Hot take - Gravel has a longer history in the Tour de France than mountains.
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Gravel is too random how will we cope
Stephan Kung: “Oh yes, we have changed up to much wider tyres, we are running 28c now”
Honestly the only issue I had with the gravel stage was that it was a little too flat to really allow a good fight and the course could have been managed a bit better to prevent some of the Muur de Hoy-esque bullshit where the back half of the peloton just had to stop still. Strada is the perfect example of a great modern road/gravel race.
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Shoot, no hot take, it’s the damn truth
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And therefore the wrong thread 
Leave gravel to the Americans, le Tour is ultimate road cycling.
Class 2 ebikes (those which are throttle assisted rather than pedal assisted) should be classified as mopeds and not bikes and shouldn’t be allowed on bike/pedestrian pathways and mtb/hiking trails.
Might not be unpopular here but certainly would be in my town where these are starting to take over (and imo ruin) the multi-use trails in my area
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To be honest I think all ebikes should be classified as mopeds even the “pedal assisted” which are often modified to go much faster but also the boomers on their e-bikes are often just dangerous because they cannot handle the speed
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Motorised vehicles shouldn’t be on cycle paths or shared use paths, I don’t care if the motor is petrol or electric.
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Yeah, the modification to increase the assist speed is a problem around here. We have a 40+ mile paved trail that connects the greater area. The posted speed limit is 15 mph (which to be fair a lot of people exceed at times). This morning on my commute to work with my kids in the cargo bike I had a lady go flying by on her ebike at 25-30 mph…with no helmet…only half holding on to the bars with one hand since she was holding her phone…and with earbuds in…not bothering to do a single pedal stroke…going down the middle of the trail and weaving a bit. and by the looks of her she definitely could have benefited from pedaling a bit
On the Washington side of the trail they’ll actually have LEO’s on the trail once in a while ticketing people for going too fast which I think helps keep people in check. Kinda wish they did it here on the Idaho side in the busier sections of trail. I do worry that some kid trying to learn to ride their bike on the safety of the trail is going to get pummeled by an ebiker who is going to fast for their own good
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It doesn’t seem that unpopular when a key manufacturer agree Three-Class eBike System
Class 2 may not be suitable for singletrack mountainbike trails — it has been shown that they pose greater physical damage to trails due to the throttle-actuation. Class 2 may be better suited for multi-use OHV trails designed for more rugged off-road vehicles.
It sounds like the greivances here are with illegal use and enforcement.
To be honest, would be quite happy to see the same Class system adopted in the UK.
which is why in my post I said…
The drama of a grand tour extends far beyond the (rarely-close) GC battle.
From reddit,
Even when the GC is set (and it usually is by week two), there are battles for Green, the Polk a dot, individual stages, top 10 positions. If all else fails, Steve Porino is having fun.
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To liven it up, I’d give the leaders of each team a time handicap equivalent to how much they led by in the final classification the previous year.
CdA and Post Falls?
We get a few e-bike folks ripping along the trail on the WA side from time to time. I’m on the trail a few days a week when I commute to work. Never see them on the morning ride, but it gets busy in the afternoon (when it’s not 100 degrees out).
I know we’re supposed to be welcoming, and I always am but…I had a couple of folks on e-bikes pass me while going up a short incline. The older gentleman gave me a funny look (I’m trying to show grace) and said something like “racer types should be faster”. Which I thought was funny on multiple fronts; 1. I’m no racer. 2. I’m fat. 3. I was riding home from work after a 9 hour day. 4. I’m obese, lol about 240lbs right now. 5. He had A MOTOR.
I will say that most e-Bike folks are just out enjoying the ride along the river like me, but this guy seemed to be upset just based on how I was dressed. Which is a weird thing for a gown man to comment about.
I know sometimes there are complaints about emtb-bikes doing some damage out on the trails around here, but not too much…so far.
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Some people aren’t happy unless they are constantly sharing their misery with everyone they encounter. Not worth a second thought.
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For me this is the biggest problem with e-bkes. Handling a bike at speed requires skill. I commute on an e-bike (I live on top of a hill and like to go to the grocery store on my bike) and will rip on it when there’s no one around me. But I’m not going faster than I do on my road bike, and my e-bike has MTB tires, not 25mm slicks.
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My dad has one of those big tank ebikes and having ridden it a few times, I think I agree. The thing can rip to 25mph within a few seconds and can stay there for an hour+ without any pedaling. My takeaway when I last rode it was that the pedals are just a distraction from the fact that they are just slower motorcycles. I consider myself to be a pretty good mountain biker and it felt pretty sketchy to control for me. I mean the thing is 85 lb. Considering I only see really old people riding them, they seem pretty dangerous.
(mid drive pedal assist ebikes still seem sweet to me though)
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All classes of e-bikes should be on paths, trails, and roads. More of us will make it safer for all of us. Electric scooters too!
Joe
Cap e-bike assist at 15 mph. Problem solved.
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I think e-bikes are already restricted to a certain speed.
However there is a big after market in derestricting the control chip so there is no speed limit.
So manufacturers can legally sell a restricted bike, and then the user changes the controller.
At least here the e-bikes have the max speed restriction of 25 kmh, meaning that it will not assist the ride after that speed. But as already mentioned, you can frequently see e-bikes going much faster than that.