I can’t believe I’m writing this. For years I have scorned the riders who have whizzed past me on their e-bikes. I have scoffed at people pedalling effortlessly along, on the flat, and particularly uphill. I have mocked the very idea of an e-bike: after a few weeks of training, the e-part of the bike should be unnecessary, shouldn’t it?
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| A pass on the Austria, Slovenia border |
So how come I am writing this? I weakened. I succumbed. I indulged. I bought an e-bike.
And now? Well, some of my old prejudices remain. Sometimes I turn off the power just to prove I can pedal along without it. But only rarely have I slung a leg over my trusty, beautiful Roberts “pedal” bike – just as the guy in the e-bike shop thought would be the case.
Remaining prejudices? The beauty of a non-e-bike is the fact that there is just you and the bike. You can travel as far as your legs will keep turning. There is no limit – only your limit. It is so simple. Life is simple. Go on a world tour or a trip to the shops, you are the power supply.
Once you climb on an e-bike, you are at the mercy of the battery. You need to think of when you will need to recharge and where you will be able to do this. You have to think about carrying a charger if you are to go any distance – or at least don’t know where you will end up. If you have to recharge en route, this will take up good cycling time. Riding abroad: will the plug fit? Life is more complicated - although you can quickly adapt.
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| Riding higher and further |
I have pushed the limits, just to know how far and how high I can go without recharging. I have just scraped home but with the battery indicator on red. Without it, the extra weight of the bike would make riding up the final 5km, 400m vertical road home impossible…even pushing.
And there is the other downside. Though these bikes have the latest motor and, admittedly the biggest battery available, they are pretty heavy. On the flat, it is easy enough to turn off the motor and keep going. Up hill is another story. Any situation where it is necessary to climb or descend steps such as into a hotel cellar for the night, and particularly up steps into some trains, can be a struggle.
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| Kolm Saigurn, Austria, 1600m |
The upsides
So, though some prejudices remain, what are the upsides of an e-bike? Living in the Alps, most routes involve a lot of hills. Many rides are more accurately described in meters climbed than in kilometres. Riding up hills is where the e-bike excels. Where once I crawled home at 6 or 7kph, now I whizz up at 16 or 17kph without breaking a sweat. As it is the only way home, it had become a tedious chore.
The relative ease of riding up hill has opened up new route possibilities. Seriously long or steep climbs are no longer off-putting. And hilly routes plied frequently, where one is tempted to take a car, become feasible regular cycle journeys.
Long distance touring with luggage, has also taken on a new lease of life. Daily distances which over the years had shrunk, can once again be stretched to their former range, and hillier routes can be tackled, without being exhausted at the end of the day.
In a nutshell
So the e-bikes in a nutshell, mean that we can go further, higher and with more pleasure. On the downside, they are more cumbersome, less independent and maybe give less satisfaction when looking back at a completed tour or climb.
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| Riding with luggage in Austria's Bucklige Welt - land of 1000 hills |
