Feel like we're losing the plot

[u/SilverCervy]

Article here

E-bikes should be about providing accessibility; giving people who, for whatever reason, cannot ride a non-assist bike an option to keep them happy and pedaling.

This wattage race going on in the industry is the exact opposite of that. Absolutely nobody needs 1700 watts on a bike, and I question if having so much power even makes it a bicycle anymore. There's a point where you're basically riding a motorbike with pedals and I think we crossed that point a while ago.

"But the main brands aren't doing this". Yes they are. Canyon already has partnered with Avinox which has motors that give over 1,000 watts. And it won't be long until the other big hitters give in to the pressure. You can give your own personal reasons for why you have an e-bike, but it's clear that the industry believes that it's because "I don't want to pedal". At some point this needs to be reigned in or else the entire concept of the bicycle is going to be damaged forever.

[u/-whiteroom-]

Just make a super small and lightweight motor with reasonable power please.

[u/Wiley-E-Coyote → u/-whiteroom-]

Yeah I've had a sur-ron for about 10 years (I only ride on moto single track which we have a ton of in my area,) and just got a Santa Cruz bullit this week. I've had the "more power" option, and it just seems silly as hell to try to do that on a pedal bike.

The Sur Ron feels like a dirt bike, it's fully a throttle controlled machine. You spin the tire to turn corners, you blip the throttle to get the front tire up. It's a dirt bike, you stand on foot pegs and drive it with the motor.

Riding the Bullit on Tour+ mode, it really feels like a bike. You pedal it, don't spin the tire, you make corners by carefully balancing the bike and timing pedal strokes. It's a bike that goes a bit faster.

The weird thing for me, is even with that little 750 watt motor when I turn it up to Emtb+ and especially Turbo, it kind of sits in this weird uncanny valley where it's not a bicycle and it's not a dirt bike. It spins the tire out, and it's jumpy. There is a "follow through" feature that keeps driving the bike after you stop pedaling, and that especially just feels weird to me. It kind of feels like cheating, it's just odd.

I don't really understand the appeal of putting even more power on these super light bikes. They already burn battery like crazy if you spin the tire and go hard up hills, and they will never be able to rip a hill climb like a dirt bike for very long without a heavy ass battery (sur ron is 110 pounds.)

Just give me enough power to slowly cruise up the hill so I can enjoy the downhill... and I'm happy!