This article says why perfectly
We don't know what our limits are, so to start something with the idea of being limited actually ends up limiting us.
Ellen Langer
Last edited by: syncro on Sept. 16, 2018, 3:44 p.m., edited 2 times in total.
Why I don’t want an ebike (but I don’t hate them)
Last edited by: syncro on Sept. 16, 2018, 3:44 p.m., edited 2 times in total.
Having been exposed to Type-2 fun most of my days for the past 4-years, I'll just go on the record as saying, it's over-rated. Give me my Type-1 fun all day and all night, any day.
I see so many people on tour for the week, or the month, grinding out ridiculous mileage just so that they can say they rode from A-to-B. Just not my jam. But hey, if it gets you from one week to the next, then have at'er. Thanks for posting the article Mark.
Last edited by: gotham on Sept. 15, 2018, 11:57 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
Gotham, you'll be stoked to hear we decided to pedal the 66.6 km (coincidence?!) to Salzburg instead of taking the train yesterday.
Trying to catch all the emtb that passed us made us both happy to take the type 1 train home in the evening though!
The best thing about type 2 fun is you never see all the hoards of people enjoying their type 1 fun. The best example of this is waiting 1 hour of in a lift line while someone is smoking a cigarette and you realize that you could have skinned up the run quicker than waiting in the stupid lift line with lazy smokers polluting your air.
This is the threat of E-mopeds for me and why I really lothe them. They bring my nightmare of a Whistler lift line to my favorite trails.
It’s a shame they haven’t invented mountains that go uphill both ways.
Garmin Edge has a setting called eMountain.
anyone using a garmin over a wahoo has lost control over their life
Posted by: Sethimus
anyone using a garmin over a wahoo has lost control over their life
What's a wahoo? Or is it just the sound you make when you ride an E-moped? "WAAHOOOOOOO, who knew biking could be so easyyyyyyy!"
Posted by: syncro
This article says why perfectly
This bit:
"When you do something difficult, the emotions involved are myriad and complex. You may pass through waves of misery, regret, self-loathing, discomfort, despair, frustration, hopelessness, and straight-up pain. But there will also be all of these other dizzying, incredible emotions, and it is perhaps the stark contrast that makes these experiences so powerful. "
Puts me in the mind of my weekly Monday ride. Barely doable soul crushing climb, wherein I lay on the ground to keep from puking. Then a redeeming descent. I live for that ride.
I'm not an e-bike proponent. But I have ridden one. It's possible to crush yourself and get just as blown out on an e-bike as it is a regular bike. If you want to suffer, you can suffer on an e-bike. The only difference is that you can get much much further and climb way higher (but also bring with you the risk of running out of power on your 50+lb bike). It's tricky to nail down the line between the kinds of technological help that are ok and those which are not.
Look at the huge improvements in ski touring tech in the last 10 years that allow you to go further faster more safely than ever before. Or 31lb carbon superbikes? These are all ok but a battery assist pedal bicycle is a step too far? I have my misgivings about e-bikes but the objections are going to need some more consistent logic.
How much extra distance does one get on a pedal bike from this year versus ten years ago?
How much extra distance does one get on an ebike versus a pedal bike from this year?
Pretty consistent.
Posted by: craw
I'm not an e-bike proponent. But I have ridden one. It's possible to crush yourself and get just as blown out on an e-bike as it is a regular bike. If you want to suffer, you can suffer on an e-bike. The only difference is that you can get much much further and climb way higher (but also bring with you the risk of running out of power on your 50+lb bike). It's tricky to nail down the line between the kinds of technological help that are ok and those which are not.
Look at the huge improvements in ski touring tech in the last 10 years that allow you to go further faster more safely than ever before. Or 31lb carbon superbikes? These are all ok but a battery assist pedal bicycle is a step too far? I have my misgivings about e-bikes but the objections are going to need some more consistent logic.
Yes it's possible, but I think for a lot of riders the lure of the juice will be hard to resist and they will be using the climbing boost as much as they can. Re the skis, that's not a fair comparison. Now if you wanted to talk about skis that had a motorized track then you could make the comparison to ebikes.
I agree with your other comment that the big appeal for ebikes is the ride from home to the mtn instead of driving, but there's also the drawback of faster wear and tear on tires. When you're looking at $150-200 for a set, doing a ton of mileage on the road that burns up your rubber becomes less appealing.
Posted by: craw
I'm not an e-bike proponent. But I have ridden one. It's possible to crush yourself and get just as blown out on an e-bike as it is a regular bike. If you want to suffer, you can suffer on an e-bike. The only difference is that you can get much much further and climb way higher (but also bring with you the risk of running out of power on your 50+lb bike). It's tricky to nail down the line between the kinds of technological help that are ok and those which are not.
Look at the huge improvements in ski touring tech in the last 10 years that allow you to go further faster more safely than ever before. Or 31lb carbon superbikes? These are all ok but a battery assist pedal bicycle is a step too far? I have my misgivings about e-bikes but the objections are going to need some more consistent logic.
Mechanized vs. human powered -- pretty simply distinction in my mind. That's why I also laugh when people bring up disc brakes and suspension as defenses to ebikes being simply a technological evolution. The better comparison would be claiming better mountain sleds in the last 10-15 years have opened up ski touring through sled skiing, not that ski touring tech has improved.
Posted by: syncro
I agree with your other comment that the big appeal for ebikes is the ride from home to the mtn instead of driving, but there's also the drawback of faster wear and tear on tires. When you're looking at $150-200 for a set, doing a ton of mileage on the road that burns up your rubber becomes less appealing.
Still more appealing than burning a bunch of fossil fuel, let alone sitting in traffic!
Posted by: rhw
Still more appealing than burning a bunch of fossil fuel, let alone sitting in traffic!
Yeah there is that. I guess the traffic thing depends on when/where you ride. Re the fuel burn, I don't fret over it too much as I offset that by commuting to work by bicycle whenever I can.
At the end of the day some people enjoy the hard work of earning the smiles. For me, I wouldn't feel as good about nailing a tech climb knowing the motor helped me do it.
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