Live data from Hacker News

Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

bloomberg.com

41–50 of 234 posts

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#41

Delivery guys use these all the time in NYC and I'm seeing more and more folks riding on them, even fellas in bizness suits. I'd say they've arrived.

The delivery guys definitely- for a while now. Haven't seen that many suits on them. I'm interested what do people in the Netherlands think of them?

They're getting popular.

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/03/electric-bikes...

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Long time cyclist and bike shop owner here. I recently put an electric hub motor on an old DH bike and have been riding local trails. I have to admit, I did not expect the push back that I have received from cyclists. I get trolled, called names and targeted all because I like to ride my ebike on the trails. Funny thing is, nobody else seems to care. Only other cyclists.

Those other cyclists will be the ones who will loose access to the trails. After two difficult decades of finding a balance between hikers and bikers on the trails these new breed of trail ebiker destroy the hard found compromise. As sooner as ebikes are forbidden on trails as better.

They're motorcycles, they are already forbidden.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#44
post #25

Daily (manual) biker here (~70 miles per week). These ebikes are a clever hack. In China they skirt motorcycle laws. In the US they can make use of bike paths. You can make good time and your commute is generally the same duration regardless of traffic. At least, that's true in Silicon Valley. Last I checked (a few years ago) pedaling the ebikes is like pedaling a tank. Batteries and motors a heavy bike make. So you'…

I see a ton of these every time I'm out on my bike commuting here in the valley. My first reaction is "how the eff is that guy riding so fast" then I realize he MUST have an assist because it's a more casual looking rider on a more upright style bike, he's still pedaling but just FLYING.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#45
post #25

Daily (manual) biker here (~70 miles per week). These ebikes are a clever hack. In China they skirt motorcycle laws. In the US they can make use of bike paths. You can make good time and your commute is generally the same duration regardless of traffic. At least, that's true in Silicon Valley. Last I checked (a few years ago) pedaling the ebikes is like pedaling a tank. Batteries and motors a heavy bike make. So you'…

[deleted]

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#46

Does anybody know of a good, complete, ebike conversion kit for an older trek mountain bike? I have a 4.4 mile round trip commute but I don't really want to spend $1000+ , plus I'm pretty diy.

Mr Money Mustache recently posted a writeup for a conversion for about $1000. I think you could do the same conversion for less if you source your kit and battery cheaper- these same kits sell for less on ebay.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2016/05/25/recipe-for-a-badas...

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#47

A: No. Why? 1. Hardcore cyclists are elitists in the US and will hate it and make life miserable for the e-bikers. 2. Non-cyclists will do dumb things in them like ride on the sidewalk. 3. Many state laws require registration and plates for these things.

1) That is changing, as the hard core cyclists begin to realize that more bikes on the road period means more demand for proper cycling infrastructure (or at least have roads that aren't bicycle hostile -- give me more than an inch beyond the white line).

2) As it gets more popular, hopefully more education will happen. In many cases, you have a seldom used sidewalk that runs for miles next to a bicycle hostile road. Is that a sidewalk or a multi-use path?

3) State laws are catching up -- see the new classification system that California passed (different regulations based on pedal assist vs. throttle, max speed, power, etc). They seem to have struck a decent balance.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#48
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those other cyclists will be the ones who will loose access to the trails. After two difficult decades of finding a balance between hikers and bikers on the trails these new breed of trail ebiker destroy the hard found compromise. As sooner as ebikes are forbidden on trails as better.

They're motorcycles, they are already forbidden.

In europe they are still allowed everywhere if they are constructed as a pedelec with a top speed restriction.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#49
post #8
post #4

They are also increasingly common in Copenhagen. Both regular style bikes and three-wheeled cargo bikes.

Interesting. Besides the bike. I've read reports that Norway and Denmark want to ban gas and diesel cars by 2025. http://www.renewablesinternational.net/will-norway-ban-gas-d... What do you think about this?

I think you may see a rise in the number of "work" vehicles if the ban passes, just like people in the UK buy "industrial" incandescent light bulbs.

I also think that a critical point, use will take off, and safety will go up.

I think that when someone rides a bike they become much more aware of cyclists, so getting more people on bikes makes them safer from vehicle drivers.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#50
post #28

eBikes are sincerely a great alternative to cars for me. I've been using an electric bike (Stromer ST1) for about 3 years now in LA and Boston. It makes perfect sense for these cities. The total cost of ownership is way below a car, due to the low cost of Uber, other people with cars, insurance and gas. In high traffic and hard parking cities like LA and Boston, I get to my destination faster. And though a bicycle is…

Only 7x dangerous? I assumed it was like 100x... Is that 7x incidents or serious injury? It would also be interesting to see it expressed in hours rather than miles.

I would also guess it is much higher than 7x on a per-mile basis.
Post reply on HN