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Don't buy an eBike

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Danneaux:

--- Quote ---Has anybody seen an e-trailer that could be used with a bicycle?
--- End quote ---
There's a surprising number of them on the market:

https://electricbikereport.com/electric-cargo-trailers-guide-video/

I see them here occasionally and have occasionally asked how their owners liked them. The only downsides mentioned so far is they are a trailer rather than a bike alone (so extra considerations wrt to width and overall length) and there can be a tendency under some conditions for a "push effect" on bike handling, a bit like the tail wagging the dog, and limited cargo capacity (depends on design, as some integrate the battery and motor nicely while leaving room for cargo. Others, not so much).

Best,

Dan.

Bill:
Dan, I guess I could have googled it myself, but thanks for that. I've never seen one around here.

I am peripherally involved with a group that builds and maintains multi purpose trails in the foot hills of the Canadian Rockies.
The parks department trail crew has a couple of electric bikes, which is a good way to get out to the more remote locations. If anything of any size or weight has to be moved, a quad or motor bike is required. Or a power wheel barrow.

A couple of electric trailers would be perfect for travelling out to the work sites with tools and stuff. Most of the trail crew volunteers are cyclists and the usual way of getting there is by bicycle.

ians:
I wondered where this was going when I read the title of the topic.  I'm a passionate believer in e-bikes (having a converted Sherpa).  Without it I would simply not be riding a bike now.  But it's not a necessarily an easy option. It's heavy.  So manoeuvring it (when not riding) is a bit of a pain. 

But there is one thing I think that's been missed in this thread.  I was in Oslo in May.  My hotel was on a main road into the city centre - about a 20-30 minute walk.  From about 6 in the morning I would see people walking to work - as well as jogging, running, scooting, skating, cycling (many on e-bikes) and taking the bus.  A few were driving in by car.  The car was in the minority.  Unlike the UK.

Directly outside the hotel was an e-bike docking station - it held about 40 bikes. People would walk from their homes nearby, pick-up a bike and take it into work.  In the evening the process would be reversed.  Sometimes in the evening, the docking station would be full.  So a returning user would simply look at an app on their phone to find the next local docking station and return the bike there instead.

As I wandered around the city I discovered lots of these docking stations - outside the bus and train stations as well as major centres of employment and recreation.  This tells me that in Oslo e-bikes are part of an integrated transport system.  Which is surely what all cities need.

The vast majority of people I saw riding them were not fat or unfit - they were simply hopping on and off and using the bikes as another form of convenient public transport.  And this is the bit which often gets overlooked in the debate about e-bikes.

So maybe you shouldn't buy an e-bike - if you can rent one.

energyman:
https://www.hammacher.com/product/only-seven-person-tricycle-1

I suppose it could be fitted with an electric assist  !!

Templogin:
I remember seeing something similar, but it may have hand a German oompah band playing on it as it went along.  Either that or it was a particularly heavy night.

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