By now its clear to see that ebikes are here to stay and like every other new movement it has its upsides and downsides. If you are wondering whether to buy an ebike or just go on using your traditional bike, you are in the right place. There is nothing worse than buying something then you go on to realize you did not really need it especially something as pricy as an ebike. Let me list you the pros and cons of ebikes so you can evaluate them yourself to see if they are suitable for you.
Pros
Fitness Levels- If you are the type of person who enjoys riding with your family and friends once in a while, then ebikes allows you to ride with almost anyone unlike in the traditional bikes where weaker individuals are likely to struggle a lot to keep up with the group.
Health- Ebikes allow people with physical problems such as knee issues to be able to enjoy riding bikes especially in steep roads.
Mountain biking- If you love mountain biking then you'll be able to climb a lot higher with an ebike allowing you to gain more descending miles easily.
Faster rides- If you live in an relatively flat area an ebike can actually help you to learn how to ride faster enabling you to get a close experience of riding a down a steep mountain slope. It also descends much faster due to its weight which feels like descending on rails. Riding fast helps most riders especially mountain bikers put their skills to practice such as cornering at high speeds.
Great fitness Motivator- Knowing that you have an ebike somehow makes you less hesitant to go out since you know its not going to be that hard because of pedal assist and ride and in the process helps you stay in great shape.
Cons
Charging- Having an ebike means you must constantly be alert for the charge left as if you forget to charge you'll have to delay your plans for the day. Worst case scenario is you forget your charger while travelling far away, this might force you buy a new charger which is such a pain! or just give up riding it till the day you get back.
Dangerous- A lot of the time it can be dangerous especially for new riders who are thrilled by speed as they may not have sufficient skills to much the speed. In fact there has been an increase in ebike accidents which often times resemble those of motorcycles and sometimes worse as most ebike riders are not geared properly.
Fitness lose-If you are an intense road or mountain biker, having an ebike might make you loose your fitness as its very tempting to put your ebike on turbo mode and in the long-term you become less fit.
Weight- Ebikes are really heavy which brings along weight related disadvantages such as not being able to corner easily. If you also transport your bike by car you might have to replace your bike rack with a more heavy duty one as the normal ones are not designed for the weight of ebikes. It'll also be quite problematic having to hoist an ebike to the bike rack .
Maintenance- You should also keep in mind that parts such as batteries and motors which are the most expensive components have to be replaced after a while not to mention that small components such as chains and tyres are going to wear out more quickly due to the intense forces applied by the motor. Cleaning an ebike is also harder as you have to be careful not damage the electrical components.
Conclusion
So as you can see, there are a lot of issues to consider before rushing to buy an ebike. A rule of thumb is how its going to benefit you should outweigh its cons. Good luck!