111–120 of 339 posts
How steep of a hill can you get up with these things? My street is pretty hilly and I would hate to shell out for a cool device that I have to lug the last two blocks to my house.
Here in the UK they are illegal (unless used on private land), which is sad as whilst they are illegal as technically a motor vehicle, needing some form of test, insurance, mot.... That has not happened and in limbo as clearly a need for some standards control etc, but an unwillingness to address that and more so a periodic fashion stopping of people upon such vehicles in an apathetic way that causes many to get one,…
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I use a bike to get around SF the majority of the time as well. But lately I've been switching it up and using a skateboard for short trips. Riding the bike definitely isn't 'impractical', but the skateboard is so much less of a hassle. You don't have to bother carrying a lock (or walk to the corner to find the nearest pole to lock it to for that matter). And, don't tell my Mom, but not fiddling with a helmet and lig…
rejoinder to the helmet point: if the speed is the same, and the places traveled are the same, the need for the helmet is the same.
I recently bought a Boosted rev and have been using it for my 1.8 miles commute. I strongly disagree with the author's 15mph limit. I think 25 mph is a more reasonable limit, otherwise you have cars aggressively trying to pass you on roads. At 24 mph (my scooters max speed), the cars on my commute (25mph speed limit), still try to pass me sometimes but it's a lot safer.
I can’t imagine doing 25mph on such small wheels, one small pothole and you will be off.
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It's possible you'd have to change some of your patterns to ever make something other than a car work. E.g. leave some of your stuff at your workplace, grocery shop more often with smaller loads. Etc. Bicycles can also carry quite a bit with a nice box on the back, and electric pedal assist cargo bikes can carry even more.
I wonder where the cost savings (and carbon savings) would really wash out with those lifestyle changes though. Like not shopping in bulk, having to spend both the time and travel to the grocery store more. Having to have some things duplicated at work and home which I otherwise wouldn't. Presumably many people evade carrying stuff home from the store by having everything delivered by Amazon, but that brings a whole…
When I was in Seattle I had a Safeway two blocks away and a Trader Joe’s three away. Very walkable distance, so I didn’t keep more than a few days worth of stuff in the kitchen as a rule; walking for six minutes each way is really not a hassle at all.
Now I’m about a mile from a Rouse’s and a Winn Dixie here in New Orleans. Sucks to walk. Super nice to bike though, especially since I can do most of it on the Greenway instead of fighting cars. It’s about twenty minutes to walk, which kinda sucks in the hot sun, but it’s a 7-9 minute bike ride in a pleasant breeze. I usually take the slightly longer route as it’s down the Parkway and the Greenway instead of fighting for space with cars. Maybe it’s a couple more minutes if I wanna count unlocking the back shed and taking the bike around to the road, then locking the bike up a minute away from the store entrance. I keep the load down to what fits in the milk crate on the back of the bike, and go at about the same schedule I did for walking: 2-3 times a week. It’d be less if I actually cooked instead of mostly eating pre-packaged crap.
How much time does it take for you to drive to your suburban market? Including getting the car started, finding a parking spot, and walking across the parking lot? How often do you go? Plus I get some light exercise without ever really thinking about it.
Here in the UK they are illegal (unless used on private land), which is sad as whilst they are illegal as technically a motor vehicle, needing some form of test, insurance, mot.... That has not happened and in limbo as clearly a need for some standards control etc, but an unwillingness to address that and more so a periodic fashion stopping of people upon such vehicles in an apathetic way that causes many to get one,…
I agree that it’s sad that e-scooters are banned in the UK. I take the train to work and I have ~20mins of waking either end (1 hr 20 mins per day total). An electric scooter could save me ~40 mins per day.... Why are electric scooters banned when e-bikes are fine? What if they were capped at 20mph? Below the 25 for bikes
EBikes and scooters are hands down the best solution to London's pollution issue yet people are getting fined for using them.
There is a complete lack of logic in the rulings. The reason why escooters are illegal whereas EBikes are not: throttle. An ebike with a throttle is technically not legal and in the same boat as an escooter.
This distinction is ridiculous as an ecyclist/scooterist with a throttle is safer than someone going the same speed under their own effort.
The law in the UK should be: - throttle is allowed - fine if not wearing proper safety equipment - Speed limit increased to 25 mph or current vehicle speed limit (e.g 20 near schools) - no power limit (this allows heavier people to go the same speed as others, and it allows heavier cargo-type bikes to be much more useful) - Innovate UK/BEIS grants specifically for electric micromobility projects (right now EBikes and scooters are generally barred from these grant competitions)
I recently bought a Boosted rev and have been using it for my 1.8 miles commute. I strongly disagree with the author's 15mph limit. I think 25 mph is a more reasonable limit, otherwise you have cars aggressively trying to pass you on roads. At 24 mph (my scooters max speed), the cars on my commute (25mph speed limit), still try to pass me sometimes but it's a lot safer.
25 mph if you wear a helmet, register your vehice, get mandatory insurance and a driver's license or a drivng legislation certificate. Otherwise no. E-bikes are assisted up to 25 mph, why would e-scooters be any different? At least in Europe, if you have an e-bike that is assisted up to 25 mph or over 250 Wh continous rated power, you have to register it as a moped, wear s helmet, get insurance, pay vehicle ownership…
Yes, you can concoct scenarios where a scooter/bike triggers a crash by doing something unexpected/illegal such that another vehicle swerves. But these are rare circumstances, particularly in contrast with automobile collisions which nearly always involve damage to vehicles or property. Even at 25, 30, or even 40mph, how much damage is a scooter or e-bike capable of doing?
Bicycle licensing has been requested and studied so many times in Toronto that they actually have a page on their website about why it isn't done: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-tra...
As a suburban dweller who doesn't go into the city much, it's still surreal to hear so many stories about the electric scooter craze, to know its happening thirty or forty miles away... And I've literally never seen it. I do feel its a good companion to public transit in theory, though it still lacks everything I want from you know, just having a car: Somewhere to put stuff. I never commute light enough to live off a…
This is a great point. I see people bringing up lots of questions and concerns about these devices, but it's missing a critical point: these were designed with specific use cases in mind. They are only useful for people in cities to go short distances. And within that scope, they are an excellent addition to other transportation options. What you mention is actually what I want to build next: micro-mobility for large…
Have you considered an electric bike plus some kind of trailer, or an electric cargo bike? Or even an electric trike.
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It's become somewhat popular in the US, despite the US having no cities with good bike infrastructure. Convenience is a hell of a drug. The way I see it, this increased uptake could help drive greater investment in bike lanes and walkability. Politically, it's always easier to spend money on things people already do than on things they might do if you spent enough.
Ideally, we'd have carless urban centers, with only buses, light rail, and small vehicles (bikes and scooters) allowed in a certain radius. This would allow greater density in the downtown area, eliminate most pollution, and promote general health, yet for some reason, nobody seems to propose it. It could even be coupled with free mass transportation in that region, since costs for running such a service would likely…
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This exactly: bikes require planning and strategy and are not good for improvisational day-to-day things like you described. Bikes make walking easier but all other forms of travel like bus, train or taxi/uber/cars more difficult or impossible.
> bikes require planning and strategy What? I don't plan or strategize any more or less than someone getting in a car might think about the optimal rush hour route.