What is it about ebikes that is so addictive?

[teslanv]

I have pondered this quite a bit and I have identified a few of the reasons why ebikes are so addictive:

1. Odd juxtaposition of combining mechanical simplicity with electrical complexity.
A Bicycle is THE MOST efficient means of mobility for humans, and has had a relatively simple design since it was invented over 100 years ago. And bicycles are pretty easy to work on. Combine that with an electric motor of various design possibilities, and a controller that can be very simple to absurdly complex, and you can keep an electrical engineer scratching his head for weeks on end.
2. Turn an otherwise weak (or damaged like myself, with 3 ACL replacements in two knees) bicyclist into a "super-cyclist" overnight.
3. Energy-efficient mobility with zero carbon emissions (Assuming your power source is also clean)
4. Electric bikes are crazy-fun to ride.
5. Electric bikes are also fun to build.
6. There is always something to improve the ebike experience, whether it's more power, faster charging, better (more energy-dense) batteries, more informative headsets (electronics), different and/or better motor/power system designs, etc.

 

[999zip999]

Owning a Magic carpet.
Flying bye lycra love boys.
The brotherhood of E.S. under Justin.

 

[Ykick]

I agree with your summary.

To throw one more "element" into the fray - bikes (including motos) rarely cause serious physical damage & harm to other people. Sure, there can/will be exceptions but for the most part bikes don't kill or maim others' anywhere near the frequency that cars/trucks do.

Yep, we the rider can be seriously hurt/injured but for the most part even a Goldwing crashing into an econobox isn't likely to send the occupants to an ER.

To me, that's a sorta "moral" victory in that if I'm careless, stupid or whatever - my mistake generally won't cost somebody else their life.

I've always loved riding anything on 2 wheels. Got in my blood from an early age and if I don't ride for a day or two, I'm not happy or pleasant to be around.

Don'tcha love Sunday mornings on ES? LOL....

 

[jkbrigman]

+1 to everything Ykick said, and...

I agree with your summary.
To throw one more "element" into the fray - bikes (including motos) rarely cause serious physical damage & harm to other people. Sure, there can/will be exceptions but for the most part bikes don't kill or maim others' anywhere near the frequency that cars/trucks do.
Yep, we the rider can be seriously hurt/injured but for the most part even a Goldwing crashing into an econobox isn't likely to send the occupants to an ER.
To me, that's a sorta "moral" victory in that if I'm careless, stupid or whatever - my mistake generally won't cost somebody else their life.
I've always loved riding anything on 2 wheels. Got in my blood from an early age and if I don't ride for a day or two, I'm not happy or pleasant to be around.
Don'tcha love Sunday mornings on ES? LOL....

Ykick, I'll reinforce what you said from the "sorta moral" to the "definitely moral". When I'm riding my ebike, I come across all sorts of wildlife (and occasionally something that looks like it was a domesticated animal) that's been killed by heavy vehicles. Squirrels, rabbits and foxes are bad enough, but when you come across a dead deer, a dog, a cat or the most heartbreaking of all, a box turtle/terrapin, your heart just cries out.

I don't think of myself as a treehugger liberal (labels suck no matter who you are) but I am a conservationist sensitive to animal life. It's a terrible waste for an animal to die on the road a sudden and terrifying death, and if it's a potential meat source animal, that's a food loss too. Whenever I see the blessed scavengers eating a fallen animal, it's good that nature is still not letting the death go to waste.

Not to minimize the danger to the two-wheeled rider: hitting a deer is highly dangerous for motorcyclist or bicyclist - so the sentiment goes double for that scenario as well.

 

[The fingers]

Silently speeding along, an unusual combination in today's world; like a new drug, and with some a tolerance and dependence builds up to the need for more speed and power. :lol:

 

[dogman dan]

A lot of it for me is the superman effect.

I rode like hell when I weighed 115 pounds. Spent an entire summer at 14 riding from Santa Fe to the ski area almost daily, just to get to ride back down the mountain. After that summer, I never used anything but the highest gear for many years. Loved it, rode fast and hard, though real racers were still faster.

Then I got my degree, a job, and actually experienced food. Steak and an 80 hour week quickly put 60 pounds of muscle on, and from then on pedaling sucked. No more bike racers body. I grew a construction workers body. So I took up skiing, where my new weight was not such a handicap.

Now an old fart with chronic fatigue syndrome, I can hop on an ebike and still ride like when I was 18. Same feel, even on a bike that weighs 70 pounds. Very nice.

 

[motomech]

It's my E-cigarette to my motorcycle addiction.
From my first mini-bike to my last rocket(Hayabusa), my life revolved around murdercycles.
But street riding is like sky diving, do it long enough and you start to feel you are using up your chances.
My body is a history of my motorcycle life, but basicly, it is still intact. At 60, I bailed while the bailing is good.

Went for a ride this morning. Tucson is a bicycle town with bike lanes everywhere.
Hardly ever use them, I'm a sidewalk rider.
They zig and they zag. Always busy, I'm jumping up and down the ramps(but not the curbs. I shift a lot.
No Ped.s to worry about, just occasional Homeless sleeping on the bus benches.
I window shop at 15 mph.

Like a reformed smoker, this reformed I.C.E. Rider/mechanic now goes off the deep end of distaste.
Having smelled like gasoline for 50 years, the smell now makes me feel sick. Straight-piped Harleys drive me up the wall.
Riding my Ebike, I'm in a world all my own.

 

[Eskimo]

Owned 22 motorcycles one after another. My old man bought me the first one when i was around ten. At twelwe i was riding 125 Honda off-road (mostly )
Escaped cops with a motorcycle at fourteen through the city. Drove the motorcycle licence first at sixteen before the car licence. Rode a bicycle too every day to the school.
Then crashed hard at thirty-two, and got bit bored with motorcycles. Still love them though. It"s now a fashion that middle-aged retired men buy a motorcycle. I stopped twenty years before they start.
E-bike gives that feeling again. It"s a new thing every way, psychologically expecially. Confuses the hell out of fixed-minded. Makes a die-hard liberal sound like an old conservative :wink:
There"s so many things really. Because children need heroes.

 

[MadRhino]

Freedom.

It is motorcycling with all the bicycle privileges: No license plate, no insurance, no helmet, no gas, no noise, freedom to ride in parks and to park anywhere... none of the restrictions that one has on a motorcycle but stop signs and speed limits, for a fraction of the cost. My gassers are rusting slowly under the dust, I don't use them anymore.

 

[gogo]

Bicycling rocks, pedaling sucks.

[EDIT] Pedaling on a stand is great. Being forced to pedal when you'd rather not, sucks.

 

[neptronix]

I think of an electric bike as turning on a 'cheat code' for life..

 

[spinningmagnets]

I can't really afford to build an electric car right now, but...if you want one bad enough, anybody can build an electric bike. And as far as why E-bikes are fun? Like the post up above somewhere. No license, no registration, no insurance...fun to ride and quiet (unlike the chainsaw gasser kits). E-bike grin baby!

 

[r3volved]

If I could fly, I'd do it everyday...this is as close as I'll get

 

[teslanv]

If I could fly, I'd do it everyday...this is as close as I'll get

I have piloted small aircraft a few times, and enjoy it immensely. ebikes for me would be a close second in terms of enjoyment. Of course if you factor in vehicle & fuel costs, licensing and storage, ebikes are the only logical choice for the 99% crowd.

 

[motomech]

Yes, I have gotten too fat for an ultralite

 

[drsolly]

My first bike was a 50cc Mobylette moped, 30 mph top speed. I loved that bike.

Riding an ebike feels just like that moped.

 

[1000RR]

LOL, I am a dedicated motorcycle rider. I race them every few months down here in AUS. I have 2 bikes sitting in my garage now. a Honda CBR1000RR and a Kawasaki ninja 250 for work. What got me into E-bikes was the fact that I lost my license due to an accumulation of demerit points, all controversial fines.
So I decided I wanted to commute to work with an ebike. I am not the train/bus follow the sheep type of commuter, I believe in self reliance when and where possible.
No rego, no fuel, no insurance..I mean how can you say no to that? I bought a nice mountain bike in the 1500 dollar range since I wanted something of good quality. I did make a mistake though. I bought a 250w front hub dilinger kit for $699 AUD off
EBAY since I thought it would be perfectly adequate for my 60km commute a day, and it is (With a lot of pedalling) which I don't mind, but doing that 5 days a week with work and the GYM is really not feasible, So I decided to buy the Bafang BBS02 500w kit with a Samsung 11.6AH battery and am really looking forward to it.
The initial cost has cost me as much as a small motorbike with my mistake, also needing to buy bike tools etc to do my own maintenance, it cost me in excess of 3.5K.. BUT I see this as an investment since this will be my permanent vehicle commuting to work and back and will love every second of it.
It's a motorcycle without the stupid noise, you experience Nature, use Bike paths, no Traffic and it's healthy for you. My initial investment will pay off in many ways.
God bless you guys, we need to get the ebike community larger.
On a side note I have noticed a lot of these road racers don't like Ebikes. What's up with those A grade Alpha Males? Is everything a race?

 

[Rodney64]

I've ridden to midland Brick on numinous occasions my work, Just a buss. Yes brings back some of the adrenaline from my youth where my GPZ1100 B2 had a 0-100 in 4 seconds.

 

[kudos]

Freedom.

My gassers are rusting slowly under the dust, I don't use them anymore.

I have two GSXR-1000 superbikes in the garage. I haven't ridden either for a year and a half, why would I when I can ebike

Kudos

 

[docnjoj]

The electric power makes the difference for us old folks with bad knees who need to exercise. In 20 miles at 80 pedal rpms I get about 6000 pedal strokes and 1 1/2 to 2 hours of ride time. Really helps my ticker and legs. Those legs are wobbly after a ride, so it must be work. We pedal all the time. The motor helps with hills and the distance at speed. We never go over 16 mph on bike trails.
otherDoc

 

[RLD70]

Personally speaking I think what makes them so addictive is when you allow someone to ride it for the first time and the expression on their face is what makes them so addictive. Theres nothing sweeter than giving someone the classic egrin for their first time on one and Ive given it to 2 people so far, one of which is a daughter of an old friend mine and she loved it like the other person did. He actually wanted to rent it from me for a day, lol. And technically speaking the ebike IS cheaper than driving one of the gas guzzling cars that almost everyone is brainwashed to think its the only mode of transportation and the ebike proves this totally wrong and in all honesty so does Teslas Model S car but this is about the cheaper ebike not Tesla. It opens the doors to what the ebike can really do and whether or not you keep it legal at 750w and a top speed of 20mph is your choice.

 

[MadRhino]

Personally speaking I think what makes them so addictive is when you allow someone to ride it for the first time and the expression on their face is what makes them so addictive.

Many have tried my bikes, yet now I only let them if they are experienced riders. One did climb the V-10 up a tree and fell under it, a few did back flips on a start with the Demo 8 and V-10. My Session 10 have been tried only by riders who have a powerful ebike already, and all of them came back with a smile like they had the first ride of their life.

 

[mateusleo]

Owning a Magic carpet.
Flying bye lycra love boys.
The brotherhood of E.S. under Justin.

Agreed, it's really fun to pass thought the lycra riders not pedaling and not producing any noise, I suppose it makes them curious about what just happened

 

[SesameCrunch]

As an experienced cyclist who's just about to jump into e-bikes for the first time (waiting on my 500w Mac geared front wheel kit from EM3EV), I find all your comments very encouraging. I can't wait to get the kit installed on my RANS V2 long wheel base recumbent bike.

I live along the Pacific Ocean just south of San Francisco, so I'm looking forward to riding my e-bike up and down Hwy 1 between San Francisco and Santa Cruz. Some pretty terrain there! I'm sure I'll be catching some bugs in my teeth with my e-bike grin

 

[veloman]

As said above, the magic carpet feel.

I simply love bikes and don't always want to pedal.

I wish I had more commuting to do. Its so economical, especially riding this recycled battery I cobbled together.

In most of my environments, 25mph is the best speed and ebikes are great at it.