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E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need

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Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need

#51

Post by cmclaughlin »

nkingsy wrote: post #6

I ebike 20 miles for work every day and live it. I don’t use my ebike for small errands because it’s too easy to just rip expensive stuff off of it while locked up. Also, the picture shows a rider with no helmet which is insane. I wear a motorcycle helmet and leathers. The speed limit for ebikes on roads in CA is 28, which is deadly with even a normal bike helmet. Finally the article says that the new models are ligh…

I converted a nice traditional steel frame bike to with an e-bike kit. I would not really recommend that route - especially not if you’re hauling around a kid or gear like me. I was blowing through brake pads every 3-6 months and for most people it’s probably best to buy a nice e-bike that’s well built and tailored to the task.

Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need

#52

Post by magicalhippo »

wongarsu wrote: post #23
sp332 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are Belgians really doing 28 MPH on a regular basis?

I think ebikes are limited to 25km/h (15mph) across the EU. That's a speed a commuter might reach on a regular bike on flat terrain, the motor just helps making it effortless and terrain-independent. It's still advisable to wear a helmet since cars drive faster than that.

I commute to work with my regular, non-e bicycle, sharing the road with cars. I wouldn't dream of not wearing a helmet, even at "just" 25 km/h, though for most of my commute I keep speeds above that (up to 50km/h).

Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need

#53

Post by sitkack »

underbluewaters wrote: post #50

I've been commuting using a class-1 (limited to 20 mph) e-bike around Santa Barbara, CA for the last year and it is a dream. Far better experience than I expected. It won't work in all cities but if you have reasonable bike lanes switching over from a car can have many benefits. 1. Cost. Sure it's a high initial outlay (3k) but I'm not paying for insurance, gas, parking, and auto loan payments. 2. Faster. I can hop o…

I have been using a used RadPower [1] bike for the last 1.5 years in Seattle. I now drive the car less than [1] https://www.radpowerbikes.com/

Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need

#54

Post by SubuSS »

I am all for E-Bikes, they put the relatively unused bike lanes to good use from what I see: Awesome stuff.

I do suggest some bike handling skills and helmet for anyone who tries though: You're still on a bike fully exposed to the world. Only now you're doing 25mph down a trail beset by jaywalking peds and lane jumping cars.

Do some high speed stops / slick road training - learn how to handle bad situations. Ride safe and wave at us on manpowered models :)

Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need

#55

Post by ouid »

underbluewaters wrote: post #50

I've been commuting using a class-1 (limited to 20 mph) e-bike around Santa Barbara, CA for the last year and it is a dream. Far better experience than I expected. It won't work in all cities but if you have reasonable bike lanes switching over from a car can have many benefits. 1. Cost. Sure it's a high initial outlay (3k) but I'm not paying for insurance, gas, parking, and auto loan payments. 2. Faster. I can hop o…

If you're commuting with cars, there is no sense in which the air you are breathing is "fresh"

Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need

#56

Post by retrovm »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #35
retrovm wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Helmets are for sports. Ebikes have a ~50% market share in Belgium where approximately nobody wears a helmet ever. It's really not an issue.

Helmets are for any activity that has an impact risk to your head which includes cycling not just sports. I live in Austria where few cyclists wear helmets yet my girlfriend who works in the local hospital sees patients coming in with serious head injuries on a daily basis from biking accidents that could have easily been prevented by wearing a helmet. Since then we both wear our helmets religiously. You don't even h…

I hate that HN is a place where the ignorant simply flaunt their ignorance instead of trying to inform themselves.

"According to the Velofollies survey as well as other sources last year’s [2018] e-bike sales stood at slightly over a quarter million units; some 251,500 to be more precise. This accounts for a big 14.3 percent growth compared to the total of the year before. It makes electric bicycles by far the biggest category of the Belgian market with a market share that stands at close to 50 percent."

https://www.bike-eu.com/sales-trends/nieuws/2019/07/market-r...

Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need

#57

Post by jsinai »

I’ve started using Uber’s Jump bikes in London to avoid changing tubes (sometimes this is possible) and the experience is revelatory. Cycling on the road by e-bike is quieter, easier and more effortless compared to changing tubes at a busy junction. For my journey the time is also identical. The benefits of course include getting fresher air and exercise (e-bikes still require your own energy)

Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need

#58

Post by retrovm »

Japhy_Ryder wrote: post #33
retrovm wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're welcome to wear whatever you want while riding your illegal whatever-you-call-it. Don't scold the rest of us.

You seem very defensive in your position of advocating people be less safe on their bikes. Quite odd. Anyway, good day. "There is good evidence that bicycle helmets are effective in reducing head and facial injury in the event of a crash [...]" [0] 0. Ivers R. Systematic reviews of bicycle helmet research. Inj Prev. 2007;13(3):190. doi:10.1136/ip.2007.015966 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2598379/

The evidence in favor of wearing a helmet while in a car is just as strong, but nobody is up here advocating for that.

By the way, helmets on bicyclists tend to make car drivers behave like even bigger jackholes than usual. https://psyarxiv.com/nxw2k "... public health research might be best served by shifting focus to risk elimination rather than harm mitigation."

Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need

#59

Post by ChuckNorris89 »

retrovm wrote: post #56
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Helmets are for any activity that has an impact risk to your head which includes cycling not just sports. I live in Austria where few cyclists wear helmets yet my girlfriend who works in the local hospital sees patients coming in with serious head injuries on a daily basis from biking accidents that could have easily been prevented by wearing a helmet. Since then we both wear our helmets religiously. You don't even h…

I hate that HN is a place where the ignorant simply flaunt their ignorance instead of trying to inform themselves. "According to the Velofollies survey as well as other sources last year’s [2018] e-bike sales stood at slightly over a quarter million units; some 251,500 to be more precise. This accounts for a big 14.3 percent growth compared to the total of the year before. It makes electric bicycles by far the bigges…

According to your source that's 50% share of new bike sales in 2018, not market share of all bikes in Belgium. Not the same thing.

Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need

#60

Post by Retric »

cmclaughlin wrote: post #51
nkingsy wrote: post #6

I ebike 20 miles for work every day and live it. I don’t use my ebike for small errands because it’s too easy to just rip expensive stuff off of it while locked up. Also, the picture shows a rider with no helmet which is insane. I wear a motorcycle helmet and leathers. The speed limit for ebikes on roads in CA is 28, which is deadly with even a normal bike helmet. Finally the article says that the new models are ligh…

I converted a nice traditional steel frame bike to with an e-bike kit. I would not really recommend that route - especially not if you’re hauling around a kid or gear like me. I was blowing through brake pads every 3-6 months and for most people it’s probably best to buy a nice e-bike that’s well built and tailored to the task.

That’s a question of riding habits not the conversion. Treat em like a bike with assist up hills and the breaks last just as long as a normal bike. Treat it like a moped with lots of hard braking and you want quality disk brakes as part of your conversion.

Saying that I stick at the low end. 50W - 150W is still very noticeable assistance, but still mostly a bike. 500+W is really a very different category.

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