Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 234 posts

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

#101

Post by dmoy »

Cerium wrote: post #34
URSpider94 wrote: post #16

The e-bike situation in China is very different from the US. These are people who are moving UP from human-powered bikes, or walking, to their first vehicle -- not buying them so that they can leave their car at home and feel the wind in their hair. Here's a photo of a very typical Chinese e-bike: http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00zsrEyYQIYOqo/Chinese-El... As you can see, it has a second seat in the back for a pa…

How people charge them depends on where they live and where they work. People who live in the modern pencil thin 30 story buildings you see on the news simply ride them into the elevator. Since they are electric and Chinese buildings usually have tile hallways (or bare concrete) this causes no problems. The shorter 6 story buildings do not have elevators, so people who live in these simply hang a cord out their windo…

Yup, and now you see public service announcement thingies encouraging people to not hang wires out the window because it's a hazard.

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

#102

Post by brianwawok »

HNaTTY wrote: post #70
alrs wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're motorcycles, they are already forbidden.

It varies slightly by state, but many places you can have up to 750-1000 watts and up to 20mph unassisted on flat ground and still have a bicycle, meaning no license or insurance requirement. You'll typically pedal close to 20mph on flat ground. I find these limits to be reasonable.

Well bikes are a little bit self limiting which helps. Me an average biker can do 20 mph for a while. Buddies who race can cruise 24, 25mph all day. But they also have really good reflexes.

Normal guy first day on the bike and 75 pound overweight? He does about 12mph. Throw him on an ebike and he can do 30mph or more (depends on the speed regulator).

Overall I am very split on ebikes. Love seeing more guys on bikes. The more bikes, the more cars expect them, the more bike friendly laws, etc. On the other hand, biking is pretty cool. ebiking is more like motorcycling.

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

#103

Post by jean_claude »

doctorpangloss wrote: post #11

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…

What's your source on the claim that bicycling is 7x more dangerous than driving a car?

Most sources put it around 2.5x more dangerous than driving, and I'd wager most of those deaths come from inexperienced riders who don't know the traffic laws as applied to bicyclists.

Fatalities Per Mile

Motor Vehicle Travel.................... Bicycle Travel

42,000 killed........................... 813 killed

2.56 trillion miles..................... 21 billion miles

0.016 fatalities per million miles...... 0.039 fatalities per million miles

Data from Traffic Safety Facts 1997 and The Environmental Benefits of Cycling and Walking

Pulled from http://www.bellboycott.com/cached/www.kenkifer.com/bikepages...

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

#104

Post by icebraining »

MrTonyD wrote: post #90
websitescenes wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Access is explicitly allowed in my region. I'm not going to stop riding because some cyclists are worried. If the law changes, I'll have to reconsider my position.

I remember my college theology class - we discussed how laws are often created in an effort to reflect and communicate community values. I find it interesting that someone would insist that laws are more important than the values being communicated by their "neighbors". If anything, I would think such feedback is a more valid expression of community values.

websitescenes did write that only cyclists are bothered, so the values being communicated by the community at large don't seem to conflict with the law.

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

#105

Post by Gibbon1 »

DigitalJack wrote: post #74
DigitalJack wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Really like to hear the rationale for downvotes, just because it's surprising to me.

People downvote stuff when they dislike the implications of something even if it's true, actually especially if it's true.

As to your point, a friend of mine has an electric motorcycle. He said that it's silent is scary because in traffic cars don't notice he's there. He has to always be on guard for people merging into his lane.

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

#107

Post by icebraining »

ams6110 wrote: post #31
totally wrote: 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'…

If you're male, consider that long-term bike riding can cause infertility, erectile dysfunction, and prostate problems esp. depending on the saddle you use.

The science still doesn't seem clear - for example, a recent study in the UK (presumably the largest ever) showed no evidence of increased infertility: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/jomh.2014.0012

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

#108

Post by kgermino »

doctorpangloss wrote: post #11

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…

Conversely, I am pretty much subsidized by other people's vehicles.

Where are you getting that from? Car specific taxes generally don't even come close to paying for roads, especially the roads bicycles are likely to be using. In the US its actually far more likely that you're subsidizing them than the other way around.

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

#109

Post by analog31 »

dingaling wrote: post #82
cb18 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just get some smooth tread tires that will be better for pavement travel. 2.2 miles takes about 40 minutes to walk. On a bike and mostly flat terrain, 10-15 minutes max. Unless the commute is a steeply graded 2.2 mile slope the motor seems overkill and providing little if any benefit to travel time or enjoyment. Wouldn't you rather get to work with a little endorphin rush? Maybe ride the route first after work or on…

Indeed knobbly tyres and MTB-style frames are one of the worst things to have happened to non-leisure cycling in the UK. People buy a cheap MTB from Halfords, use it casually a few times out with the kids and then try commuting on it perhaps as part of a Cycling Week. After a couple of attempts it goes back into the garage. Outside Oxford and Cambridge, traditional road-going non-racing frames are quite rare.

In the US, folks buy older, non-suspension mountain bikes, and convert them to commuting use by adding street tires and whatever other accessories they desire (rack, fenders, etc.). The result is a fairly comfortable, utilitarian bike, that's not a theft magnet.

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

#110

Post by seanmcdirmid »

URSpider94 wrote: post #16

The e-bike situation in China is very different from the US. These are people who are moving UP from human-powered bikes, or walking, to their first vehicle -- not buying them so that they can leave their car at home and feel the wind in their hair. Here's a photo of a very typical Chinese e-bike: http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00zsrEyYQIYOqo/Chinese-El... As you can see, it has a second seat in the back for a pa…

> I'm curious how people charge and store these vehicles, since most people in Chinese cities live in multi-story dwellings -- I guess they must lug the batteries upstairs with them at night?

Yep, you carry the battery up to your apartment each night, or just take your bike up. I really wonder how people with those Tesla Model S's I'm seeing all around manage, since parking is so difficult and its usually on the street.

Post reply on HN