61–70 of 234 posts
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When you consider e-bikes are illegal in NYC thats even more impressive
Yeah, laws about the lightweight end of the spectrum in powered transportation came into being when we were talking about noisy, polluting two-strokes. They make little sense in the context of lithium ion batteries and silent brushless DC motors.
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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.
Walking must be practically suicidal by that measure.
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.
A decent hub motor kit starts off at around $350 from a reputable vendor, you can either put on a front or rear hub motor. I've heard good things about the Golden Motor's magic pie kit (and variations) -- this is a direct drive from $325 to $375 or so, but since it is direct drive I would put it on the back wheel myself. The only front wheel conversion I would do would be a geared motor.
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?
During my daily commute from and to work I think about one in ten I pass / pass me is an electric motor supported bike. It seems that mostly elderly people are riding them, but more and more people under 50 are using them as well.
Note that e-bikes here are normal bikes with an electric motor to assist the cyclist to keep a (slightly faster than) normal pace. Personally, I dislike the e-bikes who behave like mopeds/scooters and go 30km/h or more because they're dangerous. Especially on bike path given the difference in speed between regular cyclists and these electric monsters.
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On that note, i ran into a kickstarter on one that was styled more like a motorcycle than a typical bicycle. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/782844499/the-super-73
It's pretty dangerous riding a motorcycle. And I just mean the danger from other motorists. Imagine if your motorcycle was silent. I know people raised the same concerns about electric cars back in the day, but people are far more likely to not "see" a motorcycle. Maybe mitigate with a strobe light, but I find those very distracting when I drive by a cyclist.
Everyone drives slower (~40km/h at most) and cars actively look out for motorcycles and make slow, smooth controlled changes in direction that everyone can anticipate.
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Yeah, laws about the lightweight end of the spectrum in powered transportation came into being when we were talking about noisy, polluting two-strokes. They make little sense in the context of lithium ion batteries and silent brushless DC motors.
Having these things silently blasting down the sidewalk at 20+ mph is incredibly dangerous.
Common sense wattage restrictions (I have seen 1hp or 750W as a threshold, for example, and apparently parts of Europe do 250W limits) are perfectly feasible.
Apparently federal law on imports dictates that the class of 'low-speed electric bicycles' is defined by a maximum of 750W and 20mph, which is a surprisingly appropriate envelope - about as much as you'd want out of a single-rider passenger bicycle with a heavy rider or cargo in a hilly city.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_bicycle_laws#Defined
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I don't think it would work in the US. Such models might replace the gasoline powered vespas that a small minority of people use. But a car is central to the lifestyle of most Americans: you go to work, get groceries etc. That said, the more bicycle looking ebikes... I am very tempted to get one. They can be a fun way to explore the neighborhood. But I would still need a car for commuting to work.
> But I would still need a car for commuting to work. And that sums up why the typical US mentality will continue to impede transportation progress. I can easily carry over a week's worth of groceries to cook three meals per day for two people in one trip on my motorcycle. I ride to work every day of the year in Seattle . It's kind of like, you know, living in pretty much any other country in the world where cars are…
Apologies, I don't mean to question your lifestyle. I'm merely expressing one of my biggest concerns with driving. Of course the best solution is to not have to drive so much.
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I don't think it would work in the US. Such models might replace the gasoline powered vespas that a small minority of people use. But a car is central to the lifestyle of most Americans: you go to work, get groceries etc. That said, the more bicycle looking ebikes... I am very tempted to get one. They can be a fun way to explore the neighborhood. But I would still need a car for commuting to work.
> But I would still need a car for commuting to work. And that sums up why the typical US mentality will continue to impede transportation progress. I can easily carry over a week's worth of groceries to cook three meals per day for two people in one trip on my motorcycle. I ride to work every day of the year in Seattle . It's kind of like, you know, living in pretty much any other country in the world where cars are…
I'd be fine with my commute for most of the year. Having to get to work in the winter makes a pretty good case for a car though. And unless there's a bike/motorcycle that will turn into a car for three months of the year, I'm sticking to the one that works year round.
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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.