February 1, 2021

I have been thinking about riding this blog for a couple of years now.  First to define what is an ebike. In Ontario “the definitions of an e-bike vary a little by province, but, generally, an e-bike has to have working pedals, an electric motor of 500 watts or less, and a maximum speed of 32 km/h”.

There are a lot of opinions on what an ebike looks like. Does it look like an electric motor scooter or does it look like a bicycle with a battery. For this blog I am referring to a bicycle with a battery often referred to as e-assist bikes.

In 2014 Ralf and I were on the two-year Grand Adventure. We were in New Zealand struggling up a hill and battling a head wind, when Ralf shouted there was a “roadie” (road cyclist) coming up behind us and moving fast. She passed us like we were standing still. An older person riding not a sleek road bike but a cruiser bike, she wore a yellow hat and rubber boots. I think she had a motor on the bike, Ralf said. That’s cheating I muttered, as I struggled to get my breath.

Fast forward 18 months and we met a couple at a Tim Horton’s in Ontario. We chatted to them about our trip and cycling in general. They were both in their late 70’s and cycled about 50 – 60 kms. She confessed that she rode an e-bike. She told us that it helped her up the hills and against the wind. She told us she had been reluctant to get one – as she considered it cheating. She was willing to give up cycling, her husband suggested she give it a try and she is so pleased that she did. She is continuing to enjoy her cycling and getting out for regular exercise.

So what is cheating – Oxford defines cheat as “to deceive or practise deceit especially for one’s own gain, to obtain unfair advantage by trickery.”  Does this mean that riding an e-assist bike is deception or trickery. The battery is there for all to see, hardly deception.

However, if you are Alberto Contador and had a small motor secreted on your high-end road bike and blasted past the Schleck brothers without even breathing heavily – that would be trickery or cheating.

Most riders of e-assist bikes are not in a race, they are like most cyclists out to enjoy their ride and perhaps make it easier for them to do so.

Janet and Steph two cyclists we met on our Grand Adventure in Texas in 2015 have migrated to ebikes. When we met them in 2015 they were circumnavigating the United States on regular bikes, Janet had recently retired.

Last year 2019 they circumnavigated the States again only this time on ebikes. They have cycled over 24,000 miles on their ebikes.

In 2018 when we were cycling in Europe we were amazed at how popular e-bikes were. It was hard to find a road bike or touring bike that didn’t have a motor.

Part of the reason for the success of ebikes, in Germany specifically, are the tax breaks  on ebikes and the assistance that companies provide to help their employees purchase ebikes. Some German employers lease company bikes to their employer through Deutsche Dienstrad, a firm specializing in workplace bicycle leases. The company retains 25 euros of the monthly salary, and when the contract expires after two years, the employee can buy the 3,000 euro bike outright for just 300 euros.  This was all done in an effort to get more people to cycle to work and have less cars on the road. Younger people are using ebikes for their daily commute. Older people are using them as touring bikes.

My eldest brother has had an ebike for years. He rides to the local pub on it. I teased him mercilessly, because that is what little sisters do to big brothers – \”Get A real bike, you need the exercise\”. He tried to explain he was getting more exercise riding his bike to the pub than driving. That is true.

Back to the question is riding an ebike cheating. Initially, yes I thought riding an ebike was “cheating”. Now I see it as a means to an end.  If it helps a person continue to cycle as they age, if it gets more cars off the road and less pollution, if it gets one more person cycling instead of taking a car then all power to them.

I personally am not ready for an ebike yet, but if it keeps me cycling for a few more years I will consider getting an ebike.