Just wanted to point out the "GeoOrbital" wheel. It's an all-in-one battery-motor-wheel that can replace the front wheel of most conventional bikes in a minute or two. Presto! New eBike.
(Hmm, I can't reach their site at the moment.)
E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need
71–80 of 244 posts
Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need
#72Hmm. For my part, as a frequent bicycle rider, I really hate e-bikes. The reason is that it feels like I have much, much less control over speed.
Especially in situations where there's a lot of traffic or when for safety purposes one needs to ride slowly (e.g., in a shared-use space where there are also pedestrians around, like a college campus or something), being able to bike slowly is really nice.
On a real bike, I can bike slowly just by gearing down and pedaling very slowly. But on an e-bike, any pedaling at all makes it zip forward. I find that, frankly, terrifying, like I'm about to plow into cars or objects all the time, or I'm just riding the brakes.
Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need
#73I truly believe e-bikes will be the future of transportation. What's holding them back is dumb legislation. In EU, they are limited to 25 km/h top speed and 250 W motors, which is not enough for everybody. Legislators think that if they are allowed to become more powerful then more people will die in accidents. True, but cars kill even more people so why don't we ban them? For fit people in good weather, 250 W is ple…
I also would love to see more safe ways to ride bikes, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.
"Dump legistration" is the way it is as increasing the power and speed limits with inadequate infrastructure can significantly increase risk for pedestrians and bike riders, likely more than risk posed by cars.
Most places already have adequate infrastructure for cars to be safe enough.
Infrastructure changes such as adding more ebike only lanes need to come first, and this will cost a lot and even infeasible without first reducing the number of car lanes. This will result in conflict of interest between car owners and people who want to introduce such infrastructure changes.
Conflict of interest can only be resolved by politics, and it will take a long time for politics to work out as changing people's perception generally takes a long time.
Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need
#74Not really. You still have the same issues normal bikes have; all ebikes do is give power assist and more or less fill the same niche a gas or electric moped does, for the same price as a gas or electric moped.
You still have no real cargo capacity, you can't transport passengers, you are exposed to the elements, and more. While the power assist is of considerable benefit, it puts the price of the bike up immensely; many are the prices of a used motorcycle or scooter.
I feel its much better to get a 4 cycle scooter or motorcycle for that; if i'm spending 3k plus on a bike, getting one that can actually do traffic or be on roads is a plus. Yes there is licensing, but ebikes will fall under your states moped laws anyways and may require having an actual drivers license instead of a motorcycle endorsement.
Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need
#75I ride a motorcycle to work almost everyday (today's 47 degree ride was a bit brisk) and i have to say, drivers don't look out for bikes, and this is a major city (San Antonio). My big issues with motorized bicycles are lanes to ride and rules of the road. I see people riding them on sidewalks, in streets, and in bike lanes. It is almost like people on motorcycles who ride in the break down lane or lane split (both o…
The answer should be protected bike lanes and separated bike paths/trails. But, US cities generally have very few of those, preferring to skimp by just using strips of paint.
Hence the situation you end up with here: some go into the meager bike lanes, some feel more comfortable taking the lane, and some feel safer on protected walk lanes, aka sidewalks.
Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need
#76I think e-bikes will be very successful, but you have to get the product into the people's hands. It's hard to know what an e-bike is like until you try it. They are so fun, and getting fresh air will almost certainly make you more happy. But trying to convince people of that without putting them on an e-bike is kind of hard.
Agreed, especially given the 2-4K you have to plonk down on some of these things. They sound great, but I haven't yet used them. The money thing is a barrier, and I'm a one-car family looking for options.
For that kind of money, you're buying a pretty solid scooter or a cheap car. Nevermind if you want a cargo bike or Bakfiets. Having the infrastructure / city planning to make this worthwhile is definitely an important second part. I'm not going to park a $4K bike just anywhere.
Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need
#77Hmm. For my part, as a frequent bicycle rider, I really hate e-bikes. The reason is that it feels like I have much, much less control over speed. Especially in situations where there's a lot of traffic or when for safety purposes one needs to ride slowly (e.g., in a shared-use space where there are also pedestrians around, like a college campus or something), being able to bike slowly is really nice. On a real bike,…
I think you haven’t used a good ebike. I have a ebike with the shimano steps motor. I’ve been riding it almost a year commuting, and it’s very sublte and natural the way it adds power to my pedaling. There is a torque sensor and pedal speed sensor that makes all this happen.
I switch to my steel frame street/mountain bike without power assist and it just feels like I’m riding a heavier bike (which it isn’t)
Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Please go find out the definition of "market share".
Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need
#79I truly believe e-bikes will be the future of transportation. What's holding them back is dumb legislation. In EU, they are limited to 25 km/h top speed and 250 W motors, which is not enough for everybody. Legislators think that if they are allowed to become more powerful then more people will die in accidents. True, but cars kill even more people so why don't we ban them? For fit people in good weather, 250 W is ple…
If e-bikes are the future of transportation why dont people just get a vespa?
Re: E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need
#80A while ago, I was seriously considering buying a bike (A regular one, 110 CC). I didn't because there's no way in hell my partner will let me ride it for the main purpose that I wanted to buy it for, take our 6 yo to school (as I wanted to buy it mainly for that, as riding a bike is much faster in the city where I live, Buenos Aires). I just went to the site where I do all my purchases, and that same bike is at the…
How about cargo bikes, also sometimes called Christiania bikes: https://www.christianiabikes.com/uk/category/models/ ? I've seen people transport kids in them, their lower center of gravity make it safer for the kids.
They even have e-models..