I've been thinking a lot about the magic of the bicycle, and why it so beloved throughout the world. Since its humble beginnings as little more than a kick-along scooter, circa 1818, the bicycle has charmed its way into our lives for over 200 years. Have we forgotten why we love it so much?
The reason I pose this question is because I think many of us have lost touch with what makes a bicycle so special: the feeling of accomplishment. When we ride a bicycle under our own power, we know we've done something special. We get from home to the grocery store, to work, or to school under our own power. The bicycle's ingenious machinery is powered solely by our own muscle and blood; By the burrito or whatever found its way into our pie hole. Did you know that cycling is at least 4 times more efficient than walking? It's also a heckuva lot more fun, and you get to cover a lot more ground in far less time.
When we bicycle with regularity and some intensity, we feel our strength growing while our appetite for cycling (and yes, food) only increases, while our physical and mental health improves in unison. We begin riding for pleasure, joining others for social rides, increasing distances, maybe bicyling rides of 20, 50, a hundred or even thousands of miles long. How great is that? It's incredibly rewarding and it is absolutely irreplaceable in the human experience.
Assist motors for bikes have their place, absolutely. As our cities become more congested, E-bikes (bicycles with assist motors) help to get more people where they need to go without relying on larger and less efficient, larger motor vehicles. Undertsandably, some folks don't have the ability to make a daily bike commute under their own power, and some will use a cargo bike with e-assist to make heavier chores like picking up groceries easier. As we age, we may need an assist motor to enable us to extend our cycling lifestyle beyond what we might otherwise have the physical ability to continue. These are all good things. I am not anti e-bike, and we're proud of our Metolius Tandem and other e-assit bikes we make here at Co-Motion.
I hope new parents will remember the thrill of learning to ride a bicycle. Don't withhold that moment from your child. Kids aren't cargo. If we treat them that way and tote them around like so much cordwood, they'll miss one of life's greatest rewards: the realization of one's own power. A tandem bicycle is a wonderful way to introduce bicycling to a child. On the back of a tandem, your child can contribute. They're part of a team, powering a bicycle together with you, achieving goals with you, accomplishing with you. You will love it, and so will your child. That's empowerment with a bonus! Parents know how much excess energy kids can have. harness that power, and give them an outlet that will also give them joy.
I am saddened when I see perfectly healthy kids riding throttle-only (Class 2) e-bikes. These are the bikes that don't require pedaling to engage the motor. They're basically just an electric motorcycle. Class 1 and Class 3 e-bikes can only engage the assist motor when the rider pedals, and the amount that the motor contributes increases when the rider's effort increases.
What are we teaching these kids who are given a throttle-only ebike? We never see them pedaling, because they don't have to. They twist the throttle and terrorize pedestrians and cyclists on the streets, sidewalks and multi-use paths. They're not getting healthier. They're not experiencing the satisfaction of getting anywhere under their own power, nor are they accomplishing anything of note.
I smile when I see families cycling together, whether it's young kids riding tandem with their parents, or the whole family on individual bikes, enjoying a cruise along a bike path, through a campground, or even crossing the country together. That's amazing and inspiring stuff.
Let's celebrate the joy of getting there, anywhere under our own power. The bicycle's unique ability to provide us a way to truly harness our own energy in the most efficient way is nothing short of amazing, and I'm happy to have built a career that lets me and our talented crew here at Co-Motion Cycles share this joy with you.
Pedal on!
Dwan Shepard
