What I thought I wanted to reality....

[fooferdoggie]

Now my wife and I almost never walk anywhere. I had to walk to Home Depot to get a rake 1.5 miles total. longest walk in months. I get 5 miles of walking doing my work but Now I hop on the bike for any errands.

 

[Alaskan]

I have a great car that I now enjoy driving on rare occasions. It sits gathering dust sometimes for a week or more without going anywhere. Being able to replace it with an ebike is an unanticipated fringe benefit. I started riding for exercise, cardiac health and weight control, had so much fund riding that it became a daily activity, and then found myself riding instead of driving because it was just so much more fun and i had the time.

I now have a Burley Coho trailer that enables me to do almost all my local errands, including bringing tools and parts down to the boat, grocery shopping, etc.

At least half the time I drive the car these days, the bike is loaded on a rack on the back of it. Nancy and I are soon to become a one car household. My ebikes are both toys and tools that have helped me rediscover a level of vitality and activity I haven't enjoyed for decades.

 

[FlatSix911]

Hi All, I don't know if this will help all those choosing an ebike because it is such a personal choice. But I thought I would share the progression for me and my wife:

Start here: A car replacement, great utility We can do all our local trips by bike. Quick runs to the store or errands. Be green
** Try a bunch of Cargo bike and get sticker shock.

Next Stop: Get out more often, go and get exercise. Everyone says you ride more. Hills will no longer be an obstacle. We can do it together.
** Try a bunch of general purpose bikes, mostly upright and get the "mehs" from the way they ride like beach cruisers.

Last Stop: I forgot how much just riding around, fast, slow, whatever, is so much fun. Just enjoy ourselves.
**Try some bikes that ride like zippier bikes, corner well, roll great and are super stable. Buy a gravel (All-Rounder) e-bike with higher performance tires, no suspension and invest in a Brooks leather seat.

So that is it. Turns out:

I hardly every go to the store because just two bags of groceries is too much load and awkward to be a stable load ( crushable veggies, cans of beer, wine, bread, perishables, Ice cream melting). Plus the security issues are a pain with all the theft and locks are heavy and defeat able.

Exercise is a by product and so much easier when it is fun. These days, I am trying to be kind to myself and others. So I don't force things.

Having fun is the day's highlight and makes the pandemic day more bearable.

For what it is worth.

Great summary! I like to use all of the above... Utility, Exercise, and Fun!

 

[indianajo]

I use cars only to bring huge things home from the lumber yard. U-haul trucks actually. I can load a whole weeks of groceries in my bike left, if I don't drink more than 10 liters of diet soda. Another half gallon of no-sugar milk substitute fits in there, too. Bread usually rides on top tied with string. Brought the groceries and a 32" flat screen TV home, two weeks ago.
I ride everywhere, I don't understand all the passion for 30 lb bikes. Yeah, if you're racing and have to be first. Or if you ride in a club and have to keep up. I measure my resting heart rate and weight, not my average speed. Lost 12 lb last summer with the covid19 as a passenger. Haven't had a waist this small since 1979.
My previous bike was a steel Pacific MTB which weighed the same with the steel baskets as this aluminum bike with pannier bags. Only the MTB was rear heavy, and threw me on my chin twice as a result. Front wheel would snap sideways on a stick or a gravel ridge or a high pavement separator.
As far as the weight, I don't mind it with it balenced front/rear. My thighs have strengthed up to push the whole thing up 15% grades with a 80 lb load, 330 lb gross. If you came to this from a titanium road bike, maybe you would have trouble bulking up. I don't sweat that much either. (that is just me). the electricity is just a bonus feature to avoid 6 hour trips at 5 mph, if the wind picks up to 25 in my face like September, 2018. Staying home that day is not an option when I'm out of groceries & money out at the summer camp. Amazon doesn't deliver out there, either. Nor do I pay for a smart phone to order things from out there. No HS internet out there, either.
As far as sticker shock,this bike cost 20 times what the MTB & steel baskets cost. You don't find these at the flea market, I had to order it new from California to get one that fits short legged me. Worth every penny if I don't break my chin on the road again. I've got ~5500 miles on it, 3 sets of tires,1 of brake pads, a shifter cable, and one hub motor. And this rig costs 1/25 of what the diesel dually long bed pickups cost that all the people that live around me at the summer camp drive. Uses 1 millionth of the fossil fuel, too.
Have fun with your bike whatever it is.

 

[kmccune]

Hi All,

I don't know if this will help all those choosing an ebike because it is such a personal choice. But I thought I would share the progression for me and my wife:

Start here: A car replacement, great utility We can do all our local trips by bike. Quick runs to the store or errands. Be green
** Try a bunch of Cargo bike and get sticker shock.

Next Stop: Get out more often, go and get exercise. Everyone says you ride more. Hills will no longer be an obstacle. We can do it together.
** Try a bunch of general purpose bikes, mostly upright and get the "mehs" from the way they ride like beach cruisers.

Last Stop: I forgot how much just riding around, fast, slow, whatever, is so much fun. Just enjoy ourselves.
**Try some bikes that ride like zippier bikes, corner well, roll great and are super stable. Buy a gravel (All-Rounder) e-bike with higher performance tires, no suspension and invest in a Brooks leather seat.

So that is it. Turns out:

I hardly every go to the store because just two bags of groceries is too much load and awkward to be a stable load ( crushable veggies, cans of beer, wine, bread, perishables, Ice cream melting). Plus the security issues are a pain with all the theft and locks are heavy and defeat able.

Exercise is a by product and so much easier when it is fun. These days, I am trying to be kind to myself and others. So I don't force things.

Having fun is the day's highlight and makes the pandemic day more bearable.

For what it is worth.

Try a trike, they are getting better all the time(ask Kyle)