> It's expensive
It's cheap. An e-bike like this costs as much as some of the extras on a car.
> it's not going to do much good for your health
This is just incorrect - if you have an e-bike, you are way more likely to use it compared to a muscle powered bike, and you are going to ride longer distances with it. In sum, the positive health effects of using an e-bike regularily are larger than using a muscle-powered one.
> compare it to a reasonably light "ordinary" bike, driven by muscle power, this is nowhere near "eco"
if you count calories, and are on an average omnivore diet, e-bikes are actually more efficient than muscle-powered bikes. it's eco.
> leave the pedals out and be honest about it
?? not sure what you mean with honest?
> in a few years when it's out of fashion
opinion: e-bikes are not a fashion, but here to stay. it's far less trash than a car.
The gasoline-electro argument is kind of true for cars though, electric cars are not eco, just slightly better than gas cars.
That might be true for someone, but it's a bit of a leap in general
So I'd say the presence of e-bike is a positive for the overall health of the society compared to these people owning a car. On a 1:1 case of having the choice to ride a muscular powered bike vs ebike this is different.
What prevents people from biking is mostly weather: cold/hot, rain. Neither are fixed by an ebike.
When it's chilly, an ebike is actually worse. You heat up less and go faster, so more windchill.
Yes, if you buy a car new, and you are lucky enough to have the money and location (which is also money) to choose to buy this instead of buying a car with that extra.
In other words: it's not cheap for most people, who need a car or two anyway, and buy a second hand one.
Imagine you are in the normal situation of having two parents, both driving to their jobs, and dropping one or two children to school or other activities.
If you can replace one of your cars with an e-bike, you:
- at least one of you is white collar and can work from home or have flexible hours
- live somewhere that transportation is simple for at least half of your journeys, and that half of your driving journeys can all be done by the same person
- have only one full-time worker, who has a big enough salary to cover all needs
- live in an expensive metropolis with excellent public transport
Now, my family has only one car, but we tick three of those boxes and live in a cycling-friendly city. I would never pretend that what we do is particularly doable by a large number of people.
I agree that there more of what you list you check, the better a bike is, but I think most people could check enough of those boxes if their tried just a little. It would be worth it for them for health reasons.
As my list indicates, anyone who has this has an easier time of it, but they quite possibly paid more for their house if they live near their employer.\
> Most people are in a long term marriage like relationship
Are they? Why does this matter?
> I think most people could check enough of those boxes if their tried just a little
Most of them need relatively little effort if they have a tech job - that's my situation. They get far, far more difficult if they have a blue collar / low paying job / kids with issues / health issues of their own.
I said "marriage like" relationship. Marriage as other legal and cultural connotations that may not apply, but your relationship is still such that you can share one car.
My parents still have their bicycles which they bought 48 years ago and use them daily. Minor repairs over the years, but by and large the same vehicles. I want to see you use your ebike essentially unchanged 48 years from now. With the original battery obviously, and with its bluetooth controlled smartphone app. Good luck.
Where I live, the people who bought an ebike and use it daily/regularly are disproportionally people who were already using an ordinary bicycle regularly. (A local newspaper made a study in collaboration with the local university.) The thought that it transitions people from using cars to something more green and healthy is largely a myth. It transitioned people from burning 600 kcal on their commute to 100 kcal on their commute. And when it's raining they still use their car.
1) The user doesn't want to be sweaty at the destination e.g. work, dinner
2) The user doesn't want to be too tired at the destination e.g. park, gym
3) the destination is too far away for their level of fitness
4) the destination takes too long to get to (a fit person can go much faster on an e-bike)
(3) and (4) are especially important in the US where bicyclists have to contend with the distances created by car-centric design.
[1] https://electrek.co/2019/08/11/electric-bike-riders-more-exe...
But if you compare it to a reasonably light "ordinary" bike, driven by muscle power, this is nowhere near "eco". It's heavy, it's expensive, and it's not going to do much good for your health. If you want a vehicle with an engine, leave the pedals out and be honest about it. Otherwise, a classical bicycle is the better fit in many ways.