If you thought the horse and buggy was the end of the line for Amish transportation, think again. Across many parts of Amish country, including Iowa, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, electric bicycles are starting to show up parked next to Amish barns or quietly zipping down country roads underneath their Amish riders.
It might seem counterintuitive at first. The Amish are known for avoiding modern technology, particularly anything with a plug, a screen, or an engine. But electric bicycles are finding a niche in places where you’d expect them least. And while the rules differ from one Amish group to another, a growing number are embracing e-bikes not in spite of their culture, but in service of it.
It’s important to note that there’s no one single Amish doctrine. Each community is responsible for establishing and enforcing its own standards as it sees fit for its culture, but many of these rules tend to revolve around a common theme of not being dependent on the outside world. And that’s where electric bicycles have started to creep into some of the slightly more modern Amish communities…