​Are Ebikes the Devil?

Ebikes have exploded in popularity but as with anything new, it will take a while for them to be understood and accepted.  If you ride an ebike, you may have been subjected to insults, harassment, and negativity.  Motorists may have shouted that you do not belong on the road and other cyclists may have told you ebikes are “cheating.”  Why do they hate ebikes?  Here are some reasons people resist this new form of transportation and recreation:

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• ​Stuck in the sport mindset – If you have the mistaken idea that riding a bike means you are in a race and all cyclists are competing against each other then it would follow that an ebike that provides assistance from a motor is an unfair advantage and is cheating.  But people bike for many reasons including transportation and recreation and these do not involve racing, except maybe against yourself!  It is not a race to pedal to work, or a doctor's office, coffee shop, grocery store, library or through a forest on a summer day.  It is not cheating if you are not competing.

• Don’t like being passed – If you put in a lot of miles on two wheels there is a good chance you will gain fitness and find yourself passing others on the road with little effort.  It becomes a badge of honor to leave others in the dust.  So when another cyclist passes you on a heavier bike with apparently less effort, you might find that disconcerting—or it might just be ego.  In life there is always someone who is smarter, better looking, richer, and, yes, faster, than you.  It is not about the bike or ebike, it just is. 

• Don’t understand what an ebike is – Since the turn of the century people have been putting motors on 2 wheels, but the ebikes that are popular today are the result of advances in battery and motor technology and have been around for about 10 years.  They are new to many people and it is understandable if some people have inaccurate notions about what an ebike is actually capable of doing.  As ebikes become more prevalent, this should become less of an issue.

• The legal status of ebikes – There is not a universal definition of what exactly is an ebike. 
  At the federal level, a 2002 law, HB 727, defined a low-speed electric bicycle as, “A two- or three-wheeled vehicle with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts (1 h.p.), whose maximum speed on a paved level surface, when powered solely by such a motor while ridden by an operator who weighs 170 pounds, is less than 20 mph.” The federal law permits ebikes to be powered by the motor alone (throttle-assist), or by a combination of motor and human power (pedal-assist).
  
  The manufacturing and sale of an ebike is regulated by the federal government, but its operation on streets and bikeways lies within a state’s control. Some older state laws still classify ebikes in the same category as mopeds and scooters, require licensing, and prohibit their use in bike lanes.  In about half of the states legislation has been adopted that says an ebike has the same access that any non-motorized bicycle and classifies them in a 3-tier model based on speed.  Until all states adopt common sense laws about ebikes there will continue to be confusion.

 

• Hate regular cyclists – There are people who do not like sharing the road with cyclists, regardless of whether an ebike is involved or not.  This point of view often arises from the incorrect notion that public roads are for autos and not pedestrians, cyclists, scooters, motorcycles, and other modes of transportation.   If anyone on a bike is considered the enemy it is easy to lump an ebike into that equation. 

 

• Wish they had one –If someone razzes you about your ebike it might be because they are envious they do not have one--yet.  Who would not like to fly along the road, feel the wind in their face (if it is above freezing!), conquer hills with little effort, and get where they are going is less time with a smile on their face. 

 
Ebikes are emission free, low impact to the environment, and operate silently.   The ebike's low-speed electric motor provides a boost of power to climb hills, extend the range of trips where a bicycle can be used, allow bicycle users to bike more often and farther.   They make too much sense and are here to stay.  Let’s get those who think ebikes are the devil onto one for a ride.  Ebikes are fun to ride and once everyone figures that out, the good times will roll.