this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2025
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Fahrrad
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Technik, Verkehrswesen, Touren, was auch immer.
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When I ride my ebike to the grocery store or to work its pretty much always replacing a trip I would have taken in a car. I'd say it replaces about 20% of my trips. There is close to zero chance I would have used a non-ebike to have done the same.
@whosepoopisonmybutt
For what reason? Ebikes essentially are motorcycles. So why don't you just use a real motorcycle? E-bikes combine the disadvantages of bicycles, namely comparatively low speed, with the disadvantages of motor vehicles, namely loss of fitness.
a motorcycle is more expensive, is more difficult to store, needs an extra license, comes with more fees, needs to be officially registered and insured.
@Takios Now we're getting closer to the heart of the matter. The only relevant difference between motorcycles and e-bikes is the exemption from regulations that previously applied to all motor vehicles, and rightfully so.
It will probably take some time for regulations to catch up but many places already have rules for ebikes. For example, in California, class 1 and 2 are only allowed to go 20 mph (32 km/h). Class 3 can only go 28 mph (45 km/h) and only via pedal assist, rider must wear helmet and be at least 16 years old, aren't allowed on bike paths.
What are the reasons for your distaste?
Hardly anybody wants to ride an analog bike. Yes, it's because we're lazy. People would much rather ride around in their comfortable cars, with their stereo, radio, heater/ac. However, ebikes make bicycling an efficient, viable option that doesn't suck.
Even if ebikes replace some non-ebikes, ebikes are more efficient. There is a slightly greater environmental impact from producing the food to supply the calories to pedal the analog bike than there is from producing the electrical power to charge the ebike.
I you compare the impact of an ebike to an ice or an electric car, it isn't even close. The ebike is far superior.
@whosepoopisonmybutt
One reason for my distaste is the scam of marketing mopeds as bicycles. Bicycles are two-wheeled vehicles that are propelled by muscle power. Mopeds that are propelled by a multiple of the power that non-athletes can provide are certainly not bicycles and should not be treated as such.
This may be true in California, but it is different in Germany and other European countries. In Germany, most people want to ride a bicycle, because it is convenient and because it keeps them healthy. Most still do. However, some people have been led to believe that ebikes are bicycles and therefore share their benefits, including the fitness benefits. Here too, obesity is on the rise.
Oh, that old canard. AFAIK, more than 60 % of the US population is overweight. "The prevalence of obesity among U.S. adults 20 and over was 41.9% during 2017–March 2020" <cdc.gov/obesity/adult-obesity-…>.
With the energy of the amount of surplus body fat that a very obese person carries around, I could do about 30,000 km (18,000 miles) by bike, even in hilly terrain. 😂
So much for theory. In practice, an obese person already needs more energy to move their weight around than a slim cyclist on a muscle-powered bike. And don't get me started on the time, money and energy people lose by driving to the gym to get what their “analog bike” would provide for free.
Funny term for something that people just call a bicycle, btw.
You make some good points: An ebike is nearly a moped. Ebikes are less beneficial to health vs a solely human powered bike. Fat people should lose weight. "Analog bicycle" is a silly term.
I can see how in your region, ebikes may be less welcome/beneficial.
However, where I am, when I see an ebike on the street, they're usually replacing a car or some big stupid SUV and that's absolutely a net win. They make a transition from car-centric transportation to something halfway between a bicycle and an electric moped a viable option.