What an interesting and thoughtful discussion - so much more nuanced than on our local community lists.
I have a Gazelle Class 3 e-bike (which, by the way, is pedal-assist only; Class 2 are the ones with the throttle). I use it instead of a car as a commuter, as I live 5+ miles and 500' of climbing from town, and it takes me ~20 min to get to places like my gym 7 miles away with my e-bike, vs. 40 min with my Appa. So e-bikes (including Class 3) have a place and use. Because of the distances and hills here in OC, my teenage son has an e-bike that is one of those motorcycle-like bikes with a throttle, to get around independently before he has his drivers license. I'm fine with him riding it--because he's been riding bikes with us since he was 2 years old, starting on a glide bike and moving on to mountain bikes. He knows the rules of the road and is capable of handling the power--something that cannot be said of many other teenagers who get these powerful machines as their first real bikes, never having learned how to ride with a traditional bike and never having been taught by riding along with parents how to ride safely. I do think that creates lots of risk and I wish that there was a licensing system like we had in Germany when I grew up there, where all kids who wanted to ride bikes to school had to take a class and pass a practical riding test to get a bike license and sticker. (My son thinks that would be horrible--just like he rolls his eyes when I make his friends put on lights if they are at my house with their bikes after dark.) I'm in Germany right now, and I'm surprised to see that maybe half of all the bikes people use here to get around are e-bikes--and bikes are just a key way to get around. Interestingly, it's mostly older people here who use e-bikes for transport (instead of cars) to extend how long they can bike (and most of them don't wear helmets!), while the teenagers and younger kids ride regular bikes (no e-motorcycles in sight), usually with helmets on. It's such a different bike culture! On Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at 9:27:12 AM UTC-7 John Dewey wrote: > Eric, et. al. — we've finished the great RAGBRAI several times and have > another in our future sometime soon. > > The beauty of those rides—in part for sure—is the sense of communal > accomplishment we all feel and share during the ride and especially on that > epic final day as we roll under the banner. > > Definitely not for the faint of heart...long, hot and often blustery windy > days on the bike. For cyclists who—for one reason or another e.g. age or > injury—need a push, I certainly understand and welcome the assist. > > There is a line in the sand however. IMHO bikes that don't require > pedaling to keep moving down the road should be excluded. > > [image: RAGBRAI.jpeg] > > Jock > > PS: Lots of folks in 70s / 80s—and beyond—pedaling along in really great > shape. Always inspirational. > > On Tue, Aug 20, 2024 at 7:22 AM Sarah Carlson <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> I read this and I feel a couple ways about this... I ride in a club and >> the people who show up with an e-bike tend to be community minded and I >> don't think twice about it. But then I went out on a ride that covered lots >> of bike path territory and there were all these unhinged middle school aged >> kids tearing around on pretend motorcycles. I felt like grandpa as I felt >> myself grumbling, "Where ARE your parents! And why did they buy you, a >> child who is fearless about death this machine so you can terrorize >> recreational riders and small animals?" It does feel like at some point >> certain e-bikes cease to be bikes... and I hope that line starts to be >> explored and some parameters set for what is appropriate for certain riding >> environments. >> >> >> On Wednesday, July 17, 2024 at 4:53:33 PM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: >> >>> A friend and I did the Seattle to Portland ride this past weekend (205 >>> miles in either one or two days), and we were both surprised to see a >>> number of riders on electric bikes. >>> >>> I haven’t done many large cycling events since the rise in popularity of >>> electric bikes. When I did large-scale rides like STP pre-COVID, everybody >>> would have been on a regular, human-powered bike. So seeing powered bikes >>> on a “cycling” event struck us as a little strange. >>> >>> What is everyone’s experience with this? I’ll admit I am a little >>> skeptical about combining electric- and human-powered bikes in the same >>> event, but that’s probably a reflection of my cycling history. The events I >>> usually ride, which are mostly RUSA-sanctioned randonneuring, would >>> definitely not allow any kind of powered bike. >>> >>> What do YOU think? Should electric bikes be allowed on events like >>> RAGBRAI, STP, centuries, etc.? What limits would you impose, if any? Or >>> should they have their own events? >>> >>> Interested to hear what the group thinks. >>> >>> --Eric Norris >>> [email protected] >>> Insta: @CampyOnlyGuy >>> YouTube: YouTube.com/CampyOnlyGuy >>> >>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> > To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/36addc5e-399e-4cd6-8f19-bf6f14deaeeen%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/36addc5e-399e-4cd6-8f19-bf6f14deaeeen%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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