Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next? • Hacker News Board

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

#191

Post by _ph_ » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 11:58 AM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #181

_ph_ wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And how many combustion engined cars crank at -40c without pre-heating? But indeed, there are a few places and uses where electrical cars are not the best solution. That does not mean, that in 90% of places and applications they are already a more environmental friendly alternative.

>> And how many combustion engined cars crank at -40c without pre-heating? Plenty of them. In the last couple decades cold starts have really progressed. I think it's the developments in oil/lubricants that cling to metal surfaces. And the tighter tolerances that mean oils don't drain out of idle engines.

Plenty is not all - and interestingly, the nordic countries in Europe do have commonly electrical outlets at parking places. To preheat the engines. Luckily, this comes handy for the electrical cars too, as they can charge/preheat at those outlets.

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

#192

Post by mrigor » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 12:04 PM UTC

sk5t wrote: post #144

rckclmbr wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stromer ST2

Do these really sell for $6K+? I'd love to have an electric assist option for my 30 mi round trip, but the cost is a tough pill to swallow... $3K I'd do in a minute.

Bafang BBS is a nice alternative. Goes on the crank shaft and converts most bikes to electric. More powerful than Stromer for fraction of the cost...

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

#193

Post by jawngee » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 12:06 PM UTC

ScottBurson wrote: post #167

jawngee wrote: post #88

I drive an electric motorbike/scooter in Saigon. It's bigger than the ones this article is talking about; 6 batteries, 1800 watts, 80km/h top speed, 100km distance. It's been great except for what it's doing to my electric bill and the fact the batteries are lead acid. Hoping to convert to LiPo in a couple of months. To charge it, I have to bring it in the elevator of my building which is fine though it is the size o…

1800 watts isn't nearly enough to do 80km/h. Maybe 60km/h, tops. Power goes as the cube of speed, so 80 takes more than 4 times as much power as 60. Of course, your speedometer could be lying to you.

We tested it with a car and another motorbike.

It can only do that on a full charge and the bike shakes a bit too much for comfort. But traffic in Saigon rarely goes above 30km/h anyways. When I have free charge of the road, I average about 55km/h.

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

#194

Post by huxley » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 12:09 PM UTC

Kadin wrote: post #123

URSpider94 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A co-worker of mine is an e-bike fanatic who builds his own hardware. He has street bikes that will go up to 40 mph. (He also does a massive trail ride on his regular MTB almost every morning, and road bikes on the weekends). Once or twice, he did the commute into work using Strava as his speedo ... needless to say, he got some fairly negative feedback when he accidentally claimed the KOM (king of the mountain) on a…

> He has street bikes that will go up to 40 mph. In my state that's a motorcycle, and illegal to ride on the street without a license plate and insurance. It'll be the same way most everywhere soon, I expect.

Federally in Canada, the upper limit seems to be 500W and 32km/h in Canada.

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

#195

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 12:14 PM UTC

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…

[deleted]

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

#196

Post by randallsquared » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 1:18 PM UTC

aoloe wrote: post #172

randallsquared wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are three people in my household. Between us, we drink 30-40 (depending on the week) 2L bottles of soda a week, as well as a couple of 12-packs of soda cans, maybe an 8-pack of gatorade/powerade, and 15-20 half liter bottles of water. Food is not the largest part of what we bring back from the store. There are a lot of opportunities lost when you can't carry more than, well, you can personally carry. The "white…

What you are describing is 100% the contrary of my daily life and of what I aspire to become in the future. No wonder that I am more than happy with a good bicycle and a yearly ticket for all public transportation in my country. Of course, I don't own a car. I drink tap water, no "white cheddar mac & cheese" but as many fresh vegetables / meet / cheese as possible (ok, and lot of pasta). If I want to go to Paris, Fra…

I don't disagree that there are lots of places in which a car is less practical, and where there are a lot of services which make up for that, at least mostly.

I have lived without a car for periods of my life, and done a lot more walking, and scheduled my life around public transit time. A Thursday afternoon train of thought upon being asked if I want to go to an event with work friends in 2009 in DC might have gone like: Hm, it looks like the last line back leaves station B at 12:30AM, and so to connect with that I could take the yellow to B from A at 11:55PM... no, that one arrives at B at 12:20, so if it's a little late I won't be able to get on the 12:30 from B... let's see, the next earlier leaves at 12:05AM, and if I get on the train at A at 11:30PM then I'll still have only 10 minutes leeway, but I can just take the 12:30AM train if I miss the 12:05AM. I need to get to B a little early because when I was there late last year they'd locked one entrance at 10PM and I might have to walk a few more blocks to the other side. So, best case I leave the event to walk to station B at 11:00PM and arrive home about 12:30AM... the event starts at 10PM, so an hour and a half of transit to spend an hour there and miss the second half... "Hey, everyone; I'm just gonna head out. You guys have fun, though."

Automated shared cars will probably completely change this. As long as I can walk out of my house and get in a vehicle and go exactly where I want to go without waiting, considering schedules, making connections, or stressing constantly until I'm safely on the last one about missing a connection and being late, I don't care about whether I am taking "public transit" or my own car.

At least we have the pasta in common. ;)

You probably do not want to go to Delaware at all; it was the first place that came to mind because I went there recently, and Florida (which apparently you do know...) is about the same distance south. I should have used Orlando / Disney World and Philadelphia, perhaps, for better name recognition.

> No 4K screen, no mini-fridges, no king size bed, no cold walls...

Well, my point was more separation than temperature... :)

> It gets to the point where I wonder if owning a car or not shapes your life in such different way or different choices in life makes you own a car (or not)...

I would argue that both are true. In many places one could live, a car is an enormous asset. In places without good infrastructure or with very high costs, a car might well be more trouble than it's worth. But owning a car will give options which weren't available before, so in that sense it shapes your life as well.

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

#197

Post by driverdan » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 1:27 PM UTC

contingencies wrote: post #115

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…

That's not a particularly common design. The common designs are heavier looking, eg: http://119.10.46.20:9999/images/T1uxEvBXDT1RXrhCrK.jpg ... the lighter designs have less batteries and haul a lot less. Note the metal bar around the weak plastic housing, this protects it against falls and accidents. Notice also the fold-out passenger foot-rests. The seat opens to reveal covered storage space: many people use this t…

That doesn't seem to have pedals. It looks like an electric scooter, not an electric bike.

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

#198

Post by driverdan » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 1:30 PM UTC

digi_owl wrote: post #58

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…

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

They claim it's street legal but it is not. The federal motor limit is 750W.

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

#199

Post by driverdan » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 1:32 PM UTC

randallsquared wrote: post #159

Rumudiez wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

There are three people in my household. Between us, we drink 30-40 (depending on the week) 2L bottles of soda a week, as well as a couple of 12-packs of soda cans, maybe an 8-pack of gatorade/powerade, and 15-20 half liter bottles of water. Food is not the largest part of what we bring back from the store. There are a lot of opportunities lost when you can't carry more than, well, you can personally carry. The "white…

> we drink 30-40 (depending on the week) 2L bottles of soda a week, as well as a couple of 12-packs of soda cans, maybe an 8-pack of gatorade/powerade, and 15-20 half liter bottles of water

WTF?? That's a very unhealthy amount of sugar. Why would you buy bottled water?

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

#200

Post by galdosdi » Sat, Jun 04, 2016, 1:37 PM UTC

tln wrote: post #5

yolesaber wrote: post #3

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.

When you consider e-bikes are illegal in NYC thats even more impressive

Not as much as you'd think. NYC is (by USA standards) notoriously law-ignoring, both in the sense of people ignoring rules and of law enforcers not bothering to enforce them -- ESPECIALLY any rules or laws related to traffic.

(This isn't a good thing. A poorly enforced law is a great vector for discrimination.)