Traditional Bikes Will Never Die
“Traditional Bikes Will Never Die.” This may sound strange coming from an e-bike boutique, but it is a fact. I have more traditional bikes than e-bikes. It got close for a while, but I had to sell some of my motors to pay bills (you should feel sorry for me and send money).
It is a sad fact that too many of my e-bike customers expect their e-bike to be as reliable and last as long as their trusty old steel road bikes from The 80’s. Somehow it never occurs to them that they are using a lot more power, going further, faster and more often. That’s hard on batteries, brakes and components. E-bikes are a great value and remarkably reliable compared to any other motorized vehicles. They still need a lot more service than a traditional bike. Rare is the person like my friend Anthony that rides his e-bike exactly like he would a traditional bike, speed and personal input. He may be the one exception where his e-bike is as reliable as my old three speed (probably should rebuild that hub for the first time since The 60’s).
When I am on a long ride, say 30-100 miles a day, I don’t want to be making plans based on where I might charge a battery. I don’t want the extra concern of additional parts coming loose or needing special tools for repair. When you are in the saddle more than a couple hours at a time, you are going to sweat (e-bike or not). I am in no hurry and rare is the e-bike with touring bike ride characteristics or capabilities. That doesn’t mean I’m going to swap a comfy, upright cruiser for going to work or attending local events and such. I’m just not concerned about all an e-bike adds when I am on a long ride.
E-bikes need regular pad replacents. They are heavier and you are stopping from greater speeds on average. Chains wear either from traveling greater distances per powered mile on a mid-drive (usually, on smaller cogs that wear faster) or from assisting hub drives up hills or against the wind. Spokes need tensioning from extra weight and more constant torque. Deraileurs especially take a beating. It is a shame you never see factory e-bikes with high end components. Well, at least not for less than $5k. We should not expect discount store components to hold up like 105 Shimano or greater that costs more than the entire Walmart bike.
I’ll always promote the fact that an e-bike allows you to ride when it is too windy, hot or hilly to enjoy a traditional bike (or you just don’t want to be smelly), but my old touring bike is less than. 5min’s slower. That’s about the same as driving on a bad day and people do it all the time.
You know, e-bike conversions aren’t the only way to keep your trusty old steed out of the landfil. Is that brand new piece of plastic fantastic really going to make you fast? Why not bring trusty old steed to your Local Bike Shop and let thrm rebuild it like new?