To get back to your original post Dan; a couple of things strike me...
Full agreement with your statements, Ian.
As someone who endured a past spate of really poor health that resulted in a (thankfully inaccurate) fatal prognosis, I surely can see the value of electric assist when needed. I went from riding 13,000-19,000km every year like clockwork to being grateful almost to the point of tears when I could manage the occasional Tour de Neighborhood of several kms' duration -- and came home exhausted.
I'll never forget what it meant to just be *on* the bike at whatever level, and would still grab whatever means made that possible. No matter how one goes about it, it is still "getting out on the bike" in the weather, feeling the wind on one's face, and being more intimately "connected" with the bike than is possible in, say, a car.
I'll admit being a bit provocative in that first post to fuel discussion, but I'm amazed at how the e-bike variants have taken off in The Netherlands, for example. Reading their carefully compiled sales figures, it appears the e-bike was the salvation of manufacturers and retailers alike in recent years when all other bike sales fell off.
Having ridden Dutch paths, I feel the e-bike would be a far better solution than the small, noisy, smoky scooters that carve their way between human-powered cyclists and would fit *much* better in the cycling stream than the microcars I saw also using the paths (see attached; it is impossible to look good in photos with full-to-bursting jersey pockets
). When I mentioned dismay at seeing non-cycles on the fietspad, my touring partner's father reminded me there are often no real good alternatives for independent (non-mass transit) travel for those who are unable to cycle with ease, a view echoed by my friend's Oma (grandmother) who has given up cycling in her early 90s and whose walking range is understandably limited. e-Bikes were less available when we spoke in 2008, but she expressed an interest even then, and I can surely understand why. Unfortunately, the only example I saw at the time was a nasty thing in a local Aldi store, running a sprocket lagged onto the left-side spokes of the rear wheel and driven by a half-size chain. The current designs look much more developed and integrated, though quality surely varies as NZPete noted.
By the way, everyone I saw driving one of those micro-cars looked as if they really needed it, so I feel sure they are a tremendous boon to independent movement. All the ones I saw were operated very responsibly, unlike the scooters, which really upset the flow of fietspad traffic.
1. it will be difficult to get a non-powered bicycle. Soon? Nah. Depends upon your timescale of course, but I don't believe it will 'be difficult' for some time to come.
<nods> I surely hope so. I've got a slew of old bikes now, and they're "obsolete: by current standards and already hard to find quality replacements for: 27" wheels and tires, 5- or 6-speed freewheels, 120mm OLN dropout spacing. Seeing how indexed shifting largely killed the friction market, I feared the same fate wrt human-powered bikes, but will be delighted if proved wrong. Part of this comes from a 'Merkin perspective where many people seem to prefer cars to exercise-oriented alternatives. I sometimes feel um, "misplaced" with my bicycle enthusiasm.
2. will you go 'soft'? Nah again. Can't imagine you going soft. And I can't see 'electric assist' posing a threat to your particular touring ambitions.
It may have been fear of temptation that provoked my statement, Ian. I have to admit, I was grinding my way up into Nevada's Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge to avoid a duststorm and actively *wished* I had electric assist, and
would have used it had it been available to winch the 50kg bike and my own 78kg uphill. 'Sure was hard to get an effective pedal start on the steep-loose surface (second attached below)
And I can't see 'electric assist' posing a threat to your particular touring ambitions.
Truth be told, I sorta fear it might
aid my touring ambitions.
What may pose such a threat though, is the ageing process and ill-health. Then you may well welcome the 'invisible hand in my back' that gets me up hills.
Surely. It is also worth noting that electric assist is just that -- an assist (the "invisible hand in your back"). One
still gets to pedal.
This is such an emotive subject and I really wish it wasn't. I see 'electric assist' (in all its guises) as a complementary technology rather than a replacement technology. Used appropriately it can change lives.
I understand, but also have seen able-bodied people here sometimes take the easy way out whenever possible. I park at the far end of a lot when I happen to drive the car to a store (prevents door dings) and hike in, but I seem to be very much the exception. It does seem to be an emotive subject, and that is a shame, really; the tent is big enough for all. Locally, the City Council is in the throes of soliciting public opinion on the desirability of allowing pedelecs and skateboards on the bike paths and in the bike lanes. Man! Talk about turf wars; the discourse ain't pretty.
I'm really excited about the BB mounted units.
My love for all things bicycling is no surprise to anyone by this time, and I'm fascinated with e-bikes as well and am following developments keenly. Would I like one to play with? Sure! Send it to the following address....
Really enjoying the thoughtful and thought-provoking responses from all; thanks!
All the best,
Dan.
