Anybody gone back to try a "manual" bike??

[derrick]

Proper bike.

 

[Dadam]

Manual= hand-operated. I'm confused.

I thought they were called bikes

Pedantry isn't helpful here. There's a need for an easy way to differentiate electric assist from non electric assist bikes. They're all bikes. If manual strictly means by hand then the equivalent for foot is "pedal", so pedal bikes? But they're all pedal bikes too, just that the assisted version have an added motor. So what else to use?

"Acoustic bike" is just silly and cringey. "Non assisted" or "non electrically assisted" is too clumsy. You could use "mechanical" but an ebike is mechanical device too but with a motor.

I suppose "non-electric" works but I like "manual bike", it gets the point across clearly and succinctly, which is the point of language. When I use it everyone knows I'm not talking about handbikes. Language evolves and people use words in vague or all-encompassing senses all the time.

A "bike" is any conveyance on two wheels, (ok one behind the other for the pedants). Bicycles, scooters, motorcycles (which is short for motor-bicycles anyway). The meaning depends on context.

 

[slowmotion]

"Pedal" is an adjective that in the dictionary is described as.......

pedal. adjective. ped·al. ˈped-ᵊl also ˈpēd- : of or relating to the foot.

"Manual" is the hand equivalent.

You could call that pedantic. I call it accurate.

 

[Rusty Nails]

Surely they'd catch up on the hill.

Don't you just hate it when they do...and give a cheery 'morning' as they sail pass. Especially with just a few hundred yards left after a five mile climb. DAMHIK.

 

[albion]

Very hard to discern.
Nuances like tyres give an extra few watts. Plus stamina needs about 2 years graft to attain.
My lungs used to pack in at 18mph but everyone has nuances.

 

[Baldy]

Surely it's simple, if it's got a motor, either electric or internal combustion it's a moped. If it's powered by muscles alone it's a bike.

 

[Drago]

What about clockwork bicycles?

 

[Andy in Germany]

'Normal' bikes are sometimes described as "Bio Bikes" here.

I test E-bikes as part of my job and often hit the 25km/h limit without trying so I'll stick to a Bio Bike for my own use... for now.

If I move to a village on top of a hill I'll reconsider.

"Pedal" is an adjective that in the dictionary is described as.......

pedal. adjective. ped·al. ˈped-ᵊl also ˈpēd- : of or relating to the foot.

"Manual" is the hand equivalent.

You could call that pedantic. I call it accurate.

I'm told is also the root of the word "Pedagogy"; it was originally the person (slave) who walked the children of the elites to school.

 

[CXRAndy]

I still ride non Ebikes, almost exclusively indoors on Zwift for racing, training and long endurance, social group rides.

I use my Ebike mostly in spring summer to cycle with the wife to go to pubs, restaurants, see the family which is all within 10 mile radius of our home

 

[Andy in Germany]

What about clockwork bicycles?

I like that idea; wind up on downhills and release when climbing; all the time praying the spring doesn't release all at once and lauch the rider into the air.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Could always revitalise the old term "push bike".

I'm sure someone will pop up and say "well actually, you don't normally push them".

 

[TheDoctor]

Could always revitalise the old term "push bike".

I'm sure someone will pop up and say "well actually, you don't normally push them".

Anyone who saw me going up 16% hills in Wales wouldn't have said that...

 

[slowmotion]

Could always revitalise the old term "push bike".

I'm sure someone will pop up and say "well actually, you don't normally push them".

I think the general idea is that you push with your feet. Some people seem to have a problem with the concept.

 

[gavroche]

I have always said I am too young for an ebike ( 74 at the end of the month) and it really annoy me when I see young people speeding past on ebikes because they are too lazy to use a proper bike.

 

[Mike Ayling]

I've got one ebike and 3 non-assisted on the fleet - Flat-bar Ribble, Dynatech Ti singlespeed, and a Brompton.
No plans to downsize at all!
There has got to be a better expression for not-an-ebike.
Not manual, and certainly not acoustic or analog, both of which I've heard used by people who should know better.

Try bike and ebike - simples!