It’s all relative I guess. In the Netherlands which has a strong cycling culture, the e-bikes are seen by many as a negative - reducing the amount of exercise kids would otherwise get. It also emphasizes a rich/poor divide (which the Dutch are extra allergic to) where well-off kids have e-bikes and the others regular bikes.
This is cute, but the real reason our teens are inactive & unsocial is because of awful zoning laws + exurban sprawl. It’s not realistically possible to meet your friends anywhere, their homes are too far away & there aren’t any third-spaces to spend time at.
Hmmm. Back in the day it was normal bikes that did all that. Young people can attain the necessary fitness easily.
I fear that once started on an e-bike, with all the benefits the article lists, the one thing that may never happen is changing to a conventional bike later. For example, some serious mountain biking Youtube channels I watch point out that electric mountain bikes are just as good at the cool stuff (berms, jumps etc) but simply take the drudgery out of getting to the top of the hill in the first place. If a less fit teenager on an e-MTB is seen as cooler than a more fit one on a conventional MTB... you know what will happen. The conventional crowd, though fitter, will be seen like the poor Android cousins to the "right coulour texting bubble" iPhone crowd.
Yeah, I'm 60+ and the ebike is good fun and also pretty practical as transport in cities. When I was a teen I was fine with pedaling but have slowed a tad.
Four comments and only one seems to be related to the article.
The article is about "touching on independence, mental health, social behavior, and even environmental awareness" just as much as not sitting on your butt inside.
It talks about car culture and social challenges. It recommends class 1 e-bikes so you still have to pedal (no throttle). Yes e-bikes are "cheating" the exercise of cycling, but teens aren't getting e-bikes to go cycling they are getting them to travel without asking somebody to drive them.
Throttle e-bikes are a bit of a menace in my area, but that's whatever. If more people can get outside and enjoy life that's a huge win.
Whenever I go for a run in the afternoon there's always a big group of teens down fishing at the river with a bunch of lime bikes next too them. Glad it's made it easier for them to all meet up and hang out outdoors.
It's funny when they wrap up though and you watch all of them kickstart the bikes. Riding off down the trail as they beep and click. Haha.
While we have people weighing in on e-bikes in this thread: any recommendations on a decent one?
I want something that's not a cheap Chinese thing, but something of some measure of quality. I kinda hate the fat-tire thing and I'm not a real fan of hub motors (they add so much weight to the wheel that trying to ease a bike down off a curb results in slamming the wheel for me). I prefer mid-drive.
I live in the Netherlands, where the average teenager used to ride a regular Dutch city bike. Internal hub, no-frills bicycles.
Nowadays, however, fat e-bikes are all the rage among that age group. They are quickly becoming extremely popular, and are essentially electric scooters without plates or registration. Many of them require little or no effort to pedal, and can carry up to two riders in them. These are also designed to meet regulations, while also being able to easily be modified to circumvent them, such as removing speed restrictions, and removing the need to pedal itself.
This is also reflected in the shape of these things, which generally does not account for ergonomics. Their seat and handlebars are usually fixed in place. They appear to be designed without pedaling in mind, as exerting effort without proper ergonomics would quickly become uncomfortable and painful. You can actually see some such bikes in the linked article.
Time will tell whether this is truly healthy to them, but I have a hard time believing this to be the case. I think the fat bike demographic might start putting on weight.
I'm pro e-bike for reasons other people have mentioned:
-It's a big win for the elderly and out of shape who otherwise would not be getting that exercise and fresh air at all. I have a friend who's Aunt has a heart problem and apperently otherwise wouldn't be unable to bike without an e-bike.
-It brings many new people into the orbit of biking that otherwise wouldn't. The more bikers the more demand for good bike infrastructure, and the fewer cars on the road, and the more attractive biking becomes as a means of transport in a virtuous cycle. This could be huge.
Though I do worry about a few things:
-I think with its battery an e-bike is significantly more of an issue when people do stupid things like throw bikes in rivers/lakes/ponds. Even if this weren't common in places it still needs a good end of life for recycling.
-I do think maybe some people will be so used to an e-bike smoothing out the ride that they will never go to a full bike, but this may be a relatively low number (e.g. many people choose to bike over driving because they want to exercise)
-Many people on e-bikes in my area are a bit of a menace. Because it takes no effort to use, people fly around at max speed (well above the limit posted on our bike paths) and e-bikes are heavy; if someone gets hit it might seriously injure them. I think it may end up giving them a bad reputation if they aren't managed well.
Ebikes are great, but here in the suburban US I only see teenagers on electric scooters (standing/kick scooters), presumably because they're slightly cheaper, or non-electric bikes. The ebikes I do see are used exclusively by adults. There might be some coolness gradient at play in addition to the cost, not sure.
Nobody seems to be mentioning electric unicycles which are great for training ballance and the core. Once one gets over the steepish learning phase (a couple of hours or training) they are extremely versatile on all kids of terrain.
20 comments
[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 39.7 ms ] threadI fear that once started on an e-bike, with all the benefits the article lists, the one thing that may never happen is changing to a conventional bike later. For example, some serious mountain biking Youtube channels I watch point out that electric mountain bikes are just as good at the cool stuff (berms, jumps etc) but simply take the drudgery out of getting to the top of the hill in the first place. If a less fit teenager on an e-MTB is seen as cooler than a more fit one on a conventional MTB... you know what will happen. The conventional crowd, though fitter, will be seen like the poor Android cousins to the "right coulour texting bubble" iPhone crowd.
My 70 year old, double-ankle replacement mother who I don't remember ever walking very comfortably bought an ebike a couple of years back.
The sheer joy on her face watching her whizz up a hill made me realise just how transformational these things can be.
The article is about "touching on independence, mental health, social behavior, and even environmental awareness" just as much as not sitting on your butt inside.
It talks about car culture and social challenges. It recommends class 1 e-bikes so you still have to pedal (no throttle). Yes e-bikes are "cheating" the exercise of cycling, but teens aren't getting e-bikes to go cycling they are getting them to travel without asking somebody to drive them.
Throttle e-bikes are a bit of a menace in my area, but that's whatever. If more people can get outside and enjoy life that's a huge win.
It's funny when they wrap up though and you watch all of them kickstart the bikes. Riding off down the trail as they beep and click. Haha.
I want something that's not a cheap Chinese thing, but something of some measure of quality. I kinda hate the fat-tire thing and I'm not a real fan of hub motors (they add so much weight to the wheel that trying to ease a bike down off a curb results in slamming the wheel for me). I prefer mid-drive.
I live in the Netherlands, where the average teenager used to ride a regular Dutch city bike. Internal hub, no-frills bicycles.
Nowadays, however, fat e-bikes are all the rage among that age group. They are quickly becoming extremely popular, and are essentially electric scooters without plates or registration. Many of them require little or no effort to pedal, and can carry up to two riders in them. These are also designed to meet regulations, while also being able to easily be modified to circumvent them, such as removing speed restrictions, and removing the need to pedal itself.
This is also reflected in the shape of these things, which generally does not account for ergonomics. Their seat and handlebars are usually fixed in place. They appear to be designed without pedaling in mind, as exerting effort without proper ergonomics would quickly become uncomfortable and painful. You can actually see some such bikes in the linked article.
Time will tell whether this is truly healthy to them, but I have a hard time believing this to be the case. I think the fat bike demographic might start putting on weight.
Although I do agree that if it encourages the yutes to get outside and socialize that seems like a win.
[insert obligatory old man grumble about sidewalkriding and rulesignoring kidsthesedays]
As a paid Lime bike user, I don't mind this.
Unpaid, they are terrible heavy bikes - but that is clearly better than no-bike.
Lime already somewhat violates social contracts by having their bikes everywhere.
-It's a big win for the elderly and out of shape who otherwise would not be getting that exercise and fresh air at all. I have a friend who's Aunt has a heart problem and apperently otherwise wouldn't be unable to bike without an e-bike.
-It brings many new people into the orbit of biking that otherwise wouldn't. The more bikers the more demand for good bike infrastructure, and the fewer cars on the road, and the more attractive biking becomes as a means of transport in a virtuous cycle. This could be huge.
Though I do worry about a few things:
-I think with its battery an e-bike is significantly more of an issue when people do stupid things like throw bikes in rivers/lakes/ponds. Even if this weren't common in places it still needs a good end of life for recycling.
-I do think maybe some people will be so used to an e-bike smoothing out the ride that they will never go to a full bike, but this may be a relatively low number (e.g. many people choose to bike over driving because they want to exercise)
-Many people on e-bikes in my area are a bit of a menace. Because it takes no effort to use, people fly around at max speed (well above the limit posted on our bike paths) and e-bikes are heavy; if someone gets hit it might seriously injure them. I think it may end up giving them a bad reputation if they aren't managed well.
Edited for formatting