E-bikes make cycling accessible to people who have disabilities and to people who don’t want to put in the conditioning but want to enjoy a hobby with their friends who do.
I love riding rural trails. I train for it. I do distance rides for fun. My wife and several of my friends love the adventure of it but don’t want to put in the consistent training. They’re healthy people, just not 75-100 mile per week riders like I am. Because of E-bikes, my wife and I can go on a few long rides a year together - me on a manual bike and her on our e-bike.
Don’t be such a dick. If you don’t want to use a motor, don’t.
I honestly never considered powered bikes as anything but a motorcycle alternative. they got nothing to do with bicycles and I don’t care about their potential demise (which is kinda overdramatic, that is nowhere on the horizon).
I know I have nothing but disdain and resentment when they hug bike paths, sidewalks, etc. and in my view those things should be in regular traffic lanes, same as mopeds and motorcycles.
as to the combustion part, no idea how prevalent that is but I wouldn’t keep this thing in my home or near it.
I think there is a distinction to be made between e-bikes with a reasonable amount of pedal-assist and e-bikes with throttles and overpowered motors.
E-bikes make cycling more accessible (old people, certain disabilities) and that’s something we should strive for. I don’t care to own one myself, but I do like the idea of still being able to cycle when I’m old and my knees are shot.
