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With the wide range of choice in bicycles available today, it can be difficult to decide what bike is right for you. The decision can become even more difficult when you are trying to decide between an e-bike vs. a regular bike. Which one is right for you?
Difference between e-bike and regular bike
If you want to learn what is an e-bike and what are the different classes of e-bikes, you can check out previous blog post. Just a quick refresher, e-bikes are pedal assisted bikes that use a motor and battery system to offer additional pedal power, typically up to 20 or 28 mph.
Anytime you are trying to decide what bike to buy, you should ask yourself what type of riding you want to do. Are you focused totally on racing and improving your Strava PRs? Or are you more interested in the pleasure factor? The difference between e-bikes and regular bikes will help answer the question of which one you should choose.
Why an e-bike
E-bikes, with their pedal assist and improving technologies can offer every cyclist greater freedom when riding. Carefree exploration results when you know if you explore an unknown route, you will be able to climb any hill in relative ease.
With e-bike technology continually improving, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference between an e-bike and a non-e-bike. The advent of smaller motors and integrated batteries means that to the casual observer, and even to the expert eye, it’s hard to spot when a bike is really an e-bike. Motors like the TQ-HPR50 are designed to be so quiet that the only sound you will hear when riding in nature is the breeze and birds.
E-bikes can be liberating for people who for whatever reason find riding a non-pedal assist bike difficult. For instance, if you are rehabilitating from illness or injury, e-bikes offer an excellent way to get back up to fitness without over taxing your system. They are also a fantastic option for people who want to ride extensively as they age. Evidence of this phenomenon is clear when seeing how many ex-professional cyclists have become advocates for e-bikes. They offer an amazing way to continue riding your favorite climbs without asking too much of old knees, for instance.
When looking at the difference between an e-bike and regular bike, e-bikes offer an amazing amount of fun and freedom for riders of all ages and fitness levels. Wrench Science offers a wide range of all types of e-bikes, from racing to gravel and mountain e-bikes for riders of all interests.
Why a non-e-bike
We fell in love with cycling by riding our racing and mountain bikes many moons ago. Even if you are not racing anyone but your previous best effort, there is no satisfaction like feeling you are improving yourself and your fitness. This sensation is also possible when riding an e-bike, but it’s only with non-e-bikes that you are completely responsible for whatever distance you cover, whatever mountains you climb.
Regular bikes also have several advantages over e-bikes. First of all, they are usually much lighter than the e-bike equivalent. They also have simpler operating requirements and maintenance. There is no need to keep them charged, except in the case where you are using electric shifting groupsets like Shimano Di2 or Campagnolo EPS.
Another issue e-bikes need to address better, just like electric cars, is the question of battery waste and disposal. Since most e-bikes use Lithium-ion batteries, disposal becomes a huge issue. If they are not properly recycled and simply end up in landfills, the chemicals can leak contaminating soil and leaching into the water table. There are several initiatives by various bike shops to help customers properly dispose of e-bike batteries. But this is an issue that regular bikes don’t have to consider.
There is no wrong answer
When looking to buy the perfect bike for your needs, it’s a mistake to look at it as a battle of e-bikes vs. regular bikes. This doesn’t have to be a case of either/or. We firmly believe that you can have an e-bike for certain types of riding and occasions while still having a regular or non-pedal assist bike for other types of rides.
If you are primarily interested in pushing your limits and even joining races, then you will definitely be gravitating to non-e-bikes. From road racing to gravel, cyclocross, cross-country and downhill mountain bike riding and racing, Wrench Science has a wide selection so you can find the bike of your dreams.
Nevertheless, E-bikes have a definite role to play in the lives of cyclists of all types and interests. Thanks to the added power, improved weight and performance of modern e-bikes, even the most committed performance-oriented cyclist can find super fun ways to incorporate them into a cycling life.
If you have any questions that you’d like to discuss, Wrench Science experts will be happy to guide you through the process of choosing between an e-bike and non-e-bike, or indeed finding one of each to suit your riding needs.
