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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

#191

Post by riversflow »

wonjohnchoi wrote: post #73
bjourne wrote: post #62

I 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 add…

>This will result in a conflict of interest.

This is accurate. I really don’t see this sort of legislation taking off. Too many special interests would be against any sort of encroachment on the car infrastructure we have. AARP would definitely fight this, and so would the oil lobby. That by itself makes it an unlikely proposition in my view.

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

#192

Post by bambax »

ouid wrote: post #55
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"

But most of the time, you're not commuting with cars, because you can take ways through woods or river beds, etc. that are open to bikes but closed to cars.

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

#193

Post by Symbiote »

ghaff wrote: post #154
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bummer, but at the same time it's hard to argue with a measure designed to save lives. If seatbelts wouldn't have been compulsory for decades I think people would have a hard time accepting them as mandatory.

I don't really care for government safety rules like these in general. And I totally get that biking is relatively safe in places were it's deeply ingrained to the culture like Amsterdam. I still cringe at least a little bit though with pics like this. (from Amsterdam) https://flic.kr/p/WRp6js

I cringe when I see obese American (and often British) children in a huge car being driven to school etc, and all of us breathing their fumes.

There's potentially more damage from that, to society.

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

#194

Post by tiew9Vii »

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…

28mph/28kmh?

Still pretty slow for full leathers which would be heavy, hot, sweaty, horrible to pedal in and a pain changing in and out of.

A full face mounting bike helmet might be a lot lighter and offer very good protection for the speeds you are travelling as designed for fast downhill riding. The thing with motorcycle helmets is they are heavy and not designed for high intensity cardio so hard to breath in doing anything slightly intensive. Motorcross style helmets have a larger chin and visor area to allow for better air flow for breathing plus vision as motorcross can be quite physical.

Also instead of full leathers if you are interested in safety the motorcycle Kevlar jeans and tops should be a little more comfortable cycling although I’d still find them not great for any physical work. Another option would be one of the motorcycle pressure suits for your torso, I think they do them for mounting biking to and offer a bit of airflow with the padding. A bit more convenient than full leathers, abrasion wouldn’t be the main issue at your speeds, it’d be impact force.

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

#195

Post by alisonatwork »

downerending wrote: post #190
diabeetusman wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I see people riding them on sidewalks, in streets, and in bike lanes Where are you suggesting that they ride?

Not on sidewalks. Pedestrians can and do change direction on a dime, and on a sidewalk, they always have the right of way. Adding high-speed (i.e., greater than five mph) vehicles to that mix is a recipe for disaster.

There are some simple rules pedestrians can follow that make commuting easier for everyone. Move at a steady pace. Don't stop or change lanes without doing a shoulder check. Look both ways before crossing the flow of traffic.

This not only makes it easier to share the sidewalk with vehicles, it also improves the flow when there are a lot of foot commuters with different walking speeds.

I live in a city where pedestrians frequently share the sidewalk with both bicycles and electric mopeds. It works because people pay attention to what's going on around them and generally work together to try keep the traffic flowing smoothly.

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

#196

Post by wffurr »

riversflow wrote: post #174
wffurr wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think weight comes into it. The primary issue the 60% of people who fall into the "interested but concerned" category cite is safety around cars. The way to fix that is with a multi-faceted approach of engineering (protected bicycle facilities, dedicated bicycle signals at intersections), education (classes for both drivers and cyclists that focus on appropriate behavior around bicycles), enforcement (focused…

60% interested but concerned is not even close to enough, there are significant entrenched views (car culture) and lobbies(AARP, Big oil) who will make this very difficult/impossible. Also how many Americans are “interested” in being fit, or following a diet to lose weight. Interest means little in the face of a routine that requires substantially more effort. And yes, riding an eBike is substantially more effort tha…

Enjoy living in a dystopian hellscape forever then I guess?

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

#197

Post by asjw »

jdavis703 wrote: post #116
tentboy wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a terrible argument it is not a one to one comparison. If you are shunted in the rear on the way to work in your car you might have a inconvenient morning and an insurance claim. If the same thing happens on your bike you could quite literally die from a head injury. I skated for a long time and didn't wear a helmet because of comfort/looks. I've become a bit more wise since and won't share the road with cars…

In my personal experience the top dangers on a bike come from the side. These are the things that happen to me at least once a week: - Driver mergers in to me too soon - Passenger or driver opens door in to my path - Driver making turn cuts me off and I have to swerve or brake suddenly - Driver does a right-hand hook across bike lane to make a right turn. In almost all these cases I’m going to be crushed by a moving…

Ironically these are the same dangers bike poses to pedestrians

And with the boom of food delivery,mostly done by bike, the situation got a lot worse

Just two hours ago a guy working for glovo merged on the sidewalk while I was trying to cross on the zebra walks and almost hit me.

He was using one hand, wasn't looking, with the other hand was speaking at the phone and didn't stop at the red light

No need to specify they are not allowed on sidewalks, but who's gonna fine them?

It happens constantly, but bikers usually think that cars are to blame, when cars usually let me cross when the light is green, they usually stop at the red light and they usually don't ride on the sidewalk

Give people bikes that can go at 30km/h and you have the recipe for a disaster

We already have regular and e-mopeds but at least they are heavy regulated and need a mandatory insurance (at least in Italy)

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

#198

Post by asjw »

carapace wrote: post #69
jdavis703 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes and there’s an analogy here between car commuters and car racers. We don’t expect “normal” car drivers to wear helmets. But professional racers absolutely wear helmets. Even in the case of commuters, a helmet could save your life in an accident. For any drivers who thinks bike commuters need helmets, I would encourage you to also get car helmets for you and your loved ones: https://www.amazon.com/RaceQuip-253116-…

If you stop a moment and think carefully, you'll realize that normal car drivers should wear helmets, and passengers too. It's just that piloting multi-ton metal vehicles at bone-shattering velocities has been normalized. It's always been insane and deadly, but there was an actual concerted effort to normalize it and that worked. I'm not even joking. "Speed demons" were replaced by "Jay walkers" and people have been…

> If you stop a moment and think carefully, you'll realize that normal car drivers should wear helmets, and passengers too.

If you stop a moment and think carefully, they already do!

it's called airbag and it's been a required safety feature for more than a decade now...

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

#199

Post by jdavis703 »

asjw wrote: post #197
jdavis703 wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my personal experience the top dangers on a bike come from the side. These are the things that happen to me at least once a week: - Driver mergers in to me too soon - Passenger or driver opens door in to my path - Driver making turn cuts me off and I have to swerve or brake suddenly - Driver does a right-hand hook across bike lane to make a right turn. In almost all these cases I’m going to be crushed by a moving…

Ironically these are the same dangers bike poses to pedestrians And with the boom of food delivery,mostly done by bike, the situation got a lot worse Just two hours ago a guy working for glovo merged on the sidewalk while I was trying to cross on the zebra walks and almost hit me. He was using one hand, wasn't looking, with the other hand was speaking at the phone and didn't stop at the red light No need to specify t…

I regularly call out bikes who don’t give the right of way to pedestrians in the crosswalk.

That said, unless someone is already frail being hit by a bike is nothing like being hit by a car. I’ve had two red-light running bicyclists crash in to me (once while biking, once while skateboarding). I’ve also been in three separate cars that got rear-ended (none of those times was I driving). The level of pain is an order of magnitude different.

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

#200

Post by tartoran »

edanm wrote: post #101
tartoran wrote: post #98

I use a Solowheel unicycle. It is perfect for me to run my errands around my neighboorhood but wouldn't use it to commute to work. The only problem so far is that they are rather on the heavy side otherwise i'd commute between public transportation and the final destination. They seem hard to ride but once you spend 10 hours on one it becomes second nature, almost easier than walking..

Have you ever tried a mini segway? That's what I use, and I'm wondering how the Solowheel compares.

The solowheel is very portable and flexible in terms of maneuvrability, though a bit heavy to carry for long distances. Because it only has one wheel you can get better angles and turn faster. It is very fun to ride and a light workout. The segway I haven’t tried one but I’ll most likely enjoy it. I’ll try one when I get the chance.
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