A lot of hate from my old riding buddies about it though, that i am cheating, i have no self respect, ebikes are lame and for elderly people etc.
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They donāt know what theyāre missing, getting an e bike was one of the best things I ever did!
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What type have you got? Are there any other converts here?
Got a Cube Hybrid Touring Pro that I mainly use for commuting and some courier work. Itās great for getting across town and skipping all the traffic. Pic is when I took it up Snakeās Pass a couple of years ago when it was closed to vehicles, it felt very liberating!
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Was a similar sceptic about ebikes until me and the missus hired a pair of them for the day in Kefalonia. Had a great time.
Got my first ebike about 18 months ago and never looked back. I absolutely love it. What Iāve also found is that (depending on which setting I have it on) I still ache after a decent ride so defo still doing me some good exercise wise.
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Fugly though aināt they
?!
Iād argue you couldnāt tell the difference between my bike and the non ebike version of it tbh.
non ebike:
ebike:
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I have couple of analogue road bikes, but got an ebike cargo bike a year and a half ago to add to the stable.
Love it! Itās a longtail and I fitted it out with a rear crate/panniers. It can carry 200kg so no problem doing shopping, going to the hardware store, taking 150 records plus beer, dog on the back. It means anywhere within about 100km return that I used to have to drive I just jump on the bike now.
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Plenty room for a delicious rave sandwich 
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Soā¦ e-bikes.
Good for old people. Keeps them out and about on a bike.
Good for people with less mobility.
They make mountain biking well more fun.
Now (from post above), also good for lugging stuff around and going to gigs.
I can see the (huge) appeal for many. Just not for me.
While Iām fit and healthy, I couldnāt imagine not using pedal power to get my arse up those hills.
One for the future though.
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What could possibly go wrong?
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Exactly!
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I tried lugging 2 big crates of records to gigs, and even my dog on a trailer behind my roadie but itās just too dangerous. Underbraked and not very manoeuvrable plus the centre of gravity goes out the window. I looked at regular cargo bikes but the price difference and range made an ebike the obvious choice. I just donāt need a car anymore. Most of my riding is on an analogue bike still, but my driving is on an ebike.
I think youāre pigeon-holing/stereotyping what theyāre good for.
Also, until youāve experienced the pure, giddy joy of electric acceleration, donāt knock it. It really is a lot of fun on a well-sorted ebike. Where I live the uptake is largely teenagers and they love them.
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This is it, i bought mine as mainly a fun plaything and itās amazing for that purpose. I still have my analogue bike if i want to experience that.
Also, what it opens up in terms of what you can ride is insane. I can ride up inclines that no mountain bike could manage, you can use the torque to boost you over huge roots, thereās probably still loads of things i could be learning.
The only downside i have found so far is that when people clock you have an ebike, they launch into a preprepared npc rant about youths on escooters/electric motorbikes terrorising people on the roads and how it should be banned.
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Just looked at the price of them, Christ on a bike!
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2 things convinced me I needed one in my life:
I have a friend in BC, Canada that was an early adopter. He said that instead of doing car shuttles all day in his big, V8 truck taking turns driving, he found himself riding more, and lapping on his ebike.
I ride with some bike tourers every full moon and they are diehard retro pedal fanatics. Regular long distance multi-day sloggers. One of the shop riders came one night and we all took turns on the shopās new 29er hardtail ebike and we all just fell in love with a completely different type of riding that we all thought we would never like.
(Now I feel there are 2 types of cyclist: those who enjoy riding ebikes and those who havenāt tried one yet)
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Hey.
I donāt really know why I posted my thoughts. Reading them back, I guess I sound a little bit twatty. I didnāt mean to come off like that.
I have tried one, but only briefly. Ribble bikes near Preston do test-rides for e-bikes and my friend was interested in one, so we took a couple out for a spin.
As for the commuting, I totally get it. Iāve never driven a car and really like commuting by bike. Iāve done quite a lot of normal life stuff just getting around on a bike over the years too. I can see the appeal of an e-bike for that.
My one point is that theyāre just not for me (at this current point in my life).
I cycle for two main reasons - I like being outside in the countryside and I like being fit. So, an e-bike isnāt necessary for either aspect.
Iām a huge advocate for physical fitness, and Iām so glad that e-bikes are encouraging a wider range of people to engage with cycling.
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Yeah fair enough. Sorry if I came off as critical of you, Iām obviously an overly zealous ebike (and all bike) evangelist
I get it though, a couple of people have said to me āyou want to get an e-bike, you donāt have to put in so much effortā but thatās the whole point for me. A bicycle is a vehicle that runs on human fat!
Appreciate the idea of one as an alternative to a car though, thatās real freedom.
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