It's pretty obvious that some people aren't up to speed with ebikes in Australia. That's why it's well worth going to events such as the one I attended yesterday.
All the bikes had pedals so there were no electric dirt bikes although the line is somewhat blurred with ethe Stealth brand. The really hard core guys were telling me they can do 90ks in a day on one of the stealth bikes using pedal assist. That's offroad and compared to around a third of that with a conventional mb on the same terrain.
As a regular dirt bike and part time mb rider I can see a real category for the ebikes. Definitely great as a training bike for a ICE bike rider and you can train in an urban area and no one knows your there. I can see ebike events held in the middle of cities easily. No noise and no fumes which has always been an issue with motorsport.
The more street oriented bikes they just have pedal assist and no throttle so you have to pedal. You can adjust the level of assitance as required. There were all sorts of bikes that meant that however you were dressed you could ride one. Even little cargo bikes so you could carry shopping/brief case, books etc easily.
So, the least fit person can get on an ebike. Just getting into the outdoors is a health benefit in itself so in my view they are a benefit to society for sure.
Agree with Janti though that ebikes in the city area make a whole lot of sense for shorter distances. In cities like Melbourne that are becoming more bike friendly having pedal assist makes a lot of sense. If you can scoot along at 20ks or so you can get a long way in a very short time. Their potential to reduce congestion is fantastic. Just not having to park your car when you go from one side of the city to another is a real plus.
And then there's the electric scooters and skateboards. New electric scooters are very small, very light and very user friendly to use. They are no longer just a kids toy. People of all ages were having a go on them including plenty of the grey haired variety.
