Cheating?

[DRHysted]

I only think of it as cheating when they’ve been hacked to go above 15.5 mph with assist still on.
I have converted one of my recumbent trikes with e-assist so my 73 year old Mum can get back in cycling. At present I’m using it for commuting as the other is having new wheels made, the feeling when the assist kicks in at 100% as you pull away spinning the back wheel is addictive, but I tend to use it only to counter the added weight on hills otherwise I’d flatten the battery. On this bike over 8 miles e-assist adds 2 mph to my average speed.

This is the difference e-assist makes on a short sharp steep hill. Mums on the e-assist tadpole, I’m on a normal tadpole, and the cyclist that goes past us both is on an e-assist bike.


View: https://youtu.be/4Uen1HNTY7w

 

[gzoom]

Aged 74......prior to this health issue.....I enjoyed the challenge of cycling.

Am not sure I like all the ageism and health discrimination going on in this thread.

I'm no that old or have health issue, am just lazy, like tech, and want to know how it feels to go up a 15% gradient at 15mph like pro but without needing drugs/talent/training.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Am not sure I like all the ageism and health discrimination going on in this thread.

I'm no that old or have health issue, am just lazy, like tech, and want to know how it feels to go up a 15% gradient at 15mph like pro but without needing drugs/talent/training.

Not the same at all! No comparison. I don't think any of us mere mortals can experience pro-level riding. I marvel at the average speeds of Grand Tour stages. We'd need very illegal e-bikes to keep up with them!

 

[newfhouse]

As someone who’s about to buy my first e-bike I think I can understand what’s behind the question, but of course it’s only cheating if you pretend it’s something it’s not to people that care one way or the other.

In my case I have a slipped disc. I’m doing specific exercises to strengthen my back in advance of proper treatment and I’ve got myself back to four commutes a week, so a little over 100 miles, but I’m not sure that I’ll be able to sustain it in the longer term. I still want to cycle and have a free aerobic workout, beat the traffic and so on, so an e-bike is just a sensible way to strike a balance... I hope.

 

[gbb]

Probably a silly question, so forgive me. Many of us are quite proud of our physical capability on a bike - so how do we overcome that sense that having electric assistance is cheating? I ask because I'm tempted to go electric.

The problem (if that's the right word) comes from within, ie yourself. (This is my take on it, not necessarily right for anyone else).
I used to be very fit then arthritis becomes a big part of my life and the old me is gone, impossible, so I happily ebike now. My outlook has changed, if i dont get out, I dont, if I do, I just enjoy it. But deep down I miss the old me, I still regret the loss of fitness. Fitness was a constant and hard won battle, something you (I) jealously guarded, it's not easy to let go.
If anyone else has a problem with it, tough, couldnt care less.

 

[scoobs]

The problem (if that's the right word) comes from within, ie yourself. (This is my take on it, not necessarily right for anyone else).
I used to be very fit then arthritis becomes a big part of my life and the old me is gone, impossible, so I happily ebike now. My outlook has changed, if i dont get out, I dont, if I do, I just enjoy it. But deep down I miss the old me, I still regret the loss of fitness. Fitness was a constant and hard won battle, something you (I) jealously guarded, it's not easy to let go.
If anyone else has a problem with it, tough, couldnt care less.

I could have written exactly that about myself. I certainly don’t give a 💩 what others might think in this regard.

 

[Eric Olthwaite]

Cheating allegations start to fly if you turn up at club rides

Many club rides go at 18mph+ on the flat. Some quite a bit faster. How easy would it be for a rider on a legal e-bike (max assisted speed 15.5mph) to keep up with that?

 

[Pale Rider]

Many club rides go at 18mph+ on the flat. Some quite a bit faster. How easy would it be for a rider on a legal e-bike (max assisted speed 15.5mph) to keep up with that?

Very hard, because he would need to be fitter and stronger than the other lads who are already pushing themselves.

We have just bought a house 24 miles from my work. I'm currently wrestling with, do I drive a bit then cycle 12 to 15 miles in or cycle train cycle probably 8 to 10 miles or go electric and do the full 24 each way on the bike?

Your plan could work, but a reliable range of close to 50 miles is difficult to achieve on one battery.

I think you will either need two batteries, or charge at work which for convenience would mean a second charger.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Many club rides go at 18mph+ on the flat. Some quite a bit faster. How easy would it be for a rider on a legal e-bike (max assisted speed 15.5mph) to keep up with that?

Before I needed an ebike so as to continue with some form of cycling it was very possible to take part in faster club leisure and training rides. Now, for me it's next to impossible, which is why I've been in favour of an increase in assist cut off speed to around 18 mph. If you don't find it difficult you need to be fitter and stronger, as Pale Rider says. IMO There are basically two sorts of ebike rider - those who need the assistance, and those who want the assistance. I need it, otherwise I'd still be riding my other 'manual' bikes. However, the groups I've ridden with since using an ebike have always been very understanding, any banter about 'cheating' simply that.

 

[gzoom]

Many club rides go at 18mph+ on the flat. Some quite a bit faster. How easy would it be for a rider on a legal e-bike (max assisted speed 15.5mph) to keep up with that?

I can average 17mph+ on my hybrid Boardman with Fazua motor. Bare in mind its a hybrid with a very flexible frame, frankly a really cheapo wheel set with some heavy tyres.

Currently I can push 18mph average unassisted, the flats are OK (I can hold around 20-21mph) but once I hit a 10%+ incline I slow down to sub 10mph which kills my average speed.

The Boardman smashes all my PBs on climbs by a decent margin, am also less tired at the top of the climb so can attack the decent harder. But poor aero+wheels really slow it down on the straights.

An eRoad bike, with good aero frame, decent wheel set 18mph+ average will be easy, cannot wait to try one .

 

[Tim Hudson]

We have a fleet of around 35 electric-assist bikes - see my intro post. EBikes are not cheating.

Mod Note:
@Tim Hudson welcome to CC.
Could you please dispense of the bold formatting (it's bad forum etiquette, also against the forum rules).
One link to your videos (in your signature, you will have access to this feature after a few posts) is plenty
Thank you, enjoy the forum

 

[Tim Hudson]

We have a fleet of around 35 electric-assist bikes - see my intro post. EBikes are not cheating.

Mod Note:
@Tim Hudson welcome to CC.
Could you please dispense of the bold formatting (it's bad forum etiquette, also against the forum rules).
One link to your videos (in your signature, you will have access to this feature after a few posts) is plenty
Thank you, enjoy the forum

Ooops! Sorry! It's my 'content writing' habits. It all comes naturally! I will desist!

 

[Drago]

Many club rides go at 18mph+ on the flat. Some quite a bit faster. How easy would it be for a rider on a legal e-bike (max assisted speed 15.5mph) to keep up with that?

Not very. This is why I don't understand the "cheating" remarks. I'm in my 50's, weigh as much as a small moon and have the aerodynamics of a backwards facing hippo, yet can still cosistently manage 18-19 averages over 20 or 30 miles. Go for a spin on my ebike and I'm far slower, so in what way is that cheating?

Indeed, if you're knocking on in years, infirm or injured, and an ebike helps you ride a bit quicker (or indeed, helps you ride at all) then that can hardly be cheating. Anything that extends a riders riding career, or gets someone back to riding, is bloody brilliant, not cheating.

We don't accuse car drivers of cheating for having an engine (being lazy, or polluting, pehaps...) so why would any brain donor consider a small electric assist motor as cheating? Next person to tell me I'm cheating will earn themselves a respounding foxtrot oscar.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Probably a silly question, so forgive me. Many of us are quite proud of our physical capability on a bike - so how do we overcome that sense that having electric assistance is cheating? I ask because I'm tempted to go electric.

By growing up

 

[Slick]

Very hard, because he would need to be fitter and stronger than the other lads who are already pushing themselves.



Your plan could work, but a reliable range of close to 50 miles is difficult to achieve on one battery.

I think you will either need two batteries, or charge at work which for convenience would mean a second charger.

Mrs Slick gets close to 70 miles on a single charge with her boch battery and she pretty much canes it.