Cycling in Waterloo Region

[danbrotherston]

And, really, most of the people who ride the 160 km race do put in less effort than I do.

Okay, not the best phrasing, I thought it would be clear from context.  I meant, put in a more efficient effort than I do...I don't ride in a group, and I ride a hybrid, most riding the 100 and 160 distances do ride in groups on road bikes, so no matter what effort they put in, they ride faster than I would for the same effort.

[clasher]

The government kind of dropped the ball when they didn’t regulate electric mopeds the way they regulate gasoline mopeds. The vehicles are similar weights and accelerate in a similar way. An e-assst bike is a lot different but since they’re all legally e-bikes in Ontario that’s probably why they are disallowed at these events.

[plam]

The government kind of dropped the ball when they didn’t regulate electric mopeds the way they regulate gasoline mopeds. The vehicles are similar weights and accelerate in a similar way. An e-assst bike is a lot different but since they’re all legally e-bikes in Ontario that’s probably why they are disallowed at these events.

OK, so I have an e-bike with a throttle (not a pedelec). It could be a pedelec if I had built it that way, but I didn't. It looks like a bike, not a moped, though. (Since I built it from a normal bike).

Regulating this sector is somewhat hard. Even the Dutch may not have gotten it completely right. Their regulation dates from before e-bikes were a thing, and so they have high-speed mopeds (no bike trails, helmets required) and low-speed mopeds (no helmets required, bike trails OK). Low-speed mopeds were basically anticipating e-bikes, but e-bikes weren't a thing back then. These days, low-speed mopeds are regular mopeds with a speed limiter, which is often disabled. (But the police have to try the moped to see whether there is a speed limiter).

[darts]

There isn't any winner but it diminishes the accomplishment of finishing 100km 160km.

A lot of people relatively speaking can do a half marathon but doing a full marathon takes more training and dedication to complete. Would I be putting in the same amount of effort in a marathon if I did all the downhill segments in wheelies? or used a walking sidewalk while doing a marathon at an airport.

If your not putting in the effort to do it yourself what would the point be in doing the extra distance. It is an endurance challenge not a how long I can sit on a saddle endurance challenge. I don't care if it is done for the 5-25km rides because they are for fun. But if you can't bang out the longer lengths on your own but want to participate there is 10, 15, 25km options.

[GtwoK]

Scratch the "and no cars!"

Impressively, not only did this person ignore the construction pylons, AND ignore the no parking signs, but they then proceeded to drive their car over the curb and park directly in the concrete forms. Great work!

[danbrotherston]

Scratch the "and no cars!"

Impressively, not only did this person ignore the construction pylons, AND ignore the no parking signs, but they then proceeded to drive their car over the curb and park directly in the concrete forms. Great work!

New low.

[Canard]

Did you tweet that? If not, may I (with credit)?

[GtwoK]

I did not and yes you may!

[jamincan]

Jamincan: sorry if I sounded like I was being harsh. I was really annoyed with the rules yesterday. I am always, always amazed at how far you ride; like your 90+ km jaunt the other night or your 200+ km rides. I could never do it. I peaked at about 50 km and I’m ok with that.

But here’s what I’m getting at: I use my ebike if I’m commuting or if I’m tired but still feel like going for a ride, and my regular bike for everything for everything else.  last night I grabbed my (regular) bike and just absolutely slammed out a ride, I had a stressful day and just blasted it as hard as I could. 25-30 km/h the whole time, gasping and panting. Today I’d *like* to go for a ride but had I not had the option of grabbing my ebike and puttering along with some help I might not have otherwise gone anywhere and sat on my porch eating chips. And I’ll probably be riding at about 15-20 km/h, far slower than I was last night, no “threat” to anyone.

Here’s another slant. Last year and this year I’ve used my Shimano STePs-Equipped bicycle for commiting to Cambridge from Kitchener for work. I’d never have tried this on a regular bike; I have to get there, and I can’t be sweaty and exhausted when I do. I’m still tired out by the ride (250W is not much extra power, but it takes the headwind away and somewhat flattens steep hills), but able to do it. But! I’m actually thinking now about giving it a try on my regular bike now. Again, I’d never have had the guts to try that had it not been enabled for me by ebikes.

The whole thing is there’s no threat and nothing bad with them at all. More people on bicycles is better. They are everywhere in Europe. In rural Germany, half the bicycles I saw had Bosch middrives on them. I was thrilled seeing the massive expansion of ebikes even just between the 2017 and 2018 Toronto Bike Shows. People are finally starting to “get it” and the best way to do that is to grab one and take it for a test ride at the show. Everyone comes back with this absolutely ginormous grin on their face.

I completely agree with you, and you're an excellent example of how e-bikes can be used to great effect. It's an awesome option that greatly expands the number of people who might consider using a bike.

But, disruptive technology always ends up, well, disrupting, and e-bikes is no different. I have mostly heard of problems with e-mountain bikes, but I don't doubt problems will start to arise as e-road bikes become more common. I personally think that it's likely going to be less disruptive than people think, and that any issue will relatively easily addressed, but the concern isn't entirely unfounded.

And just to correct something: 250 extra watts is *huge*. 500 extra watts (the legislative limit in Ontario/Canada, afaik) is mind-blowing huge. As a point of comparison, in 2015, Chris Froome could sustain around ~420W or 6W/kg over 20-40 minutes, or the time it would take on a long mountain pass. Based on my current fitness (which is to say, nothing spectacular at all), I could easily beat Froome on something like the Colle delle Finestre with an e-bike that could provide 250W.

There isn't any winner but it diminishes the accomplishment of finishing 100km 160km.

A lot of people relatively speaking can do a half marathon but doing a full marathon takes more training and dedication to complete. Would I be putting in the same amount of effort in a marathon if I did all the downhill segments in wheelies? or used a walking sidewalk while doing a marathon at an airport.

If your not putting in the effort to do it yourself what would the point be in doing the extra distance. It is an endurance challenge not a how long I can sit on a saddle endurance challenge. I don't care if it is done for the 5-25km rides because they are for fun. But if you can't bang out the longer lengths on your own but want to participate there is 10, 15, 25km options.

I don't really think the intent of the Tour de Grand is for it to be some sort of test of endurance. For some people, it certainly is that, but I think the intent is mostly just to get a lot of people out on their bikes enjoying being outside. It wouldn't be nice for me to be struggling up a steep hill while someone zipped by me effortlessly on an e-bike, but it's not nice to be struggling up a steep hill while someone zips by on a regular bike. The not nice part comes from suffering up the hill, not from the e-bike.

[darts]

The tour de grand isn't a test at the lower km amounts, its just a trip for fun, but at the higher kms an e bike just takes away from what everyone else has accomplished.

Either way when they said no e bikes they likely meant the e bikes that no one ever petals.

[JoeKW]

As long as the ebikes are in their own class, who cares?

[Canard]

And just to correct something: 250 extra watts is *huge*. 500 extra watts (the legislative limit in Ontario/Canada, afaik) is mind-blowing huge. As a point of comparison, in 2015, Chris Froome could sustain around ~420W or 6W/kg over 20-40 minutes, or the time it would take on a long mountain pass. Based on my current fitness (which is to say, nothing spectacular at all), I could easily beat Froome on something like the Colle delle Finestre with an e-bike that could provide 250W.

500 W is the limit in Ontario, you're right.

I should have added that the 250 W rated power of the BLDC motor in my bike's middrive is the maximum (at 50 Nm, which is quite low in the world of middrives - some of the Bosch ones are up around 70 or 80 Nm) - and that's on the highest assistance level. There are 3 levels, and if I'm riding it I generally have it on ECO (the lowest level) which just cuts the wind and erases the extra weight of the battery. If I hit a big hill I'll put it up to NORMAL or HIGH. As a reminder, as a Class 1 the way this works is a torque sensor in the crank measures how hard the rider is pedaling, and adds a proportional amount of torque via the motor. The result is a really seamless experience - it just really feels like you have a tailwind, that's all. It's transparent.

And, to end my story, I ended up taking my regular bike out for a 40+ km ride today, because I ended up replacing my rear derailleur thanks to your help on the forum! It was quite easy, and I'm glad I learned a few new skills (like using a chain breaker).

[Pheidippides]

I thought I would share, what I think is a much better bike safety video, than the one that is currently making the rounds on social media via WRPS.

The video, by CAN-BIKE, states pretty clearly that the safest place for a cyclist is 1m out from curb/parked cars and don't hug the curb - leave yourself an 'out' (see at about 1min mark). The same message promoted by Kitchener, and the Region, and others. The exact opposite of what WRPS is promoting. Truly confusing messaging.

[jamincan]

What did the WRPS share?

[PhilippAchtel]

Wasn't the dropbike trial supposed to start soon? Does anyone know the status of that project? I check the bike share area near the KPL main branch fairly regularly and haven't seen any change.