Love the conversation.
I'm on the side of ebikes may cause more erosion. If we take 4W/kg to be indicative of a fit cyclist then less than 10% of people fit in that category.
Source: [https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/the-bell-curve-of-cylists-how-fast-are-the-average-tr-users/5840/51](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/the-bell-curve-of-cylists-how-fast-are-the-average-tr-users/5840/51)
If your average cyclist is 3W/kg and weighs 100kg (because it makes my math easier) then that's 300W.
Adding 250 watts to that means the ftp is now 550 or 5.5W/kg. Basically Olympian.
By the same math it takes someone at 2W/kg up to over 4W/kg so your beginner can now ride as much as top 10% could previously.
So an ebike allows way more power and travel distance than just upgrading your average cyclist to "a bit fitter".
I await someone to point out the flaw in my logic. :0)
If they're here to stay I agree etiquette is the key going forward.
April 21, 2020, 7:04 p.m. - Sweaman2
Love the conversation. I'm on the side of ebikes may cause more erosion. If we take 4W/kg to be indicative of a fit cyclist then less than 10% of people fit in that category. Source: [https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/the-bell-curve-of-cylists-how-fast-are-the-average-tr-users/5840/51](https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/the-bell-curve-of-cylists-how-fast-are-the-average-tr-users/5840/51) If your average cyclist is 3W/kg and weighs 100kg (because it makes my math easier) then that's 300W. Adding 250 watts to that means the ftp is now 550 or 5.5W/kg. Basically Olympian. By the same math it takes someone at 2W/kg up to over 4W/kg so your beginner can now ride as much as top 10% could previously. So an ebike allows way more power and travel distance than just upgrading your average cyclist to "a bit fitter". I await someone to point out the flaw in my logic. :0) If they're here to stay I agree etiquette is the key going forward.