Have you experienced bad vibes from traditional bikers?

eSurfer

eSurfer

100 W
Joined
Feb 5, 2016
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170
Location
Newport Beach, CA
My favorite two activities are standup paddleboard surfing, and eBiking. Both are non-traditional ways of doing an established sport. Here in Newport, the traditional surfers hate people in the surf lineup who are on a SUP. I've been flipped off, cussed, stink-eyed, blocked and just about every other sort of opposition outside of outright violence. Nobody has punched me...yet.

I was sort of expecting a similar reaction toward eBikers from traditional bikers, especially the hard-core, lycra guys. I've gotten a few funny looks and one guy said "Hey, that's cheating", but so far the reaction has been pretty good. What is your experience?
 
Was that way with my e-scooter, but the tides they are a changing, everyone wants one now all of a sudden.

After I paved the way with riding it with respect to the bicyclists, which I am too by the way, I have a e-scooter, hard tail mountain bike and a big ol' van, I ride em all for various uses in Vancouver, BC.

I think the main point is just riding respectful to others as you cautiously pass people, you do that and your golden pony boy.

I want a ebike now, be awesome.
 
Hehe... "non-traditional". (Time to have my skull trepanned again! Memo to self: Right after my next bloodletting.)

"Non-traditional" stuff in my life have included multi-hull sailboats ("catamarans" and "trimarans")... and "bookkeeping" for businesses that didn't involve using books at all (see "computers").

One of my fav quotes from American Ben Franklin. Something like "Some folks die at 25y.o., but aren't buried `til 75y.o." Hehe

... then along came bettery-electric traction. Living better through chemistry. Yah. Early daze most folks didn't even know watt I was riding around on. Then as folks joined in, the "traditionalists" started whining. "Oh. That's *motorized*. That's BAD." After most of a century fighting the "horseless carriage" they are armed to the teeth.

(Or they got family working in the sewage treatment business. Something like that.)

News reports from Europe and China, etc about the "ebike" encouraging. My guess? North Americans are finally starting to think "beyond the car".

Persevere. :)


(EDIT: Sorry to spell "battery" wrong here.)
 
I went through similar crap when I motorized my hang glider back in the '70's, I was now somehow "cheating". And when snowboarding first started coming on strong, the traditional downhill skiers didn't like it. Time heals all wounds I guess, eventually E-bikes will be fully accepted for what they are, I'd be surprised if there wasn't a little friction right now between traditional bikers and us. I may see it this summer, but so far I'm the only one riding in the snow and ice around here!
 
eSurfer said:
and one guy said "Hey, that's cheating"
Click to expand...

Lycra's hating on eBikes has been well documented on a number of threads here over the years, and the 'cheater' comment is pretty common. My standard response: "I'm not competing, I'm commuting."

-JD
 
There's a raft of reasons that knowledgeable pedal cyclists have some distaste for e-bikes and those who ride them. First of all, most e-bikes are comparable to the cheapest and nastiest pedal bikes in their build quality, whether they're turn-key or DIY. Second, most e-bikers tend to set themselves up in an ineffective position that indicates they're uninterested in expending any effort. That connotes lameness/phoniness/laziness, which is unattractive to anyone.

E-bikes as a group overwhelmingly go for gimmicky, tawdry, hideously cheap and/or obviously uninformed equipment and fit choices, compared to most pedal cyclists. While a few of those choices make sense in context, others are telling of the e-biker's inexperience as a bike rider, and none of them make a good impression on a seasoned cyclist. To be fair, this is not fundamentally different from the impression many noob or playtime pedal cyclists make.

E-bikers are also more likely to be car people, and that puts them in the category of abuser to many cyclists.

You may notice that all the differences I've noted are chiefly cultural. Those are intractable differences-- someone who's enchanted by the newest power toys, happily trades money for physical effort, and chafes at power and speed limitations is unlikely to find a whole lot of common ground with those who have chosen quiet, slow, simple, time-tested methods that demand both physical effort and personal commitment. These extremes of course leave us a lot of space in between that contains both pedal end electric cyclists.
 
Got some negative comments at first, then some lycras started drafting behind me into the strong prevailing wind. Some bike shops still treat me like a disease carrier. On the street and trail, general acceptance from cyclists and even stink bikes. Cars, buses, and trucks; generally considered tolerant to downright hostile about 5% to 10% of the time. :evil:
 
Oh yes. First it happened when i started to fly RC with e-motors ten years ago. Lots of weird comments. I learned that many people that fly RC are not in it because of flying, but just because of IC engines they love. Flying is just a sidetrack to be able to tinker with IC engine.
Plenty of passive-aggressive hate because of e-biking, yeah. Usually people try to restrain themselves, they don"t want open conflict, but it sparks through the surface occasionally.
They do hate us, but they try to stay civilized and bite their tonque. I call police if you overtake me! You are a criminal if you overtake me! When you turn your back it starts.
One fella shouted that he calls police every time e-biker overtakes him. He was serious. Our cops don"t give a damn of that kind of calls, i can only imagine what kind of answers he gets.
It"s really crazy sometimes. Holy pecking order and the crushing humiliation when someone overtakes you. I don"t feel that. MUT is not a racetrack for me.
Ethics of sport lie very deep in cycling. It"s about ethics of sport, who overtakes who and who wins who. I am not part of that game, don"t want to be.
Man, i"m just cruisin" :mrgreen:
E-Bikers definitely are not car people around here. Trad cyclists are usually suburbian conservative upper middle class, two cars, house people. Carbon race bike or high-end mtb.
Trad cyclists make a great effort often not look poor. They want really separate themselves from those sunday commuters.
E-bikers are more varied crew, live around downtown on rent, no car, often lightly disabled, green, etc.
 
I haven't had any friction from other bikers in years now. Possibly this is because I now ride a different kind of bike. When I started, I did have the kind of bike Chalo was talking about, a cheap shit bike with all kinds of panniers strapped all over it for commuting.

On two occasions, I had "lycras" laugh at me as they passed me. Both times, riding slow to extend range, the racers could pass me easy. But the laugh pissed me off, so I then toyed with them. They figured I was pedaling, and would be long gone. So I just kept up, a quarter mile back, and watched them start sprinting to drop me. After about 10 miles of this, I passed them back. :lol:

But that was a long time ago, my bikes got better, and nobody has ever laughed or made disparaging comments again, on street or trail. If stopped, conversations express interest, till I tell them what the battery cost. By now I'm known locally as the e bike guy. If even just once a year, I'm seen at the toys for tots bike ride. One year, in heavy wind, I towed a rider that bit off more than he could chew. He had a gigantic trailer with a playhouse full of kids on it. That showed the locals what an e bike could do! :mrgreen:
 
I’m simply not interested in conversing with or paying attention to someone who finds it necessary to spend $6k or more on a pedal bike, dress like a comic book character and ride like a boor'ish asshole. Those folks can move the sore on their face all they want. Doesn't impact my life any way, shape or form.
 
If you read bikeforums, the will see a lot of hate. Anywhere else there isn't much. First, most people don't even notice it is an ebike. They just see a bicycle.

People who do see the difference generally feel it is a great idea; but then, I commute in a town with regular, steady 25+ mph winds.

But on bike forums . . . you can just feel the hate bleeding off the screen.
 
oatnet said:
eSurfer said:
and one guy said "Hey, that's cheating"
Click to expand...

Lycra's hating on eBikes has been well documented on a number of threads here over the years, and the 'cheater' comment is pretty common. My standard response: "I'm not competing, I'm commuting."

-JD
Click to expand...

Exactly! Got no lycra on. In fairness, the guy that made that comment to me sounded like it was a friendly, joking comment.
 
Ykick said:
I’m simply not interested in conversing with or paying attention to someone who finds it necessary to spend $6k or more on a pedal bike, dress like a comic book character and ride like a boor'ish asshole. Those folks can move the sore on their face all they want. Doesn't impact my life any way, shape or form.
Click to expand...

:lol: :lol: :lol: Well said!
 
Here in Oregon, almost all of our Downhill biking scene also rides Moto.
They don't have any problem with them, they wanna try too.

The local shops are split, some grumpy, some very cool.

There will always be a fear of motorized vehicles causing issues that will close the trails to bikes after they've worked so had to get them.
There will always be someone who thinks e-bikes are "cheating" because we can get places easier than them.

Overall, it's pretty easy to calm any of those fears with well chosen words.
However...beware the bike forums...they can be quite abrasive. :lol:
Here was my experience trying to share an electric bike on a MTB forum...
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=75509
http://forums.mtbr.com/passion/passion-e-bikes-because-power-fun-1000482.html
 
The whining (mostly "anonymously", online) amuses as I suspect the "ebike" is their best weapon against the (much larger, heavier, faster, waaay more stinky) horseless carriage ("car", "minivan", "SUV", etc). I just appeal to their pocket books (cost savings).

(One of my saints:)
t1770-saint-george-slaying.jpg
 
I find many cyclists, and most cycle shops, are cool with it. Those who aren,t, are arrogant asses anyway. I,ve had a guy on a carbon fiber mega bike, freak out when I passed him. Bruised ego. I find when touring cyclists pretty much pretend you don,t exist. I don,t bother trying anymore, everybody else has been supportive, curious, and warm. mind you if my bike looked more like a bike, I might feel more welcome. lol
 

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I've been called cheater and whatnot with my mid drive bike and EVG bike. There was this guy that just kept bugging and screaming obscenities towards me during one of the Critical Masses. I lost my politeness at one point and just screamed " You need the exercise more than me, Junkie Monkie ". Homeboy stopped after that.

But I get a totally different reaction with the Raptor during my commutes. I get thumbs up from car drivers, waves from motorcyclist, and just lots of interest wherever I bring it.
 
I get far more hate from cars telling me to get out of the road, honking etc...

The worst encounter I have had with a pedal bike was a lycra who I could hear off in the wind with a backhanded compliment "I should get one of those for me wife!" as I left him in the dust at a red light going up a steep hill. Jealousy is bitch. Most people are quite interested and then jealous they are either not they are not smart enough to figure out how to build one or rich enough to afford a turnkey version of my higher end bikes. Once they consider switching to the dark side everyone wants the fastest one - none of whom should be on the fast ones without MC experience in my opinion.
 
I did hear one comment here, that I wasn't quite sure how to take: "oh yeah, we've seen a few ebikes around here, little kids." Could have been snarky, or simply an accurate assement of what they had noticed so far.
 
Hell yes, but then sometimes I ask for it. Offering a lycra rider a beer as I cruise beside him effortlessly up a long hard hill will tend to cause sudden bouts of profanity that would make a sailor with Tourettes blush. :twisted:

I used to be a Lycra rider, then I got sidelined. Now I'm an Ebiker. I can also say from experience that the kind of people who are enthusiastic about MTB, Crossfit, Cyclecross, and other two wheeled human powered sports (Jocks) are not going to be receptive to those who invade their world perspective with techy gadgets that take all of the effort out of their sport. (Geeks)
 
Just tell the lycras that you'll wait for them at the top with Grammy and the rest of the girls from the Senior Center. And isn't it great to be able to access these beautiful PUBLIC lands.....hmmmmm? :p

BTW, if we are on an illegal trail on private land, well then, we are all trespassing and I have as much/little rights here as they do. And if anyone thinks that because they were the ones who built the illegal trail that gives them special rights over it, that's not how property rights work. An illegal construction is an illegal construction: it does not confer ownership rights any more than walking the same trail everyday for 30 years gives you the right to keep others off that you don't like. If you steal something (someone else's land) it does not mean that you own it and it certainly does not mean that you can keep anyone else off of it: witness Cliven Bundy this week.......... :D
 
oatnet said:
eSurfer said:
and one guy said "Hey, that's cheating"
Click to expand...

Lycra's hating on eBikes has been well documented on a number of threads here over the years, and the 'cheater' comment is pretty common. My standard response: "I'm not competing, I'm commuting."

-JD
Click to expand...

Bravo. I do my best with all my lycra friends on educating them about it. Don't think they have a clue how cool a light zippy ebike feels or what the true utility and positive changes to society they are bringing. I love to bring the bbs02 bike to cx practices and insist they ride it a few minutes if they cop a attitude about it. It quickly vanishes into, wow, I could dig one of those. Completely turned the topic on it's head in our cycling community.
 
I've been called a cheater a few times while shredding in the hills from other non E-MTB bikers. My current reply is "Do you always make fun of handicap people?" That shuts them right up.
 
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