Is An e-Bike For You? (Part 2)
In a nutshell, e-bikes make pedaling easier but they will not pedal for you.
Most people ride a lot more once they get an e-bike, even if they already ride quite a bit. The only reason I got my e-bike was to help me with club group rides, but now I find myself also using it to run errands anywhere around town and rarely use my car.
Generally speaking, e-bikes are bicycles with a battery-powered “assist” motor that only assists if you are pedaling. If you stop pedaling the motor will stop assisting you, it will not "push” you. Most e-bikes come with four assist levels If you are having trouble getting up a hill in one mode you can always jump to a higher assist level to help you even more. You control your speed with your feet, just like with a regular bike, however, you have more to show for the same amount of effort. E-bikes have a built in “speed limit” (20 MPH on my bike). Once you reach that limit the bike will not help anymore and you are on your own.
I got my bike because of health issues. I was having a lot of trouble keeping up with my own group (the LoBees) and I had to walk up even very moderate hills. My e-bike solved those problems with room to spare. The assist doesn’t have to make for easier pedaling unless you want it to. In my case I try to use the same amount of energy, I just have more to show for it. My bike will not do all the work for me. If I am not pedaling the assist will automatically shut off and not do the work for me.
One thing to be aware of is that while the motor has four assist levels, you can also use it with no assist at all. If you chose this option though it will be harder to pedal than you were used to with your conventional bike because the motor and battery will make an e-bike significantly heavier than a conventional bike.
There’s no getting around it: e-bikes give you yet another device to charge. As I previously stated I can get up to 80 miles on a single charge. That is on the lowest assist level, of course a higher assist levels will use up the battery faster. The bike does save me from having to charge two more things however. Those of you that know me know that I always ride with both my headlight and taillight on. On my e-bike both of those lights run off of the bike’s battery and are always on whenever the battery is on. Trek has both lights turned on all the time which is great for safety.