The downside of more electric bikes

I didn't think there would be one. More parts, greater general acceptance, used bikes to buy and modify, etc. At worst, I thought if they were mostly home made, one or two incidents would cause police to start cracking down on the obvious duct tape bikes. But since Covid, almost all increases are factory electrics, and I'd say now they've gone from about 20% of the bikes I see to over 90, maybe closer to 95%. Yup, only somewhere between 1 in 10 and 1 in 20 bikes are see are NOT electric.

So what's the down side? I brought my half finished project bike to the LBS this weekend. I usually do ALL servicing of the bike myself, but when I saw the list of tools required to install a centrelock disc brake, and fill then bleed the system, I thought it would be quicker and cheaper to pay them to do it. Unfortunately, they refused. They wouldn't work on any part of the electric bike, unless they were the ones that sold it. Could not budge them from it. Even suggested I could remove the rear wheel and battery mount, and it's just a normal bike with no rear wheel. Nope, would not budge.

I rang around a couple other LBSes, same story, won't service an electric bike - not even the non electric bits, unless it's one of theirs. The insurance companies must all have the same rules.

So now, I'm not sure if I should just swap out the rear wheel for a human powered spare, not tell them, and get them to do the job, or order all the tools, knowing I'll be changing disc rotors... Well the amount I'm riding into work lately, maybe once a decade?

What's everyone else's experience? Is this a purely Australian thing, or does nobody use LBSes here? (We are a pretty DIY forum).

If they aren't backed up with work, swap in the non-electric wheel.

The only downside will be once there are enough that we're competing for the same space on the road.

John in CR said:

The only downside will be once there are enough that we're competing for the same space on the road.

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It's already happening. And, I've noticed that a similar cross section of riders exists as there are drivers. The clueless ones, the aggressive ones, etc., plus a lot of first time riders, electric and regular.

Oh that!
Before i bought my first ebike from a website last year I confirmed:
No LBS would touch the bike, I was on my own for all bicycle and electrical repairs.
Second bike is a BBS02 kit because I know better and learned from reading
Mike

Bike shops mechanics are overbooked this year. Yet a Shimano center lock rotor is not a big problem to solve without the need of special tools. Bleeding brakes is something any rider using hydro brakes should be equipped for. 30$ is paid back after the first time you done it yourself.

90% of bikes are ebikes where you live? That is a lot. Maybe you are just not riding where bicycles are. Here I believe 7 or 8% of the bikes are ebikes this year, that is about double as last year.

a bunch of zombies that never rode a real bike are now getting on electric bikes that go faster and they don't know what they're doing. Zombies.

Sometimes I get a cold shoulder from the LBS, when I park my bike against a window and 10' away from the repair/parts desk.
I have an obvious home made ebike.

Yesterday I rode downtown, along busy river path and never saw one ebike until I was at the train platform than the ripoff bosch rode by.

In my area they don't like working on the electric bikes because of the weight. Guess they don't like hoisting them up onto the work stands. Some shops state at the outset they will only work on the non-e-bike parts of the bike.

I have found it better to search out local retired or semi-retired bike mechanics that have set up shop in their garage or shed to take care of my repairs when I have reached the end of my capabilities or tool box. Their prices are usually better (lower overhead), and they are able to do a better job since there is no boss or manager pushing to "hurry up get it out the door." Found them via Craigslist or Offer Up. You may have similar in your area?

As for increased popularity of e-bikes, I gladly accept the increased "competition" for space as that will drive the local govt. to improve the cycling infrastructure.

when I lived in Australia, there were no ebike stores I found (Perth) who would look at any of my bikes. Good in a way, because it made me learn stuff I otherwise wouldn't need to.

Here in Auckland, I have had no problem at all - there are a number of stores who are only too willing to work on the bikes. Totally different attitude - when I drop off and collect the bikes, I need to allow extra time to talk all about them!

Bike shops work with me but have not asked much of them but they seem interested but we only talk about the standard bike parts.

PRW said:

I need to allow extra time to talk all about them!

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I dislike having to explain things to people. If your at the bike store and the mechanic or parts person starts asking questions about how far, how long, how much I wouldnt be impressed. However, if the convo moves to the pro's and cons of BBSHD vs Cyclone, or 18650 vs 27000, then I wouldnt mind that but that is very very rare. Only had that convo with 1 person, the ebike guy at Honda which surprisingly enough makes up for about 1/4 of the show room floor. 15 ebikes lined up next to motorcycles, then a cordoned off area of about 800 sq ft with stand up electrics and ebikes. Plus they usually have some ebikes outside. A lot more selection at Honda then the LBS!

E-HP said:

John in CR said:

The only downside will be once there are enough that we're competing for the same space on the road.

Click to expand...

It's already happening. And, I've noticed that a similar cross section of riders exists as there are drivers. The clueless ones, the aggressive ones, etc., plus a lot of first time riders, electric and regular.

Click to expand...

I've yet to see an emoto on the road. The crap slow stuff I do see regularly riding in the debris at the side of the road and in bike lanes has no effect on me, just like cyclists don't. I'm worried more about someone riding something fast and silent, but in a manner like many of the idiots on gasser motos do that I can hear coming from a mile away.

I guess I'm really lucky, my LBS is happy to work on my DIY bikes. I always remove the battery and any other heavy accessories, and ALWAYS drop a few bucks in the shop's tip jar/beer fund. I do most of my own maintenance, but occasionally bring stuff in for things that require specialized tools.

Last month I was out night riding and stopped at the beach near my house. I have a pretty decent light setup for mtb'ing (gloworm xsv on the bars and x2 on the helmet so around 5000 actual lumens) and there were a couple of kids messing around on one of those segway sur Ron rebrands that stopped and asked about the lights

We were talking and he mentioned that the only problem he had had so far was a flat but the bike shop wouldn't touch it

All the more reason to get into mobile repairs provided insurance will cover me working on ebikes

We will see how things go next spring

There are no downsides to using smaller vehicles on the streets. The smaller the mass used for transportation, the better it is for the environment and quality of life in our cities.

You find it hard to have service because the bike shops are busy? Service was never really available for our ebikes anyway, and the only chance that it will some day is the expansion of their use.

here in Calgary there is BowCycle LBS which never refused to true my heavy DD motor wheel.
the thing is that I dont come for this in the season busy time like others .
and they sell a lot of ebikes , mostly Bosh and Yamaha.
on pathways I noticed more ebikes mostly mid drive Shimano, Yamaha, Bosh.

I do most of my own work, but my LBS is always happy to work on whatever I ask them to do.

I stopped to sit on a bench off to the side of the riding path yesterday. The weather was perfect and the spot was shady, so I was just observing the traffic. During the time I was watching, I estimate that over 20% of the bikes were electric. Out of maybe 30 ebikes, 2 had hub motors (20" fat folders), and the rest were mid drives. There were also a similar mix for the scooters and skateboards, with a fair percentage being "e", including things like one wheeled Segways. I did see my first SurRon, which seemed really out of place on the bike path, and pretty loud too. My bike was the only DIY bike I saw, all day.

E-HP said:

I stopped to sit on a bench off to the side of the riding path yesterday. The weather was perfect and the spot was shady, so I was just observing the traffic. During the time I was watching, I estimate that over 20% of the bikes were electric. Out of maybe 30 ebikes, 2 had hub motors (20" fat folders), and the rest were mid drives. There were also a similar mix for the scooters and skateboards, with a fair percentage being "e", including things like one wheeled Segways. I did see my first SurRon, which seemed really out of place on the bike path, and pretty loud too. My bike was the only DIY bike I saw, all day.

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You make quite a note there about the SurRon, thats been my train of thought the entire time about those types of bicycle - they sick out a lot!. Not only the SurRon type ebikes, but any of the Enduro ebikes. That is the appeal of the local bike store bought ebikes, they blend in very nicely and without an untrained eye most wont even notice its an ebike. I have only seen two Sondors out in the wild a year or more ago, seen one or two for sale in the online classifieds.

markz said:

rain of thought the entire time about those types of bicycle - they sick out a lot!

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I think it would be fine offroad on the dirt, but the Sunday bike path scene is pretty placid, so the SurRon was pretty grating to the ears when it passed by. I recall someone describing an electric chainsaw, and it wasn't quite that bad, but a similar sound.

Stealth_Chopper said:

Oh that!
Before i bought my first ebike from a website last year I confirmed:
No LBS would touch the bike, I was on my own for all bicycle and electrical repairs.
Second bike is a BBS02 kit because I know better and learned from reading
Mike

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Because it was worse than that. I bought a few from the store that couldn't make it work and liquidated it for maybe $20 because the battery wouldn't take a charge or something. I'm sure they're plenty scared of electric bikes at that point, may or may not be better now.

I grew up the kid that fixed everyone else's bike, I've never taken one to the shop. But it might cost more to fix than it cost me to buy it anyway.

Been wielding a wrench since I was 10 years old. Don't need no bike shop to work on my DIY ebikes.

Seeing a few more ebikes, but still uncommon. The ones I notice on my bike path are the fat tire electrics because they're so obvious. There's a few with integrated frame batteries and mid and hub drives. Hard to spot.

I did see three teens probably brothers, riding three of those super 73 style scooter ebikes riding one of our local suburban paths. Mom and Dad must have shelled out $4500. The kids were riding like adults though, much safer than the occasional club riders that go thru, hup, hup hup and all that.

Them hardcore lycra's really get moving fast in my area, never seen an ebike go as fast as them yet.

markz said:

Them hardcore lycra's really get moving fast in my area, never seen an ebike go as fast as them yet.

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They're still riding under 30mph, but still pretty impressive. I passed a bunch yesterday and I could see them coming up on me when I slowed to 25mph. I would wait for them to get within 20 yards, then put another 100 yards between me and them before slowing back down to 25 again.