The owner of a Norwich e-bike shop has blamed misleading press coverage of e-bikes, and the Panorama episode fronted by Adrian Chiles in particular, for a drop-off in trade that has resulted in his shop’s closure. Mark Watkin opened e-Velo in Halesworth, Suffolk, in 2015 and subsequently expanded into premises in the Royal Arcade in Norwich last summer. However, both shops have now been forced to close. Watkin said that alarmist media coverage of e-bikes had played a significant part.
Yeah you’re a dick.
E-bikes make the hobby accessible. Distance cycling or touring on a manual bike takes a large amount of regular intense conditioning, not to mention youth and health. Someone with an old injury or a disability or just a partner of a cyclist who wants to share the hobby with them and can’t dedicate the time to training can get real enjoyment from the help an e-bike brings them.
The fact that people enjoying themselves is in your way is you being a dick, not the bike being a nuisance.
Part of me gets where they’re coming from, I think it’s definitely a thing where some inexperienced cyclists on e-bikes ride dangerously at high speeds without having the cycling experience and technique to ride that fast.
However, just like I’ve had bad interactions with people on e-bikes, I’ve had bad interactions with roadies, people on BMX, cycle commuters, mountain bikers… I’ve also had super positive interactions with all of these groups. Generalizing e-bike riders as a whole based on the acts of a small number of people is silly and counter-productive. The more people ride bikes, the more cities have no choice but to accommodate them, which makes things better for everyone.