Ebike vs real cycle etiquette -sorry mods please move to cycle chat

[Lewn777]

I ride a road bike for fitness, but I commute and do shopping on an ebike, I've noticed some very 'douchey' attitudes on both sides. For example I was called 'lazy' by a bloke on a gravel bike today when I was coming home with 20kg of shopping on my ebike up very steep hills. The thing is I rode 150km with 3000m climbing on my road bike yesterday.

Ebike riders:

-Please don't get impatient with cyclists, they were there first and they are doing it for real, they don't have 250w of battery assistance. Don't make rude shouted 'on your left/right' 'excuse me!' type comments, on trails or cycle tracks, shut the hell up, follow behind and overtake when safe with a spoken not shouted hello or hi etc.
-Don't overtake cyclists up hills and behave like you've won a grand tour climb. If I ride my 650cc moto and overtake ebikes have I 'won' anything? Of course not!
-Don't upload your rides to Strava as normal cycling, you're just a stupid cheat. Your fake KOMs will get flagged very quickly anyway.
-If you are under 40 and otherwise fit or potentially could get fit, why not just get a regular cycle instead of an ebike? Normal cycles are more fun to ride, lighter and you get a greater sense of achievement doing things under your own steam, plus you'll get fitter.

Cycle riders:

-Please don't say things like 'cheater' 'lazy' or other snide comments to ebike riders. They could be commuting/coming back from injury/elderly/on a recovery ride etc. Instead think 'one less car'.
-Don't presume someone on an ebike is unfit or that they are somehow lesser than you, instead treat them as another cyclist. Without a discussion you'll never know the reason they are riding an ebike and not a regular cycle.

Did I forget anything?

[Shrike]

It's just people.

Some people are sh*tty to the extent they actually spend a portion of their day trying to make other people feel worse. Could be calling you lazy on your eBike, or making snide comments or trying to one-up people on the internet.

It's all the same

[Mr.Gib]

Hmmm, the e-bike folks around here are very pleasant. Usually just sweet older folks - tons of 'em lately. They seem to be quick to tell me they're cheating if they ever come up on me. I had a hilarious race with a 75 year old lady up a steep hill near my house. Beat her, but just barely, full out sprint - we both had a great laugh.

I'm sure the unpleasantness you're describing will be a problem here as more younger poeple adopt e-bikes. The roads are no problem, but I foresee disasters on the bike paths. Some of the e-bikes are really flying and when you mix in pedestrians, dogs, and small children, bad things are going to happen. I wonder how many of these e-bikers know how to brake hard and fast without crashing.

The other issue is the assist limit - the speed at which the assist cuts out. I understand that varies by jurisdiction. It's pretty low 32km/h in most of Canada, but I it's much higher in many places, and of course the fun is all in overriding the limiter. And to qualify as an e-bike, the assist can only work when the rider is pedaling. Yet I have seen some e-bikes moving in the 50's km/h on bike paths without any pedalling - basically a motorcycle.

Ebike riders:
-Don't overtake cyclists up hills and behave like you've won a grand tour climb. If I ride my 650cc moto and overtake ebikes have I 'won' anything? Of course not!
-Don't upload your rides to Strava as normal cycling, you're just a stupid cheat. Your fake KOMs will get flagged very quickly anyway.

A couple things, do you really mind being overtaken on a hill by an e-bike? Does't bother me in the slightest. Do you wait to overtake e-bikes on you 650 moto just because they are working harder then you? If you have the power just do it. We are on regular bikes for a very different reason and expect to be passed by anything with a motor (at least up hill).

E-bikers uploading to Strava? People are indeed morons. I suggest you put your Garmin on you 650 moto and show those Strava e-bikers what a KOM really looks like.

[Raccooningtanuki]

I got an ebike since I do about 150km a day for Uber eats and forget to give my body a break sometimes. Cyclists in Japan generally aren’t that snide from my experience. Electric assisted bicycles are nothing new here though

[Orbital]

Around here, I can’t think of a single thing that e-bikes may be guilty of that regular bikes aren’t. And vise versa. With the exception that many e-bikes looks to be enjoying themselves and smiling a lot more than the roadie crowd looking down on each other over gear, fitness, how many people in your group ride etc etc.

[mvcap]

Lewn777 and Mr Gib both great points on the right attitude to have. My first ebike encounter I was on a road bike working hard up an incline at about 20mph and an old, obese, helmetless man on an ebike passed me doing 25 with about 2mm between our bars, didn't say a word as he surprise buzzed me and of course he immediately took the next turn. Left me a bit annoyed, and honestly I've been unfairly judging them since. Time for a change of heart - thanks for the needed nudge!

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[Lewn777]

Hmmm, the e-bike folks around here are very pleasant. Usually just sweet older folks - tons of 'em lately. They seem to be quick to tell me they're cheating if they ever come up on me. I had a hilarious race with a 75 year old lady up a steep hill near my house. Beat her, but just barely, full out sprint - we both had a great laugh.

I absolutely love it when the oldies can get out and enjoy a ride. I always say hello, more on two wheels means more respect from the rest of society

I'm sure the unpleasantness you're describing will be a problem here as more younger poeple adopt e-bikes. The roads are no problem, but I foresee disasters on the bike paths. Some of the e-bikes are really flying and when you mix in pedestrians, dogs, and small children, bad things are going to happen. I wonder how many of these e-bikers know how to brake hard and fast without crashing.

Agree 100%. Yeah, I see the main problem is people that are otherwise young fit and healthy using ebikes for things that have been historically be the preserve of regular bikes and being obnoxious, which is bound to lead to trouble.

The other issue is the assist limit - the speed at which the assist cuts out. I understand that varies by jurisdiction. It's pretty low 32km/h in most of Canada, but I it's much higher in many places, and of course the fun is all in overriding the limiter. And to qualify as an e-bike, the assist can only work when the rider is pedaling. Yet I have seen some e-bikes moving in the 50's km/h on bike paths without any pedalling - basically a motorcycle.

In the UK and EU most ebikes are 25 kmh max speed 250w assisted power. They really aren't motorcycles at all, they are like a helping hand only. There is a grey area between an 'ecycle' and a 'emoto' that needs proper legislation.

A couple things, do you really mind being overtaken on a hill by an e-bike? Does't bother me in the slightest. Do you wait to overtake e-bikes on you 650 moto just because they are working harder then you? If you have the power just do it. We are on regular bikes for a very different reason and expect to be passed by anything with a motor (at least up hill).

It's kind of sad to race other cyclists you don't know up hills. But racing someone doing it for real on an e assisted bike is laughable, yet some people do it. A simple ' hi, how are you?' or a 'morning' can break the tension nicely. Essentially all I'm saying is for ebike riders to remember to be courteous to cyclists and for cyclists to be friendly and inclusive towards ecyclists.

[ducman]

If you start bitching on ebikes, chances are.... maybe its better for you to buy one also. Sorry.

[Lina]

E-bikes may be restricted by law to 25 km/h and 250 W in Europe but they absolutely don't follow the power restrictions. I've only tried a few e-bikes but they all give like 500 W of assist when going uphill.

[Cycomanic]

I go out cycling with my two daughters (4,6 years old) quite a bit and one thing I notice with people on e-bikes is that they have very little consideration for others on the bike paths. I've had it several times that they swerved around (or inbetween) us with very tight margins, going >25 km/h (seems like many also "tune" the bikes to go faster). Or coming head on full speed (a lot of our bike-paths are two-way) overtaking another rider, so they almost scrape my daughters. The thing is you can clearly see they don't have very good control over their bike/bike handling skills, but the motor lets them easily ride above their skill level. I think generally the e-bike "revolution" has been great anyone who gets on a bike instead of taking a car is a plus in my book. I wish there was maybe some training courses, because as I see it many on e-bikes are people who have not ridden for many years and can't quite judge their skills.

[Aikon]

E-bikes may be restricted by law to 25 km/h and 250 W in Europe but they absolutely don't follow the power restrictions. I've only tried a few e-bikes but they all give like 500 W of assist when going uphill.

250w continuous rated power, Fazua publish that their system has 400w max, 250w continuous, Bosch, Brose, Shimano etc will all likely be higher than the Fazua.

[PeytonM]

Many older e-bike users around here, unfortunately they lack the skills to handle there bikes at 25kph (limited here) and are a danger to other shared path users. Accidents waiting to happen.

[sychen]

There also is two distinctive groups of ebikers.. And that can be split broadly as legal and illegal ebikes.

Specifically Illegal modified ebike that does not need any pedal input specifically. Police does nothing about this but rather crack down on helmets and bells. These electric motorbikes are on the footpath weaving in and out of pedestrians. They do 50kph at a push of the button. Seen them cruise along major bridges banned to cyclists for good safety reasons with very good bike path but deemed as too slow for these riders. Unfortunately the riders on these bikes generally have very little skills or sense and often demand everyone to get out of their way... Their lack skills or sense have gotten some killed.

Personally having narrowly avoided being wiped out by one of these illegal eFatBikes going way too fast to a hairpin.. locking up.. Rolling the tyre off the rim and crashing. The guy had no idea what he was doing and why everyone was upset at him.

Of the legal variety.. Most are riden by sensible, responsible riders. There are a few idiots as with any group of humans but most are fine. Of course there has been a few idiots the last few years posting on social media using ebikes to take koms and generally be a nuisance to people giving ebikes a bad reputation among non ebike riders.

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[Lina]

E-bikes may be restricted by law to 25 km/h and 250 W in Europe but they absolutely don't follow the power restrictions. I've only tried a few e-bikes but they all give like 500 W of assist when going uphill.

250w continuous rated power, Fazua publish that their system has 400w max, 250w continuous, Bosch, Brose, Shimano etc will all likely be higher than the Fazua.

Of course they say their systems are within the legal limits, they'd be dumb to say otherwise. And no one really cares because the real killer is speed, not power, and their systems do stay within the speed limits. If you've ever ridden one uphill you'll know that they'll give far more than 250 W continuously. I've ridden hour long climbs with people that are heavier than me on an heavier bike than mine. I'm doing 350 W for an hour and they're on mid level assistance just turning the pedals without breaking a sweat letting their engine do the work. They put on max assistance and 500 W is not enough to stay on their wheel.

And this doesn't mean I'm bashing the manufacturers for this. Having more than 250 W actually makes them usable in hilly terrain as a transportation device. Being actually limited to 250 W would slow you to a crawl on a hill if you've got a slightly overweight person on a heavy bike carrying groceries. Having enough power to keep even close to that 25 km/h on climbs makes them usable.