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OK, so I just had a lifetime first: I went on a longish, hilly recreational road ride in Malibu on a high-performance electric road bike. This may not a subcategory that changes the world, but gotta say it was a blast.
My friend, who I shared the ride with, lent me his Domane +, which was set up with 40c tires. In most situations it just handles and feels like a road bike that is powered by someone lighter and/or fitter than you are. (For LA folks, we did Fernwood-Saddle-Schuerer-Las Flores.)
Putting aside philosophical questions that frankly aren't that interesting to me, the bike allowed me to share a ride with a friend that I otherwise couldn't have ridden with. It meant I got to taste mountain air and descend canyons that I otherwise would not have ridden today.
I totally get the meaning and joy of climbing 2000 feet with only your heart and legs. But should that be the exclusive domain of the young, the fit, the thin(ish), the folks willing and able to ride at least 10 hours/week?
This may be TMI. I’m not in A+ fitness but offer this to those who say I was “cheating”
The oddest part was pondering the etiquette of sharing the ride with a friend. We rode back to Santa Monica on PCH pretty fast (25-26) and I normally trade pulls or wheel suck but I just floated 10 yards behind. In a weird way, I couldn't discern where the wind was coming from!
Not sure exactly how to wrap this up. But here's a thought that has nothing specific to do with e-bikes. Riding in the Malibu hills with fat-ass tires and disc brakes is like 1000 times more fun that with 21's on carbon wheels with rim brakes. Maybe 2000 times more fun.
