Why do we ebike?

[Dynamo Dan]

Firstly, I would like to apologise if this subject has been previously covered. I'm new to these forums but could not find this subject covered when I searched threads.

I am really curious as to why people choose to use an ebike. We have a broad spectrum of needs, restrictions, geographical locations and experience but I believe that the reasons people use ebikes can be condensed into 4 main categories; Financial, Health, Environmental concern, and Convenience. I may have overlooked a category that is the main reason why you ebike and if so, I apologise, but it's my thread so suck it up!! For me, it is a combination of these factors but I really want to know what is your strongest motivator out of these 4 reasons. So let rip, why do you use an ebike? For clarification, if you do it mainly for fun (who wouldn't deny that), maybe that should be under the category of health.

So to get things started, my vote...…..Financial

 

[christob]

Health was first for me in deciding to buy an ebike. I wanted to get more activity in my days primarily to lose weight by introducing exercise I could stick with. (i.e., the fun part of an ebike seriously helps with that commitment goal!) But Environmental was also a second motivator; the prospect of consuming less gasoline was a strong appeal. (I drive a Prius hybrid, averaging 44-50mpg per tank based on season, and have a 6.7-mile bike commute to work--so it takes me about 29 bike commutes round trip, to save 1 full tank.) Since I cannot give up my car entirely, if gasoline cost savings are the main, direct financial benefit I'll accrue, it will take me a terribly long time to break even and recoup the purchase price of the bike and all accessories since then--so Financial was not a strong driver
Results since March purchase: I just managed my first "saved tank" last week (began bike commutes April 2), and have lost 31 pounds so far!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Dan ...

Thanks for raising this topic. My perspective is that of a retired person who rides a bicycle - these days an ebike - for pleasure with never a thought for its utilitarian value. For me it's about enjoyment with fitness a welcome extra; therefore, my responses to your possible reasons are...

• Financial : No! The exact opposite: having an ebike costs me heaps and saves zero $. Ebiking is the most expensive pastime I've had since sailing which was the most expensive since flying light aircraft.
• Health : Yes. This is especially the case now that I'm in my mid-seventies and and am somewhat wary of the too-high heart rate readings I was getting riding a road bike. I'll add mental wellbeing to physical health benefits.
• Environmental Concern : No. The environment does not benefit in any way. I retired years ago and the ebike has never been used as a car substitute. Confession: I belong to the "one-more-bike" - not the "one-less-car" - brigade.
• Convenience : Yes. I am able to ride from home despite the gravel roads and hills.
• Enjoyment : Yes! Being somewhere else; doing something different; chatting to someone along the trail; scattering a mob of roos. My ebike is a magic escape machine.

... David

 

[Trail Cruiser]

I like to tinker on things and I am mechanically inclined (I have no formal training on bike/e-bike maintenance) but I used to ride a bike as my commuter in my school days.

Now that my knees are not as strong and beginning to hurt, e-bike comes naturally as the solution for me.

I ride my e-bike for the fun of it and makes me feel young as my school days. The side benefits for me are also good, such as having cardio exercise, keeps my weight down, making my own vitamin D from sun light, fresh air from the trails, enjoying the scenery, etc..

 

[christob]

• Financial : No! Ebiking is the most expensive pastime I've had since sailing which was the most expensive since flying light aircraft.

Agreed! Photography has been my leading pastime for years now; the bike + accessories this spring is more like 2 years of camera-gear additions.
Interestingly, I haven't actually photographed anything new since getting the ebike! In a perverse twist, I find myself considering the need for a new, all-in-one camera, after 14 years with an SLR, building a collection of great lenses. ie, a camera I can more easily toss in the pannier, rather than the backpack it takes today to carry my regular "going out to photograph" kit.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Agreed! Photography has been my leading pastime for years... now, I find myself considering the need for a new... camera I can more easily toss in the pannier.

Chris ...

I'm with you. The photos I've posted on EBR were taken with my iPhone or GoPro - the EOS kit sitting unloved in a cupboard at home.

Dan, forgive us for going off-topic so soon; it's what happens all too often on this forum! Maybe, we should start a thread titled "Stuff we take along for the ride"!

... David

 

[Over50]

In agreement with David Berry: Financial: No way! It might be if I hadn't gone out and bought about 4 e-bikes over 2 years. I'm considering it a healthy hobby and as a hobby ok to spend some money - particularly since I live the rest of my life rather conservatively.

Health and Fun: Yes! A few years back, as I started riding my human powered bikes a lot more just around my neighborhood, it dawned on me that I should try riding to work. But I think 35 miles of tough urban environment really isn't a feasible commute for me on a regular bike. So I started investigating e-bikes. It took almost two years of thinking about it, deciding against it, changing my mind and doing more research. And then I finally pulled the trigger late 2016 and made the purchase. I'm happy I did particularly since I haven't been run over or mugged yet and last year I regained my girlish figure (lost 10 pounds and dropped a waist size). I relocated to the Detroit area in my early 30s and I wore about 30" waist size jeans. By my late 40s that had grown to 33-34 inches. Well now I'm back to wearing 32s. E-biking whether for commuting or running a lot of my weekend errands seems a sustainable way to maintain my weight because it is a lot of fun. Being successful with the commuting has led me to other uses for e-bikes as I await my first cargo capable bike. No more SUV to the supermarket at least in good weather. And, now I have the wife riding an e-bike and she is loving it and therefore doing more miles and we spend a bit more time cycling together. So it has had a lot of positive health benefits as well as being an activity she and I can share more readily than regular biking. I should note that up until now, when she uses the e-bike I ride a regular bike and that about equalizes our abilities.

I think we could go from one car to two and then I could probably claim financial benefit. But it would require some bus commuting for me (which I used to do in my younger days) as well as some additional days carpooling. Not only would I save on the maintenance, gas and insurance, but I would get about $100 per month from my company for giving up my parking space. But I haven't been able to convince my wife that we could pull it off, particularly because of her fear of Detroit winters, and so for the moment we are hanging on to the second car.

 

[PaulGee]

I like to tinker on things and I am mechanically inclined (I have no formal training on bike/e-bike maintenance) plus I used to ride a bike as my commuter in my school days.

Now that my knees are not as strong and having pains every now and then, e-bike comes naturally as the solution for me.

I ride my e-bike for the fun of it and makes me feel young as my school days. The side benefits for me are also good, such as having cardio exercise, making my own vitamin D from sun light, fresh air from the trails, enjoying the scenery, etc..

View attachment 22967

Exact same reason for me.

 

[Rakku]

For me its quite simple.
I like the idea and "evolution" of ebikes, Im quite techsavy so its apparent that I´d like these.

When I was younger I was always on the bike with friends and back then I always wished for a bike wich was easier to pedal and we dreamt about getting a motorcycle or something.
Long story short, I had a motorcycle but its not really my thing and you cant ride the same stuff you can with a bike, and ebikes are perfectly what I wished for back then.

It just takes the annoying parts out and make it more enjoyable.

Additionally, even though Im only 27 years old, I started having issues with my hip a few months ago.

I do have a appointment scheduled with a specialist in 2 weeks, but without an ebike mountainbiking would be totally out of question for the time being.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I save about $1500 each year. Our university charges $400/semester for garage parking. So, $1000/year just in parking expenses and another $500 from reduced maintenance/fuel/insurance cost on the car.

Not to mention the health benefits. My father suffered a stroke (had BP and diabetes prior to that) in 2014 and his quality of life deteriorated very quickly. We spent a ton of money on his treatments as well. $6000 to $8000 for couple of E-bikes to live 4-5 years more without hip replacement or Parkinsons, YES, I will take that any day!

Here is a great article about this topic:

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-43308729

Car-centric culture prevalent in today's world, especially in the cities make no sense. All my transportation needs within Chicago are perfectly satisfied with E-bikes + Uber. I envision my family to be a single car family with 2-3 E-bikes for different purposes (commuter, cargo, off-road).

Finally, Nobody can deny the FUN factor.

 

[jazz]

I got into ebikes about 6 years ago. I currently have 5. Then shortly after I got into electric motorcycles and now I have two. Then an electric car.

I'm guess I'm not a fan of gas-powered anything anymore. I consider myself a pretty hardcore mountain biker and ebikes add to the excitement because I can go fast and furious! Haha

I guess there is a health component to it but since I play soccer and basketball 3 or 4 times a week, it's not my main source of exercise.

 

[Chris Hammond]

For me it was a combination as well, but it was primarily to promote commuting more on the bike and using my car/ transit less. Biggest reason I wanted to bike commute was the enjoyment I get from riding, and the ebike makes riding more enjoyable especially when a headwind is present. Health consideration was a big factor as well, as I spend about 2.5 hours a day cycling with the ebike, I get to eliminate cardio training from my gym time and just focus on lifting.
Environment is a benefit that I am happy about, but wasn't as high on my list of priorities.
Cost savings are minimal at best in my case, as I can't eliminate my car payment or insurance, so gas savings are the biggest benefit here which amounts to ~$30/week in my case. Not complaining, but it'll take a while to recoup the cost of the ebike plus add ons at that rate.

 

[AlanDB]

Confidence. At 71, my health and stamina just aren't what they used to be. I was riding a conventional pedal bike for health and exercise, but would often lose confidence and cut my ride shorter than I needed to. For example if the trail came to a long downhill (which would be easy of course), I would sometimes turn around thinking "I will need to ride up that hill on the way back". The e-bike gives me that extra measure of confidence that I won't get stranded because I am exhausted or short of breath. So I feel I am getting better and more exercise than I did on my old bike because I have the confidence to keep going on longer and more challenging rides, knowing that if I get exhausted I can just bump up the assist level up a notch or two to help me out. I tend to keep the assist level on the lowest setting (Eco mode) for most of my rides, and my bike doesn't have a throttle. So I know I am still getting good exercise.

 

[Reid]

I save about $1500 each year. Our university charges $400/semester for garage parking. So, $1000/year just in parking expenses and another $500 from reduced maintenance/fuel/insurance cost on the car.

Not to mention the health benefits. My father suffered a stroke (had BP and diabetes prior to that) in 2014 and his quality of life deteriorated very quickly. We spent a ton of money on his treatments as well. $6000 to $8000 for couple of E-bikes to live 4-5 years more without hip replacement or Parkinsons, YES, I will take that any day!

Here is a great article about this topic:

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-43308729

Carcentric culture prevalent in today's world, especially in the cities, makes no sense. All my transportation needs within Chicago are perfectly satisfied with E-bikes + Uber. I envision my family to be a single car family with 2-3 E-bikes for different purposes (commuter, cargo, off-road).

Finally, Nobody can deny the FUN factor.

View attachment 22968

Ravi, you are the single best champion of cycling in the world (I do not unsupportably suggest). And you live today in the original, the epicenter of cycling, CHICAGO. Oh, what a great history you have made already and are making.
https://archive.org/stream/bearings818931894cycl#page/n399/mode/2up

I ride an ebike for: one less car, for the exercise, for the antidepressant effect of getting out into the sunshine and fresh air, for the meeting of people who become fascinated with the possibility that they, too, could use their car less and live better for it, and I like the maintenance. An ebike or regular bike requires discipline and care to maintain and ride properly.

There is no downside in this: more and more cars restricted to following at the speed of bikes, preventing them from passing and running at the 30mph speed LIMIT. City and suburban roads are generally in the USA 30mph limit. Not requirement. It irks to see cars passing a 24 mph bicyclist on a 30 mph street.

Therefore, there are no limits against reminding people in cars, that bicyclists represent their own would be, better selves. And of that set of ideals, Ravi, in my opinion, is the foremost promoter and protector of ebike advantages to the world, period.

The ebike world record holder is also a humanity world record maker; that is, Ravi is a creator and life preserver. Oh, and he is a scientist in his mundane daily life, endeavoring to discover and share everything that matters.

 

[Gator]

Exercise
I just got my Ebike Mon. and I have 70 miles on her, 15 today. I would have a lot more miles if it weren't for the rainy weather last week. I have exercised more since having the bike than I have in the previous month. I am very grateful to be in a place financially that I could afford the Ebike I wanted.

I have to say that I have spent a lot of time in the past running on treadmills, ellipticals, using machines at the gym and I never could get away from the image of a hamster on a wheel; moving and moving , but going nowhere. I always wished I could convert all that energy into something more productive. I didn't feel that way when I was able to commute by bike 20 years ago. I have wanted to bike commute again for years, but with location and job changes it was just not in the cards, although I tried numerous times. My new Ebike puts that commute back into reach.

 

[Okanoggin]

Because it is fun.

 

[TheGadgetGuru]

My motivation for purchasing my first e-bike was to carry along in the storage bay of my motorhome. It was my goal to have a folding bike that was easy to ride both on- and off-road in the various campgrounds I visit. However, after purchasing a 2017 RadMini and enjoying the exercise benefits, I then purchased a Surface 604 Rook that is much smoother to ride on the sidewalks and paths in my neighborhood as well as a Veego 750. The RadMini travels with me and the Rook and Veego stay at home for my daily rides. While all three bikes provide a different riding experience, the one thing they have in common is that they get me outdoors and moving. While e-bikes are expensive, they provide a great method of low impact exercise. I'm one who rarely uses the throttle and appreciates the pedal assist feature.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

It started with health for me. Between COPD and a sedentary profession for too many years (from a health perspective -- I loved the work), I needed something to improve cardio conditioning and I've never been fond of stationary exercise, like in a gym. So an ebike made a lot of sense. I can get a lot of miles in; if my breathing becomes too labored, I can increase the PAS or even use the throttle/cruise control.

But then it became about the fun. I was enjoying it so much that we got a bike for my wife and we really enjoy this activity together. We ride daily, and often go on day-trip rides out and around some of the beautiful scenery and interesting locations eastern North Carolina provides.

But then we started seeing the financial benefits. Now that we are both retired and can take things a little slower, we are using the bikes for running regular errands. We both work a little part-time, so there is some commuting also. We sold one car to our daughter, who needed it, and the one we kept sits for most of the week. So we're saving a bunch on not having an auto loan on the 2nd car and lower insurance costs, plus some on gasoline. (Let's see, excluding fun runs and day-tripping, I've done one tank-full-worth of errands since late January. I don't have Bonnie's stats.) Our break-even point will be sometime long about 13-14 months of ownership.

Convenience? Not so much. I could see this being a big factor for someone in a city. I was a bike messenger in San Francisco back in the 70s, and it was so easy to zip around through traffic, parking was no hassle, etc. For us, we live about 5 miles out in the country from a small town, so that kind of thing is not part of the picture for us.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

... because of two coyote pups I saw playing in the creek.

If you bike or walk someplace you know it differently. The experience lets you discover just how big and interesting the world is.

 

[MisterM]

Firstly, I would like to apologise if this subject has been previously covered. I'm new to these forums but could not find this subject covered when I searched threads.

I am really curious as to why people choose to use an ebike. We have a broad spectrum of needs, restrictions, geographical locations and experience but I believe that the reasons people use ebikes can be condensed into 4 main categories; Financial, Health, Environmental concern, and Convenience. I may have overlooked a category that is the main reason why you ebike and if so, I apologise, but it's my thread so suck it up!! For me, it is a combination of these factors but I really want to know what is your strongest motivator out of these 4 reasons. So let rip, why do you use an ebike? For clarification, if you do it mainly for fun (who wouldn't deny that), maybe that should be under the category of health.

So to get things started, my vote...…..Financial

Fun is easily #1 for me. Should be it's own category. All the others are distant seconds.