It’s been going on for years. April wrote in 2014 that many people think an e-bike is cheating. Sami wrote “I remember many cycling enthusiasts scoffing: “It’s cheating.” But so much has happened in the last few years that this idea should really be relegated to the dustbin of history. I have written about this before:

I would extend that now to say that e-bikes have a role to play everywhere. In the last few weeks there have been a series of articles about how they are changing lives, changing the way people get around.

Citibikes at Grand Central Station/CC BY 2.0

In the New Yorker, Thomas Beller discusses the electric bike conundrum. He starts with a cycling friend who says “It’s a cheat!” and then admits they work for many people, if not him just yet.

He also talks to a bike advocate who makes a very good point, comparing it to getting gears on a bike, that it is all about making moving easier.

Read it all in the New Yorker.

EVELO/Promo image

In the Guardian, Philippa Perry writes Why I’m proud to ride an e-bike. She gets right to the point:

She is talking about pedelecs, which are what electric bikes are in Europe. They have no throttle but give you a boost when you pedal, are limited to 250 watt motors and have a maximum speed of 15.5 MPH, all of which I think North American e-bikes should be limited to as well; it really is necessary if they are going to play nice with bikes in the bike lanes. (Derek will probably disagree; he keeps showing these monsters)

Philippa also notes how e-bikes are great for all kinds of people, and collected some great quotes:

But she does it because it’s fun. More in the Guardian.

© Faraday bikes

Behind the paywall in the Financial Times, David Firn writes about How an e-bike can ease the return-to-work commute.

He normally uses a regular bike to get to work at the pink paper, but tried out an e-bike this summer because “London gets hot enough to make me wish I arrived at work a little fresher.” He is also on a legal Pedelec, so has to work a little.

Actually, studies have found that cyclists who switched to e-bikes didn’t burn a whole lot fewer calories; they often just went faster. See Riding an Electric Bike is NOT Cheating. Here’s the Data to Prove It.

Cyclist over 60 years old on e-bike/CC BY 2.0

When I tested a Boar electric fat bike, I used it to go a lot farther. I wrote:

E-bikes are getting better every day as batteries improve and more companies pour into the market. They let people ride longer and more comfortably in hot and cold weather. They are great for cities if they actually get people out of cars, which anecdotally appears to be happening. They are most definitely not cheating.

Guy smoking joint on electric scooter with loud boom box playing old heavy metal music/ Lloyd Alter/CC BY 2.0

Again I will make a plea for changing the rules to ban these electric scooters that are too fast and too big to be in the bike lanes. The Europeans have it right with their pedelec rules, where nobody really cares if it is electric- just get out and ride.