it took my wife 64 years, to get her 1st trike, for Christmas...

[Magnum Man]

this thing cost as much as a cheap motor cycle... but her new for Christmas, e-bike 3 wheeler... it's legal to ride on all the bike trails, and park hiking trails ... I haven't bought myself one yet... I may try jogging, if I have gotten too old and worn out for that, I'll probably go with a fat tire 2 wheeled e-bike... this one has most of the bells and whistles...

anyone play with the e-bikes??? we have friends that have been buying them over the last couple years, and if this one gets my wife out and about, will be a good thing...

 

[Lcc86]

I have a 2 wheel e-bike, I have arthritis in my lower back so an e-bike is a really good alternative that means I don't have to rely on my car as much. This looks awesome though, I'm very jealous! If I had storage for something like that I'd be all over it!

 

[Magnum Man]

it's light enough, I can pop it in the back of my truck... adding that special seat, and both sets of baskets, it's still within my weight limit, but they make a receiver mount carrier for it, I may buy, so she can take it to town, to ride with her gal pals, without my assistance... but I built a toy hauler camper, and I expect it will park in there most of the time...

 

[GaryE]

Uh oh.
It's a slippery slope you've walked out onto my friend.

Next it'll be a biker gang vest, brass knuckles for Christmas and Satanic tattoos. She'll ride up with friends that frighten you and you'll be under 24 hour police surveillance as they build a bunker in the barn.

 

[seangee]

Got myself this last year. Sold as a "super light".Just under 15KGs so no problem lifting it over stiles etc. The light weight means a not very powerful motor and smallish battery so my legs still get to do plenty of some work. Road legal in the UK which means the motor only assists, it won't kick in if you're not pedalling and will never produce more power than your legs - so effectively you get twice as much as you put in. Loads of fun and definitely worth it as we get <coff> older.

 

[Back in the fold]

When it comes to bicycles I’m a purist . The bicycle is the most efficient machine ever devised and it is blasphemy to make it require a motor . Bicycles are getting too advanced in my opinion . There are now wireless electronic shifters on high end road bikes and tubeless tires are just about perfected . Hydraulic disc brakes and of course motorcycle inspired suspension on mountain bikes . Yes , I’m a bike nerd and I have firmly held ideas of what a bike should be .
To me , an electric bicycle is NOT a bicycle . They should call them something else . I get it that people like them but their owners should not deceive themselves into thinking they are a cyclist .
Give me a double butted brazed Columbus steel frame with down tube friction shifters and sew up tires . Anything more is uncivilized .
And don’t even get me going on sloping fork crowns or carbon frames .
Okay , I’m alright now . . .

 

[GaryE]

I've looked at them because where I live, there are monster hills along the road in both directions. I want to use a bike to get my legs in shape, but it's like East Everest, and West Everest, then just a normal road in both directions. A little power assistance for the brutal inclines, and then I could pedal away to my heart's content for a very enjoyable distance.

 

[Magnum Man]

as a former ATV enthusiast, I often lobbied against bicycle only trails... you know the type... dang granola eating water sippers, that don't spend a dime in the local businesses, as opposed to gas guzzling machines, that ride from bar, to bar, going home when they were broken or their pockets empty... well... you know what they say, if you can't beat em, join em,... I still don't think they should allow the mountain bikes on hiking trails... but now that I'm old... I'll take advantage that they allow electric bikes on the hiking trails... I built the toy hauler camper, listed above... and was originally thinking, about an electric golf cart, but you can't drive those on the hiking trails... so e-bikes it is...

 

[seangee]

When it comes to bicycles I’m a purist . The bicycle is the most efficient machine ever devised and it is blasphemy to make it require a motor . Bicycles are getting too advanced in my opinion . There are now wireless electronic shifters on high end road bikes and tubeless tires are just about perfected . Hydraulic disc brakes and of course motorcycle inspired suspension on mountain bikes . Yes , I’m a bike nerd and I have firmly held ideas of what a bike should be .
To me , an electric bicycle is NOT a bicycle . They should call them something else . I get it that people like them but their owners should not deceive themselves into thinking they are a cyclist .
Give me a double butted brazed Columbus steel frame with down tube friction shifters and sew up tires . Anything more is uncivilized .
And don’t even get me going on sloping fork crowns or carbon frames .
Okay , I’m alright now . . .

Well my most used bicycle is almost 30 years old with mechanical shifters, cantilevers and tubes. So most would call it an old school road bike - but the frame is carbon

 

[GaryE]

From early Spring til the snow, I lived on my bike for decades. It was my means of going to work, and for getting around in the city. Other than the risk from car drivers, it was extremely healthy. As an older person, I need to get back to that, even though I'm no longer in a city. The big avoidable things I see ruining the lives of elders are adding weight and not keeping the legs going. It's natural for us to lose a step and to gradually fall apart, but as long as we don't develop other limiting health handicaps, we need to keep the legs strong, keep walking and ideally, bike.

@Back in the fold runs, which is commendable, but I've never been motivated to go that far unless there was a policeman behind me. E-bikes are expensive, but if they get you restarted, or started if you're younger, then I'm all for them. I don't want to see them on our local hiking trails, as they destroy them and sometimes make life hard for walkers. That's not the bike, it's the brain driving it. ATVs have their own networks around here, as do mountain bikes.

So I now resolve to get my $110 bike out this Spring, and ride around and around the large graveyard behind the house (fitting that) until my legs are strong enough for me to cycle up a giant hill (and then return up it). That will get me to a hilly but okay 7 km road around an island linked by a causeway and sitting in the sea. After a few weeks of that, my typing here will look bold.

I wonder if I'll keep that resolution....

 

[Magnum Man]

I used to run daily when I was younger, it always seemed easier for me, not to go fast, just to keep on going... one day I was running with a buddy on a bike, doing laps around the local lake... we were socializing, and checking out the girls, and before we knew it, we did 5 laps, each being 5 miles... almost marathon distance... not bad for a casual run... it's been 20 yeas since I ran, and 2 years ago I was thinking about it enough, to buy 2 specialized running shoes, one pair for the road, one pair for trail running... I envisioned wearing a path around the farm ( a quarter section, so a mile per lap... I got too busy, and a couple more years went by , but I looked fashionable if I wore the shoes... I'm the guy who always parks at the furthest stall from the door, any place I go, I walk the local parade route, without breaking a sweat... but I've worked hard my whole life... retirement around the corner... I'm afraid it's been so long, the lungs won't come back, and / or that my body is now too worn out to take running... I'll still give it a try but may find the e-bikes to be relaxing, and a big help to a worn out old body... I also used to cross country ski, and if the snow was more reliable I'd take that up again... but I don't feel that is worth the investment again, as unreliable as "good" snow has been...

 

[Back in the fold]

Well my most used bicycle is almost 30 years old with mechanical shifters, cantilevers and tubes. So most would call it an old school road bike - but the frame is carbon
View attachment 375358

A worthy steed for hill climbing and time trials . Do I see clipless pedals ? The spoke lacing is different . Is that Ultegra ?

 

[Lcc86]

When it comes to bicycles I’m a purist . The bicycle is the most efficient machine ever devised and it is blasphemy to make it require a motor . Bicycles are getting too advanced in my opinion . There are now wireless electronic shifters on high end road bikes and tubeless tires are just about perfected . Hydraulic disc brakes and of course motorcycle inspired suspension on mountain bikes . Yes , I’m a bike nerd and I have firmly held ideas of what a bike should be .
To me , an electric bicycle is NOT a bicycle . They should call them something else . I get it that people like them but their owners should not deceive themselves into thinking they are a cyclist .
Give me a double butted brazed Columbus steel frame with down tube friction shifters and sew up tires . Anything more is uncivilized .
And don’t even get me going on sloping fork crowns or carbon frames .
Okay , I’m alright now . . .

Hehe my dad is the same, he currently has 5 road bikes (Colnago I think) but barely gets out on them any more due to health issues. He's a massive pro cycling fan and inflicts races on us any chance he gets haha. For me if it wasn't for my e-bike (or suitably named alternative) I probably wouldn't get out on a bike full stop due to my health issues, so although I totally understand the purist perspective I think there's a place for the non-purist.

 

[Back in the fold]

so although I totally understand the purist perspective I think there's a place for the non-purist.

Yes there is a place for both just as there is a place for cyclists of every discipline . You have touring cyclists , road racers , triathletes , commuters , mountain bikers and track cyclists . Bike messengers on fixed gear bikes , tandem bikes and adventure cyclists that load up and see the world . There are all kinds and every kind has a different set up but the common denominator is that they are all human powered .
Electric bikes are something completely different . They look like a bike and can be pedaled like a bike but every time I see one I never see its rider turning the cranks . It seems to me that the pedals and crankset are there as a backup in case of battery failure . But hey , whatever floats your boat . It’s better than sitting inside vegetating and going to pot . They just are not bicycles in the pure sense .
Your Dad sounds like my kind of people . I hope he gets out again soon .

 

[Magnum Man]

we have a newer "50's style" tandem 7 speed, with flamed seats... and lets just say, I learned my lesson on that one... the person on the back can just freewheel... with baskets on the back for the dogs, getting that "family truckster" up the hills, with only one person pedaling, worked up too much sweat to be enjoyable..