I was not going to like it. Nope. Not me.
I love to ride my bicycle (though I cringe at the term “avid cyclist” – which sounds too serious). I’ve been on my bike most every day since the COVID shutdown and it’s saved my soul.
I don’t need assistance pedaling. Gotta put in the effort to gain the reward. Electric bikes are for when I’m old(er).
But electric bikes are crazy popular. A friend who worked for years at Freewheel Bikes said everyone who took an e-bike out for a spin came back beaming.
So, for the sake of research for a story about businesses that rent pedal-assist bikes, I gave it a try with Port Of Hastings Outfitters.
And I liked it. A lot.
Like the name says, an electric motor “assists” you as you pedal. It’s like a tailwind on a slight downhill – all the time. And there’s a throttle to offer extra assistance on the uphill.
POHO rents RadCity step-through bicycles. They’re heavy, especially compared to lightweight manual bicycles. But a little juice from the throttle at the start and it didn’t matter.
POHO owner Eric Weber isn’t a cyclist. In fact, he says, a lot of “serious” cyclists are not fond of the electric models crowding the bike trails or blithely cruising past, especially on a difficult climb. I’m sure I’d see it their way, especially on the wicked steep twisty hill that took us out of the Mississippi River valley and downtown Hastings to Schaar’s Bluff above the river. (I’m also pretty sure I would have had to walk my manual bike up that hill.)
This bike has five levels of “assist.” On a flat stretch on the bluffs, I took it up to level 4, and that was plenty. I was cruising at 18 mph with little effort. The rentals are governed to top out at 20 mph, Weber says.
On a swooping downhill atop the bluffs, Weber said if he were on a manual bike, he would be thinking about the climb back out as much as enjoying the ride down. I had to agree.
We stopped to chat and a strong cyclist worked his way up the hill. We nearly caught up to him with little effort. Sometimes, Weber says, manual cyclists give electric bikes a dirty look (or worse). I understand.
Friends who have e-bikes love them. One of my childhood pals is able to ride with her husband, thanks to the assist. A relative who was visiting her mom in Stillwater had so much fun renting electric bikes from Mike’s Electric Bikes there that she’s moving home from Chicago. (OK, not just for that, but she’ll be a frequent customer when she returns.)
On the Gateway Trail in June, I talked to a couple on electric bikes who were having a blast. They hadn’t been on bikes in 30 years, and it’s a safe COVID-19 activity to get outside.
So, yeah. I like electric bikes. I like the fact that when I can’t ride my manual bike any more, I’ll still be able to ride.
You know. When I’m old(er).
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August 08, 2020 at 05:46PM
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Pedal-assist electric bike ride confession … - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
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