• HelixDab2@lemm.ee
    22·
    6 months ago

    In my experience in Chicago, a bike was almost always faster than public transit, period. Even before I was fit, when it was painful to ride my bike in to school, it was faster than the train during rush hour.

    If you’re not fit […]

    …Then riding an e-bike isn’t going to make you fit, because you aren’t going to pedal it. An e-bike isn’t going to make you fit, any more than my Triumph Speed Triple is making me fit. Sure, I’m still on two wheels, but I’m not getting any physical fitness out of it.

    I was–briefly–a personal trainer. I saw a lot of people avoiding putting in the work using almost every excuse they could. People that tried to ease themselves into getting fit were still going easy months later. The only people that made progress were the people willing to do the work, even when it was difficult and uncomfortable. For myself, I don’t like making excuses for people that won’t put in the effort, and that’s pretty much everyone that uses e-bikes. If you want a motorcycle, just do that, pay for insurance, and obey the rules of the road, rather than riding on sidewalks and bike paths while putting in zero effort.

    • mondoman712@lemmy.mlOP
      5·
      6 months ago

      The term ebike generally refers to a bike with pedal assist, not an electric motorcycle. Pedal assist means you are still exercising and you can set the level of assist you want.

      • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
        1·
        6 months ago

        Many–most of the ones that I see in Atlanta–do not require any pedaling at all. They’re functionally speed-controlled electric motorcycles that people ride on sidewalks.

        So no, most people aren’t exercising, any more than they’re exercising on electric scooters.

        • mondoman712@lemmy.mlOP
          1·
          6 months ago

          Again, you’re talking about something different. I’m talking about electric pedal assist bicycles (often called an ebike), not electric mopeds.

    • Kevin Marks@xoxo.zone
      31·
      6 months ago

      @HelixDab2 @mondoman712 you’re wrong. An actual ebike, with assist rather than a throttle really does get you to exercise because you are pedalling, but you’re not adversely affected when going uphill. It’s cycling, it burns calories, but it doesn’t have the tiring bits.