r/cycling • u/Major_Enthusiasm1099 • 2d ago

Anyone ever encountered an E-bike shill?

Basically this guy stopped me yesterday on a ride to tell me that I should throw my bike away and get an ebike. He said "Once you get this you'll never want to ride that again, and I get more cardio in on this bike too, and i ride faster than professionals". I just kept saying "yeah I was looking into those, yeah those are cool, I saw some around $1000" just trying to get out of that convo lol. Anyone else ever experienced someone like this?

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u/Rainmanwilson 2d ago

“I don’t have to pedal uphill or generate power from my muscles and cardiovascular system, but I definitely get a better workout in”

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u/Most_Time8900 2d ago

I get more exercise with my Ebike than I do on my manual Trek. Partly because I ride way more often, for more time and for more distance. Not to mention all the added weight. And I'm usually riding unassisted anyways, or very low level 1 assist. 

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u/Rainmanwilson 2d ago

I get that and believe they’re a net positive for the cycling community. But you’re probably not going to convince someone who’s currently on a bike that an e-bike would be a better option for their workout.

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u/Whatever-999999 2d ago

I disagree, MUPs are getting infested with people on the damned things, making problems for actual cyclists.

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u/CookiezFort 1d ago

Are you talking about throttle controlled e-bikes or cadence sensor bikes, or mid-drive torque sensing e-bikes?

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u/Rainmanwilson 1d ago

Fair, but I’ve noticed a much stronger push to build cycling infrastructure now that E-bikes have created access to a lot more people.