In the age of "I won't ride outdoors anymore/It's not safe" this may be our best chance.

E-bikes are the surf leash of the 70's. All the same arguments, surf leash makes it too easy to surf, takes away from the swimming aspect, lets hoards of people out there that wouldn't otherwise be, and just ruins the purity of the sport or activity. Took about 5 years to be completely accepted, and now hardly anyone can remember when they weren't around.

Same exact thing is happening with E-bikes, as you can see from this thread alone, many were against, now for, and later on no one will remember a day when they were not part of the landscape of riding. People just don't like change, unless it is change that benefits them directly..

Drag isn't linear wrt speed.

If they're after a brag, they need to post CdA figures instead.

I can see it going one of two ways - your view being the optimistic.

The other is all those 25 yr olds and punks will be barraging down the road and not paying attention to any bike laws on their e-bikes with no helmets causing traffic accidents and worse, pedestrian accidents. It's already reaching epidemic levels in NYC - maybe or maybe not because of e-bikes and e-scooters.

It's an almost daily occurrence that I see some punk riding down the wrong side of the road with earbuds in, no helmet, and texting in one hand. They give the rest of us a bad name.

"Just can't get my head around that 1970's swimming pool color"

Dude! It's Celeste.

https://sicycle.wordpress.com/...nis-leftover-greens/

The color ridden by legendary cyclists like Coppi, Argentin, Gimondi, Bugno, Pantani, and Ullrich.

Do you get that worked up over car drivers doing stupid things? Or is it just people on bikes?

Orbea and Willier are using the same hub based motor so their road ebikes also look great.

I doubt we will see these popping up at all the local races. The very large hub is easy to spot. You don't need any of the fancy gadgets the UCI or USA cycling are using to check for motors to spot it.

I'm neutral on ebikes. I like that they are getting people out riding that otherwise wouldn't be, and keeping a few more cars off the road. For now they are not for me. In a few decades or if I ever have medical issues that keep me from riding I'm sure i'll be all in on ebikes.

One of my friends converted his old MTB to an ebike buying one of the chinese conversion kits online. The bike goes up to 30MPH without the need to pedal. With the pedal assist it crazy how easy it is to accelerate and get up to speed.

I'm actually not worked up at all - just making an observation.

I know you weren't asking me, but...

If a driver was on the wrong side of the road, blatantly running a red light, or forcing pedestrians who have the right of way to clear a path for them...sure. I'd be even more upset naturally.

Let's be honest here. There are idiot people and assholes who ride bikes no different than there are idiot people and assholes who drive cars or walk streets as pedestrians (or runners). Common theme is that some people are idiots and/or assholes.

How worked up we get about such idiot/asshole behavior is the risk it causes to others. A person on a bike usually poses somewhat low risk to others and mostly risk to themselves even if they ride like a dick. Well, at least compared to a person operating a 5000 pound car. Just like an idiot pedestrian who jaywalks across the street without looking poses little risk to others...mostly to themselves.

But as e-bikes become more popular, you're transforming the person who rode his bike like an idiot/asshole at 10-14 mph, and now allowing him to ride at 25 mph. You are also opening up bike riding to more people that act like idiot/assholes who wouldn't have otherwise.

I do think e-bikes provide great opportunity for more acceptance of cycling. In busy cities, it is a great option for people to reduce their dependency on driving and should help advocacy of better cycling infrastructure. But in turn, more laws need to be in place (with enforcement) to ensure you don't have people ripping along sidewalks at 20-25 mph.

For use by a cyclist who can't keep up with their buddies...e-bikes are an absolute great thing for cycling.

Why would you say that?

I have 2 e-bikes and many regular bikes. E-bikes should be looked at as CAR REPLACEMENT. I use them for trips that otherwise would be accomplished by single occupancy automobile. E-bikes are a great thing. They have allowed me to reduce driving by about 95%. And so I actually "exercise" more, by doing active transportation.

I still ride my regular road bike on weekend rides, I train and race on my tri-bike and I ride my regular commuter/folding bikes for shorter, less gruesome trips around the neighborhood.

E-bikes enable people in car-dependent cities to reduce/eliminate driving trips. If only we put a fraction of the government automotive subsidies into e-bikes, we'd be well on the way of getting out of this climate crisis thing, and fighting obesity, diabetes, and all the ails of sedentary car-living.

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Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.

Lovely bike, but I don't care what you call it. It still looks like an old swimming pool. FWIW, I saw one black and one red Bianchi that looked beautiful.

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The more people I encounter the more I love my cats.

Me too. Renting an e-bike got my 70yr old father in law out to do some rides with my wife and me. First time he's been on a bike in over 50 years, and he did a 10 mile ride with us. He was way into it. Much, much better than being inside all day, and he burned some calories in the process. I rode the e-bike and it was a blast too.

100%. I was extremely skeptical here in Seattle when rideshare bikes started rolling out, and there definitely are folks who are reckless (both intentionally and unintentionally through ignorance). But a couple years after adoption, it feels like both newer riders and drivers have adapted effectively. City street cycling is still an experience, but outside of the downtown core and major arterials I have never felt safer.