"Cheating"

[jdallan]

It had to be done, and the only comment that I heard was from one rider who shouted out "Jesus Christ" and the rider next to him laughed out loud.

I even managed to get into a club photo.

He obviously thought you had divine powers! Did they put a caption on the club photo?

Jim

 

[jackhandy]

Ahh well... That's a different kettle of sardines!

Totally irresistible

 

[eHomer]

Maybe I've become hardened to scornful comments, I did drive a Russian Lada car a few years back.

Strange thing though with electric bikes, it certainly is a growing custom to bait ebike riders, especially from the Lycra mob.

Yet when I'm riding my Dutch 30cc petrol bike, there's no reaction at all....

Maybe they're stumped for words...

 

[mike killay]

Maybe I've become hardened to scornful comments, I did drive a Russian Lada car a few years back.

Strange thing though with electric bikes, it certainly is a growing custom to bait ebike riders, especially from the Lycra mob.

Yet when I'm riding my Dutch 30cc petrol bike, there's no reaction at all....

Maybe they're stumped for words...

View attachment 8092

Out of interest, how does the petrol bike compare with electric bikes?
Particularly on hills.

 

[mountainsport]

Maybe I've become hardened to scornful comments, I did drive a Russian Lada car a few years back.

Strange thing though with electric bikes, it certainly is a growing custom to bait ebike riders, especially from the Lycra mob.

Yet when I'm riding my Dutch 30cc petrol bike, there's no reaction at all....

Maybe they're stumped for words...

View attachment 8092

I've always liked the idea, only if it were a little quieter.

MS.

 

[eHomer]

They're very popular in Holland, millions of them still in use, apparently.

In the Uk they have the same legislation as mopeds, driving license, insurance, and £16 a year road tax, £30 a year MOT (always gets a laugh at my local test station, taking about 2 minutes ).

Low powered, one gear, very quiet, max speed 15 mph, good on reasonable hills with minimal pedal assist.

It would seem outmoded now by eBikes, but the clincher is range. The 3 litre tank does about 120 miles for about £4....

 

[amigafan2003]

If you've got a fast/powerful ebike get on Strava and find some hills - it's great fun

But take some off road sections on the route, so people don't flag your ride for being in a car.

Not that I'd ever do such a thing. Never.

Nor would I ever beat one guys time up a hill by 1 second where he'd come back and beat my time, and I'd just keep increasing the throttle/power beating him by a second each time, until such time as he'd delete his account in a huff. No, I'd never do anything like that.

 

[john h]

A few years back , They said ZOLA BUDD was cheating for running without shoes on her feet,

 

[flecc]

They said ZOLA BUDD was cheating for running without shoes on her feet,

These South Africans always try underhand tactics. Oscar Pistorius is even worse, running without feet!

I don't know why they can't just use drugs like everyone else.

 

[aardvark5]

Nobody has spotted that I've got an eBike yet and two workers were actually looking at my bike yesterday so I told them it was mine. One of them asked what the big silver thing was on the front wheel so I explained it was a motor and the thing they thought was a water bottle is the battery. I have a Cyclotricity Stealth.

The most common phrase I've heard is "What's up with your legs?" when declaring I've got an eBike now. It's weird that motorists, bikers, scooter riders, bus passengers and cyclists don't get this statement thrown at them but as soon as you mention electric bike you get "What's up with your legs?".

Lots of people have noticed I've lost more weight with my eBike than I have with my two other bikes and the reason for this is simple and it's because I train harder on it. It is a heavier bike so the first 3 miles are done without electric and then I ride up the steepest bank that kills me every morning but when I've had enough I switch the electric on for about 50 yards and then back to no electric again. I use the bike like an exercise bike so I'm in control and not the bike in control of me. People also don't realise that once you've hit 15.5 mph you are doing it all yourself anyway and a lot of my commute is at least 20mph.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

One of them asked what the big silver thing was on the front wheel so I explained it was a motor and the thing they thought was a water bottle is the battery. I have a Cyclotricity Stealth.

I've stopped to talk to a few that I've passed from time to time, and when they ask how I can pedal so hard, I tell them that it's not hard pedalling, but I have a gravity tilter, as I point to the bag behind the seat-post. They give me that look and then ask how it works, so I tell them that when I push that little lever, it tilts gravity so that I can roll down-hill even when it's up-hill. "Go on, show us then", so I push the lever and accelerate away up the hill. "Bye!". I wonder how many of them went home an jumped on Google to search for one.

 

[Chainring]

It always seems a shame to me, when I read the statement: 'It does not look like an electric bike', or 'The panniers hide the battery etc'. We will never manage to promote ebikes with this attitude. There was an item on the BBC World Service recently, covering electric cars at a motor show. Nothing similar for bikes, yet they are a fantastic form of transport, with very little drain on resources. There do appear to be more of them around where I live, now that I have started looking, but don't be ashamed that you own one! Spread the word.

 

[D C]

It always seems a shame to me, when I read the statement: 'It does not look like an electric bike', or 'The panniers hide the battery etc'. We will never manage to promote ebikes with this attitude. There was an item on the BBC World Service recently, covering electric cars at a motor show. Nothing similar for bikes, yet they are a fantastic form of transport, with very little drain on resources. There do appear to be more of them around where I live, now that I have started looking, but don't be ashamed that you own one! Spread the word.

I agree 100%, I personally haven't had a single negative comment so far.
We should be proud of going electric for whatever our own personal reasons are, being ashamed and trying to hide always makes you a target for inadequate bullies who wish to kid themselves that they are superior.
Lets get some electric bike stickers made so we can flaunt them.

 

[aardvark5]

Well we'll agree to disagree because I trawled the internet to find a bike that didn't look like an eBike but I don't deny I have one

 

[eHomer]

.....being ashamed and trying to hide always makes you a target for inadequate bullies who wish to kid themselves that they are superior......

Nah...... I just try to hide the fact that my bike is electric because I like to crush that "superior" attitude of the Lycra clad mob.

Being overtaken going up a hill by a fat bloke sitting bolt upright and pedaling nonchalantly along...

 

[D C]

Being overtaken going up a hill by a fat bloke sitting bolt upright and pedaling nonchalantly along...

You've just described me

 

[Artstu]

Nah...... I just try to hide the fact that my bike is electric because I like to crush that "superior" attitude of the Lycra clad mob.

Being overtaken going up a hill by a fat bloke sitting bolt upright and pedaling nonchalantly along...

Ah but you're cheating lose the motor and see who's superior then

 

[superDove]

It always seems a shame to me, when I read the statement: 'It does not look like an electric bike', or 'The panniers hide the battery etc'. We will never manage to promote ebikes with this attitude.

I don't mind being seen riding an electric bike. I would prefer others not know it's electric when it's chained up somewhere though.

 

[Artstu]

Here's a very good illustration of just how much cheating is going on on an e-bike. On the segment below I'm in 1419th place on a fairly light racing bike with me trying my very best. On my e-bike I've managed to get 1st place KOM beating Rapha condor JLT racing cycling Richard Handley by a couple of seconds! although I had a rolling start of about 20 mph, compared to his standing TT start.

http://app.strava.com/segments/5017900

It goes to show how fantastic an e-bike really is, and yes I get a great sense of achievement from what my bike allows me to do, but a ride on an unpowered bike soon brings me back to reality. The power and speed of these cyclists is awe inspiring and they certainly earn great respect from me.

and you don't need big legs as last years winner shows

 

[eHomer]

.......It goes to show how fantastic an e-bike really is, and yes I get a great sense of achievement from what my bike allows me to do, but a ride on an unpowered bike soon brings me back to reality....

Joking aside now, that sums it up quite well for me too.

I live in a fairly flat countryside area in East Anglia, but I'm 62 years old, and my "athlete" days are a distant memory.

On a conventional bike, I can manage about 15 miles at about 10 mph.

On a 250w electric bike, I can pedal "assisted" at about 15 to 18 mph for about 30 miles.

I estimate that I get about the same amount of exercise, and I get to see about twice as much countryside in almost the same time.

If eBikes give a little more encouragement to some to regularly cycle more, then it's a good result, regardless of what anyone else might think...