Electric bikes discredited

[Edward Elizabeth]

I've not had any adverse reaction myself. Personally, I think people should butt out and mind their own business - if someone is obeying the law and not hurting anyone, then they should leave them be.

This sticking their nose into other peoples innocuous and harmless business is a peculiarly British phenomenon, and is undoubtedly getting worse as society becomes more stressed and less tolerant. In the event that I should ever receive any adverse reaction I would simply take it as a sign that they lead sad, unfulfilled lives, and they're simply trying to project their own unhappiness upon someone else. This shows a deep seated psychological failing, an almost sexual inadequacy, this need to "dominate" someone else.

Just ignore the saddos.

 

[stevenatleven]

I get it all the time too, esp when i stop after overtaking folk and they catch me up. I just give them a litany of health issues like 2 strokes, heart triple bypass, 2 replacement hips, waiting on a new knew etc etc
They have usually lost the will to live by that time, but if they are still listening I tell them how i got a great price for my Penny Farthing so I was able to upgrade to a ebike lol

 

[Edward Elizabeth]

To be honest, our bikes are only delivering assistance up to 15.5 mph, and above that are harder on the legs to propel due to their weight and resistance - anyone who gets overtaken by one really needs to spend less time complaining and more time working on their fitness.

 

[Michael Price]

TBH I get almost no abuse - people on 'proper'' road bike often pass me with no problem - often with a polite nod or something
Sounds like it is a regional thing maybe??
I also wonder at people saying you are exceeding the speed limit - how can a person who cycle regularly not realise that there is no speed limit for bikes?? - and if they think the cutoff speed is a limit then surely they don;t think an ebike will only do 15.5 down a steep hill???

 

[tuniwes]

I'm 62 years old, took delivery of my Raleigh Motus GT HUB at the start of the lock down 18/04. I also have a conventional 1984 CB Majestic and a 2009 Specialized Tri Cross . I still ride the Majestic on flat ground every Sunday...thinking of selling the Specialized though.
Mostly I find the Lycra lot respectful, that's probably due to my age, the e assist cancels out all of the things that they fret about....Hills....Wind....Weight....aerodynamics....none of these things matter anymore.
I've covered 1,000+ miles since April and it really saved my sanity in the depths of the lock down and gave me a new purpose in life.

Most of the criticism I have received has come from non bike riders.....Cheating...not really excercise etc,etc

I say to them...Well in that case driving your car and polluting the planet is cheating....That's usually enough to shut them up

I only use the car these days when I need to, maybe twice a week....do all my shopping on the bike, fill two panniers...brilliant.

Back in July we had two weeks of bad weather, reminded of my formative years doing two paper rounds at the age of 11, I took a second look at capes....these days they call them Ponchos. I invested in one of these, good quality breathable over trousers and Dunlop "Shoe" wellies.

This made me invincible in the wet to the point I actually started to enjoy going out in the rain....mixed trails empty, no dog walkers and a noticeable lack of Lycra boys on the open road. I now do circa 15 miles a day come rain or shine, the only thing that will stop me (on safety grounds) is Ice or Snow

 

[Fancy McDancy]

I find that a cheery "Sorry!" when I pass them tends to leave them speechless.

 

[gsm.terra]

I’ve had this a couple of times with Lycra road bike types, thankfully I look like a crazed old radge that should have taken the ring out his nose 20 years ago, a wee growl shuts them up, especially when I catch them at red lights and smile

 

[Michael Price]

I haven't had this problem with the lycra crowd at all
They normally just ride past me - if they stop at lights they often say hello

 

[richtea99]

I haven't had this problem with the lycra crowd at all
They normally just ride past me - if they stop at lights they often say hello

That's rarely going to be a problem - it's you 'just riding past them' that's the irritation!
They didn't pay £5k for that carbon beauty, only to be overtaken by a pedelec - heaven forbid.

Personally, I've never had a problem because there just aren't that many cyclists out at the same time as me, & going in the same direction. The one time I've had a close encounter with another cyclist, I was ahead on a vicious hill, happened to look back, saw him, and went from level 1 to level 3. He was far enough away not to be able to see/hear I was assisted. Didn't see him again. One of us really enjoyed that hill.

 

[vfr400]

I'm starting to find the opposite now. There seems to be a plethora of ebikers around my area when I go out for a ride. I normally ride around on level 1 because I ride mainly for exercise. When I'm going up a long steep hill, I see one coming in my mirror, so I maintain my speed to let them pass and see what sort of bike they've got.

Past they go on their £4000 full suspension crank-drive bike with the sane grimace that the roadies have. These guys are around 60 years old and because of their fixed grimace, they forget to look across at my bike to see what I'm riding.

Once past, I turn up the power and sit behind them for a bit making lots of noise, like I used to with the roadies, then watch them try and get away, but they can never get above the 15 mph limit. As soon as there's a downhill, I glide past with a polite "hello", but I rarely get a reply as they maintain their grimace. They think they're going to get me on the next hill, but I have more accessible power to maintain my 16.5 mph limit. No matter how hard they try, they have no chance. 36v can't keep up with 48v.

I've not seen a dongled one yet, but I have tricks up my sleeve if it came to that.

 

[Michael Price]

I find that proper road cyclists on good bikes can pass me easily when I am going at 15 mph

If I can pass them at that speed then they need to train more or admit that they are just leisure cyclists on an expensive bikes with lycra for fashion

 

[richtea99]

I find that proper road cyclists on good bikes can pass me easily when I am going at 15 mph

Ah - quite true. A good road bike on the flat will beat most pedelecs. I was imagining you meant uphill - sorry!

 

[Bobajob]

brilliant ha ha.
I'm starting to find the opposite now. There seems to be a plethora of ebikers around my area when I go out for a ride. I normally ride around on level 1 because I ride mainly for exercise. When I'm going up a long steep hill, I see one coming in my mirror, so I maintain my speed to let them pass and see what sort of bike they've got.

Past they go on their £4000 full suspension crank-drive bike with the sane grimace that the roadies have. These guys are around 60 years old and because of their fixed grimace, they forget to look across at my bike to see what I'm riding.

Once past, I turn up the power and sit behind them for a bit making lots of noise, like I used to with the roadies, then watch them try and get away, but they can never get above the 15 mph limit. As soon as there's a downhill, I glide past with a polite "hello", but I rarely get a reply as they maintain their grimace. They think they're going to get me on the next hill, but I have more accessible power to maintain my 16.5 mph limit. No matter how hard they try, they have no chance. 36v can't keep up with 48v.

I've not seen a dongled one yet, but I have tricks up my sleeve if it came to that.

Once past, I turn up the power and sit behind them for a bit making lots of noise, like I used to with the roadies, then watch them try and get away, but they can never get above the 15 mph limit. As soon as there's a downhill, I glide past with a polite "hello", but I rarely get a reply as they maintain their grimace. They think they're going to get me on the next hill, but I have more accessible power to maintain my 16.5 mph limit. No matter how hard they try, they have no chance. 36v can't keep up with 48v.

Brilliant lol

 

[Tank]

I ride my e bike because thats the bike choose to ride. I offer no explanation or excuses. I try my best to ignore people who make assumptions as to my choice of transport.