OK, buckaroos: I left off last time saying that the e-bike is the future of cycling, not just a funky niche bike as I first thought. But I had to get out of my stretchy pants to see it.

Here is what happened.

I tried riding a Cannondale Quick Neo the same way I do my usual commuter. But I came home feeling a wee bit frustrated by its lack of top-end speed due to a 20mph speed governor.

Later that afternoon, I got the call to meet a buddy over at Puritan for a pint. Instead of trading the flip-flops for clip-ins and adding some padding to my shorts like I regularly do, I just jumped on the bike as is and covered the 2.5 miles over the hills to Dickson. With a fully-loaded backpack. In 80-degree heat, plus high humidity. And I arrived without breaking a sweat.

This is what the electronic bike is made for.

It isn’t a road bike, or even a hybrid; it is an altogether different beast, closer to an eco-friendly Greenway (legal) scooter than it is to a traditional bike. It’s perfect for the majority of the population who will never use a bike for basic transportation or, as most of the readers of this website do, as a machine for physical, mental and spiritual help.

The e-bike will transform transportation as we know it. I predict it will get a critical mass of people out of their cars. If transportation engineers are smart, they will frantically start redesigning our basic urban infrastructure to accommodate all the various designs and models of the e-bike that are sure to be in demand in coming years.

This is the bike of the future, and it is for everyone. It allows even the most nonathletic, sweat-averse, comfort-loving commuter to get out on the trail. It is the bike for the masses.

Make no mistake: If you love the smell of spandex, are addicted to STRAVA and feel incomplete unless you are soaked in sweat, you won’t get this bike. It’s not for you anyway.

The e-bike suits the majority of the world.

You, my friend, are the niche.

Click here to read Adventures with Electricity (Part 1)