After selling off our second car last year, my wife and I decided to invest in an e-bike—a cargo model with a bench over the rear wheel perfect for towing our two young kids around our hilly town. Before that, I was hauling them in a tow-behind trailer hitched to my bombproof commuter bike. But as my kids grew, so did the combined weight I was lugging—over a hundred pounds—and getting to downtown Chapel Hill, NC, required a one-mile climb with pitches over twelve percent. I had two choices: keep towing 100 pounds of adorable resistance up the hills and potentially become the strongest cyclist on Earth (tempting), or buy an e-bike.
Now, we use the e-bike mostly for leisure, whether it’s heading to local parks, playgrounds, or the farmer’s market, and grabbing breakfast on the weekends. Twice a week in the temperate months, my son skips the school bus, hops on the back, and we kick off the morning with a ride to school.
And with its adjustable seat post, the bike fits my 6’ 4” frame just as easily as it does my wife’s 5’ 6” build—so anyone in the family can hop on and enjoy it at any time.
After a few rides, it became clear that our e-bike wasn’t just solving a problem—it was enhancing our experience. And yet, there’s a common refrain I keep hearing: E-bikes are great for people who need them. Usually, it comes from the more hardcore set of cyclists, with an unspoken implication that anyone riding an e-bike must have a disability or be too out of shape to ride a “real” bike.
I often hear e-bikes compared to dirtbikes or mopeds—largely because some manufacturers label high-powered, throttle-only electric vehicles as “e-bikes” to sidestep regulations or appeal to a broader market. As a result, e-bikes are often dismissed as “not real bikes,” as if the miles accrued on their saddles don’t count because we’ve equated cycling with suffering. After all, how can you call it a real bike if you’re not doing all the work?
Well, let me say this: E-bikes are real bikes, and they are great for everyone—whether you need the assistance they provide or not. E-bikes are perhaps the most important evolution cycling has made since the invention of the mountain bike because e-bikes get more people on bikes. And more people on bikes is an amazing thing. It means a healthier population and a healthier planet. Besides longer wait times for service at your local bike shop, there isn’t a single downside to having more people on bikes.
Yes, e-bikes are great for people who need them. They’re also great for people who are perfectly capable of riding a motor-free bike.
On a good week, I log around 250 miles or about thirteen hours on the bike. I’m in solid shape, with an FTP just shy of 300. I ride road, mountain bike, gravel, cyclocross, and track, and I race (with little success, admittedly) in all of them. I’ve tackled the French Alps and the Appalachian Mountains, regularly ride metric and imperial centuries, and have even logged 200-mile days in the saddle. In short, I’m the last person you’d think needs an e-bike—and yet, I absolutely love mine and can’t imagine life without it.
Since buying our e-bike, we’ve logged just over a thousand miles on it, and the benefits extend far beyond convenience. Let’s break it down in dollars and cents.
My car—a 2020 Volkswagen GTI—gets 24 miles per gallon in the city, which is where all our e-bike trips take place. With a 13.2-gallon tank, that’s about 316 miles per tank. Over those thousand miles, that’s roughly three fill-ups, which, at today’s local cost of $3.47 a gallon for supreme gas (because I’m a snob like that), adds up to $138 in gas I haven’t used thanks to my e-bike.
Sure, our bike cost more than ten-times that. But that’s also a thousand miles I haven’t put on my car, all city miles which take more of a toll on my car (even more so, given that my car is a manual). Now extrapolate that over the next decade. 10,000 fewer miles on my car, more than a thousand bucks not spent on gas, not to mention the oil changes, upkeep, and various dings, dents, and hiccups that might come with those 10,000 miles. Then, there is the carbon dioxide I’m not putting into the atmosphere every time I choose riding the e-bike over driving the car.
The calculation for CO2 savings is simple: multiple the distance you’ve ridden by the average amount of carbon dioxide emitted by a car. That average is roughly 0.25 kilograms of CO2 per kilometer. So, in my case, 0.25x1609km (or about 1,000 miles) equals 402.25 kilograms or 886.25 pounds of CO2 not added to our atmosphere.
Of course, cycling isn’t without a carbon footprint, most of which is attributed to manufacture and shipping of bikes and parts. And the manufacture of e-bike batteries has an impact on our planet. However, once out on the road, the comparison between bike and car couldn’t be further from apples-to-apples. But miles, dollars, cents, and pounds of carbon dioxide are all quantifiable. But, what about the unquantifiable metrics that my e-bike has afforded me?
What about the time I get to spend on the bike with my kids? Or the simple joy of starting my day with a ride to take my son to school? And the fact that my wife—who’s not a cyclist—can join me around town without worrying about getting dropped on a hill? What about the smile on my face every time I’m on my e-bike—one that’s definitely missing when I’m stuck in rush-hour traffic? You can’t quantify those feelings, but I know I’m better for experiencing them.
Our e-bike has provided not only an alternative to our car, but also a place for my wife and me to further bond with our children. For others, e-bikes given an opportunity where that opportunity didn’t exist.
They’ve enabled many aging riders to log more miles than they have in years, feeling the wind in their hair at speeds their legs can no longer achieve. They’ve allowed novice riders to ride with their more advanced and experienced friends, empowered people to ride further than they’ve ever imagined, to climb mountains they never thought possible, and given people with disabilities the chance to experience the magic of cycling.
The only downside to e-bikes is having to listen to people say they aren’t real bikes.
So, the next time someone claims e-bikes are only for those who “need them,” remind them that e-bikes are great for everyone. And if they insist people should stick to “regular” bikes, ask them what exactly defines a “regular” bike. Next time you hear someone admonish anyone for riding an e-bike, tell them that anything that gets people riding bikes is a win for all of us. Or, if all else fails, just tell them to keep their opinions to themselves.
Michael Venutolo-Mantovani is a writer and musician based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He loves road and track cycling, likes gravel riding, and can often be found trying to avoid crashing his mountain bike.
