width. Shapes, cutouts, flat or sloping long or short nose, all those details are preferences based on your riding position. The width is the width no matter what bike you're on.

I agree with your conclusion. Wear high quality padded shorts or tights and keep them clean. Shower within an hour after riding. Watch for irritation and back off until it heals. I've always used triple antibiotic when something flares up. It will go away within a day or two.

 

[stompandgo]

I've learned that this behavior depends mostly on where and when I ride. I go to rural or semi rural locations and avoid weekends & holidays. By doing this, most of the people I encounter are older, like minded individuals and not hard core roadies.

I guess you could say that I'm a hard core roadie. My favorite riders to smile and wave to are small children. Kids on bikes make me happy. As for the adults, some ignore me on the Cannondale, others acknowledge and check it out. It will be very interesting to see if the reaction is different on the Pinarello, which looks very much like an analog bike.

 

[Chazmo]

My attitude and experience differ from some of you. Most of my rides are on sparsely populated trails and (mostly) lightly-traveled roads. But, I think I’m similar to Jeremy… with a little more detail as follows:

1. I hate road riding. I am the opposite of @stompandgo. I agree with his comment about loving to see kids out there, etc. But, there are a lot of particularly unfriendly motorists out here in central Massachusetts, and I’ve had some bad encounters that have (luckily) not ended in me getting chased into the woods or something worse… In any case, unless I’m getting a friendly wave (not the finger, that is) from a motorist, I do not make eye contact or initiate anything. I ride the “with traffic” direction (on the right, that is) , and there are very often minimal shoulders where I ride, though I try to stay to the right of the white line if I can — sorry UKers if this makes no sense to you .

2. I occasionally run into asshats riding bikes too quickly (both regular and e-bikes) on the areas of populated trails that I ride every day. These people almost never make eye contact or wave. These people only get frowns from me.

3. In most other cases I keep it down around 10-11MPH and I am always waving, saying hello, and warning pedestrians (or saying “on your left/right/down-the-middle) at a distance when I’m coming up on them. Fättie is an imposing beast and I don’t want to scare pedestrians.

4. I’m usually not passing other bike riders (of any time) unless there are no pedestrians around and I’m going faster (15-20 on the trails) or we’re going in opposing directions. Almost always a wave or a hello in those cases.

 

[Gionnirocket]

oh looooordy! glad you’re recovering, but those are some major errors!

i have three pairs of padded shorts. nothing goes under them. nothing. wear each in sequence, then wash. repeat. no cream, no lotion, shower after each ride.

i am cringing at the idea of underwear under padded shorts. prayers for a speedy recovery!

Yeah anything under padded shorts is a big no_no. And I do the same as far as rotating through 5 pairs so I don't have to worry about washing them right after a ride.. especially since I found that hand washing is best to keep them performing like new.
But believe me about the square of TP and a dot of lotion as far as staying clean and comfortable during your ride and for heading off any potential problems. On long rides I often stop for lunch and that can make being in the shorts a pretty long affair.

I guess you could say that I'm a hard core roadie. My favorite riders to smile and wave to are small children. Kids on bikes make me happy. As for the adults, some ignore me on the Cannondale, others acknowledge and check it out. It will be very interesting to see if the reaction is different on the Pinarello, which looks very much like an analog bike.

I see a lot more roadies so it seems the rude encounters fall more often with them. That and as mentioned by others, ebikers tend to be older and thus less in a rush and more courteous.
And I couldn't agree more about the little kids... especially those on their first bikes. This is why I love my old school bell
A triple ding and they're smiling from ear to ear frantic to ring back. This usually gets you a big smile from mom and dad which ain't bad either.

 

[mschwett]

my little one loooooves the bell on her bike, it took a while to prevent her from using it for non-safety purposes hahah. she still gives one ding to indicate that she heard me telling her to do something (turn, slow down, etc)

the two most common unpleasant behaviors we see are 1) elderly people yelling at her to get off the sidewalk. she rides in the sidewalk when the street is too steep or busy, which is 100% legal for a child here and 2) (generally) young men in big trucks that are in a very big hurry to get to the red light no more than 200 feet away.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

That's the policy going forward. Just need to add 1-2 more pairs of padded shorts to the rotation.

I don't use padded shorts anymore ever since I got the Sigr commuter shorts and trousers for winter. Really comfy. Plus look like normal shorts when off the bike. Love Sigr cycling gear.

I do have a couple of 3/4 length bibs for really cold (and long) winter rides that I'll occasionally wear & if freezing wear under an outer layer.

 

[DDBB]

Kids on bikes are awesome. Old people on bikes are awesome and so are young people. In general it's a very friendly crowd but the negative encounters I've had with hard core dino bike roadies has caused me to become jaded. I no longer initiate a wave to them as most times it's not reciprocated. I passed one guy on an ebike and yelled out to him that he was cheating, when he realized I too was on an ebike he was like "HEY!"

 

[Nvreloader]

Mschwett
Great photo of young ones experience being built.
IMHO, I would add mirrors to each side to give her some more protection/safety while riding on the streets.
I know that when I ride I would drift into the travel lane, when I turned my head to peek behind me, I added 2 long shank mirrors and I can see behind me and ride a straight line now with the mirrors.
yrmv