<story><title>Reflections on E-Bikes</title><url>https://ebikes.neighbor-ryan.org/reflections</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>unicornporn</author><text>&amp;gt; Today I got cursed out by a spandexed “real biker” as I passed by with my electric whirrrr.&lt;p&gt;So, a motorbike a passes a human powered vehicle? That should come as no surprise to neither of you. :)&lt;p&gt;To be honest, I don&amp;#x27;t get the appeal of e-bikes for the type of riding you do. Getting up to 15 MPH when you&amp;#x27;re riding for 8 km in a city when stopping for lights should be no problem without disabilities on a decent bike. An 8 km ride takes 20 minutes at 15 MPH. At 20 MPH it&amp;#x27;s 15 minutes. You&amp;#x27;d add 5 minutes off your ride and get some proper exercise.&lt;p&gt;As a reference, my grandmother rode her bike 12 miles to school and then back at the age of 10.&lt;p&gt;E-bikes make a lot of sense for longer rides with cargo bikes packed kids, trash, food and whatnot.</text></item><item><author>icameron</author><text>I am an amateur e-biker.  Luckily I live in a city with bikeshare so I don’t have to own one, I just rent it for my commute.  5 miles each way. It takes half the time as public transit used to.  Before the bike share I would waste at least 90 minutes a day waiting for and commuting on public transit. Now it’s no more than 24 minutes door to door each way. I get mild exercise, and it’s fun!  I still own a non e-bike (fat tire mountain bike) and I am in the 10-15 MPH range with that, plus it makes me sweat and be out of breath. The small difference of e-assist puts me in the 15-20 MPH range, and as described in the article it’s a night-and-day difference. I feel safe and assured, confident, like on a motorcycle. Almost can keep up with traffic. I don&amp;#x27;t identify as a cyclist like many of the true bike commuters in the area, but I often pass them on the bike routes. I try to be friendly, but I’m smoking them with my rental bike in my street clothes for 20 cents per minute.  Today I got cursed out by a spandexed “real biker” as I passed by with my electric whirrrr.  It really feels great to ride these bikes. What a time to be alive!</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>masklinn</author><text>&amp;gt; To be honest, I don&amp;#x27;t get the appeal of e-bikes for the type of riding you do. Getting up to 15 MPH when you&amp;#x27;re riding for 8 km in a city when stopping for lights should be no problem without disabilities on a decent bike. An 8 km ride takes 20 minutes at 15 MPH. At 20 MPH it&amp;#x27;s 15 minutes. You&amp;#x27;d add 5 minutes off your ride and get some proper exercise.&lt;p&gt;Morning commute is not a moment where I have any interest in exercise, arriving sweaty at work, needing to always carry multiple sets of clothes, ...&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;d rather see it like the dutch, the bike is a tool for moving from A to B. If you want to do this while exercising more power to you, that&amp;#x27;s not my jam.</text></comment>
<story><title>Reflections on E-Bikes</title><url>https://ebikes.neighbor-ryan.org/reflections</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>unicornporn</author><text>&amp;gt; Today I got cursed out by a spandexed “real biker” as I passed by with my electric whirrrr.&lt;p&gt;So, a motorbike a passes a human powered vehicle? That should come as no surprise to neither of you. :)&lt;p&gt;To be honest, I don&amp;#x27;t get the appeal of e-bikes for the type of riding you do. Getting up to 15 MPH when you&amp;#x27;re riding for 8 km in a city when stopping for lights should be no problem without disabilities on a decent bike. An 8 km ride takes 20 minutes at 15 MPH. At 20 MPH it&amp;#x27;s 15 minutes. You&amp;#x27;d add 5 minutes off your ride and get some proper exercise.&lt;p&gt;As a reference, my grandmother rode her bike 12 miles to school and then back at the age of 10.&lt;p&gt;E-bikes make a lot of sense for longer rides with cargo bikes packed kids, trash, food and whatnot.</text></item><item><author>icameron</author><text>I am an amateur e-biker.  Luckily I live in a city with bikeshare so I don’t have to own one, I just rent it for my commute.  5 miles each way. It takes half the time as public transit used to.  Before the bike share I would waste at least 90 minutes a day waiting for and commuting on public transit. Now it’s no more than 24 minutes door to door each way. I get mild exercise, and it’s fun!  I still own a non e-bike (fat tire mountain bike) and I am in the 10-15 MPH range with that, plus it makes me sweat and be out of breath. The small difference of e-assist puts me in the 15-20 MPH range, and as described in the article it’s a night-and-day difference. I feel safe and assured, confident, like on a motorcycle. Almost can keep up with traffic. I don&amp;#x27;t identify as a cyclist like many of the true bike commuters in the area, but I often pass them on the bike routes. I try to be friendly, but I’m smoking them with my rental bike in my street clothes for 20 cents per minute.  Today I got cursed out by a spandexed “real biker” as I passed by with my electric whirrrr.  It really feels great to ride these bikes. What a time to be alive!</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>dlisboa</author><text>&amp;gt; To be honest, I don&amp;#x27;t get the appeal of e-bikes for the type of riding you do. Getting up to 15 MPH when you&amp;#x27;re riding for 8 km in a city when stopping for lights should be no problem without disabilities on a decent bike.&lt;p&gt;I think most people in the North America and Europe live in cities that are so flat biking is just like walking faster. Maybe that&amp;#x27;s where your frame of mind comes from.&lt;p&gt;Where I live the hills are so steep that it&amp;#x27;s impossible to bike them solely human-powered unless you&amp;#x27;re an actual athlete. And even the more modest inclines will make a regular person give up on the thought of biking since it&amp;#x27;d be a workout.&lt;p&gt;E-bikes are awesome for this, as they make tough inclines much easier.</text></comment>