Quote:
Originally Posted by iheartthed
They aren't bikes if there is a motor attached. Bikes are purely mechanical.
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That's not true. There's no official or authoritative demarcation criteria that specifies assist devices are excluded in the term.
When I did a search for "bike definition" just now, these were the first definitions that came up (bold emphasis added by me):
Wikipedia: A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered
or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A bicycle rider is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Wordnik.com: A vehicle consisting of a light frame mounted on two wire-spoked wheels one behind the other and having a seat, handlebars for steering, brakes, and two pedals
or a small motor by which it is driven.
Dictionary.com: a vehicle with two wheels in tandem,
usually propelled by pedals connected to the rear wheel by a chain, and having handlebars for steering and a saddlelike seat.
But of course dictionaries track how words are used rather than determining how they should be used. They regularly add words and update definitions in response to changes in language as all languages and the word definitions within it evolve over time. Not surprisingly the newer, more online-focused sources, include assisted devices on the definitions, while older legacy dictionaries are more likely to just mention pedal power since the popularity of ebikes is a fairly recent phenomenon.