Gary, perhaps you don't understand the workings of an ebike. You state "purely motor assist" above but with a Class 1 e-bike (the VAST majority of them are Class 1) you have to pedal or else the assist isn't there. You can adjust the level of assist on many of the bikes to make it fairly easy or actually pretty close to an analog bike. I'm 69 years old. Last month my buddy and I did a 20 mile ride in the mountains here in Colorado. We rode nearly 4 hours and had over 2,500' elevation gain! If you think that didn't give us a workout you don't understand exercise physiology! At my age I could never have done that ride without some assistance! You anti-ebike folks claim only young fit persons should be on the trail. If I were young and fit then I would likely not be on an e-bike but I can't turn back the clock on my age, I can't undo my total knee replacement, I can't undo my 3 rotator cuff surgeries or my cervical fusion! Just because I'm not young and fit doesn't mean I shouldn't be able to enjoy the same trails and pleasures of younger riders! This is age discrimination and arrogance on full display!
Hi!
I’m starting to wonder why we all try and compare each other either on or off an e-bike.
For example, whether an E-bike helps my fitness rather than a normally aspirated helping another person’s.
I think you are correct and I think Gary is correct.
In fact, most reading this part of the thread probably think that, but can’t be a**** to comment.
I think Gary is trying to help others understand that, tho’ in a robust manner.
I’m less clear that some other recent posters have that aim in mind. They are on a different mission, to defend the concept that ebikes can help you get fit and seem to have missed the point here.
This thread is about Ebike acceptance - I find that ironic given some of the recent comments and he purpose of the forum….
Nobody in their right mind would deny that ebikes help some people get fit.
Nor would they deny that they can take fitness away from a fully able person who was super fit, but now rides eeb.
But even then, that’s only true if they dont change which trails they ride or how they ride those trails.
This is all obvious. Gary would agree (I hope, ‘cos he scares me
).
Ebikes make you fitter if you ride them than they do if you leave them in the shed.
The same is true of normally aspirated bikes.
The same person riding the same trail at the same pace in the same conditions on the same day is going find it harder on a normally aspirated than an ebike unless the motor’s off.
If your’re too knackered up by something — like I am — to be able to exploit a normally aspirated, then an ebike is a massive boon for fitness.
And, in case you’re wondering (Gary isn’t, ‘cos he knows this), my credentials are almost the same as yours, apart from the knee thing.
I’m 65, have terrible arthritis, am 3” shorter due to lumbar and thoracic disc loss, have a scoliosis (moderate) and have also had a cervical fusion — my knee’s OK
— and I have a series of mild neurological deficits in my limbs from disc damage to nerves here and there.
I’ve ridden 55yrs off road. I’ve seen and done it all, for example I’ve ridden in the U.K., NZ, US and Europe.
I still ride hard once or twice a week and do so on my Bullit and I also ride and look after my horses every other day of the week.
I’m quite fit. But I’m also knackered by arthritis.
I have had to change how I do things in order to achieve alL this.
Riding an ebike has been a core part of that.
But it’s still true that an ebike does some of the work for me on any given ride — thank goodness I have one — and that’s Gary’s point.
)
funny, thats not something that gets asked . Nice car,what did it cost ?.
.
