E-bikes could be the electric revolution cities need • Hacker News Board

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

#231

Post by riversflow » Sun, Jan 05, 2020, 12:25 AM UTC

wffurr wrote: post #196

riversflow wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

?

I think cars are fine, probably one of the greatest aspects of the modern human experience. I think all this “cars are horrible” talk is just edgy millennials who are now parents, worried about their out of control and highly distracted children. They’ve got their life in a situation that they can do without a car and as a result think that everyone else should do without too.

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

#232

Post by riversflow » Sun, Jan 05, 2020, 12:33 AM UTC

meej wrote: post #229

riversflow wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice! I just don’t think you fully appreciate how privileged your position is. Giving up car ownership is extremely privileged. You have a good, salaried job, with I’m assuming flexible and encouraging employers. You have enough money for therapy and urban rent (and Blazers tickets!) and enough free time to bike everywhere, and I’m guessing decent health insurance to boot. You also are completely devoid of responsibi…

While I agree that I am privileged, I disagree that biking, particularly to work, is. The data bears this out: https://www.vox.com/2014/7/9/5883823/its-not-just-hipsters-o... Some of your arguments ring true for traditional bikes but I think they are less true for e-bikes. They're faster, so you don't need enough free time to bike everywhere, you need 20 minutes instead of 15, and it's often much easier to find parki…

I guess what i mean to say is that bicycling to work and enjoying it is privileged. Alternatively, bicycling to work by choice rather than necessity is privileged. I think the data supports that.

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

#233

Post by sitkack » Sun, Jan 05, 2020, 6:56 AM UTC

sitkack wrote: post #53

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/

> The batteries should be standardized so that refurbishment and recycling can be done en masse.

To clarify, ebike batteries across manufacturers should be standardized.

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

#234

Post by atoav » Sun, Jan 05, 2020, 7:34 AM UTC

IshKebab wrote: post #230

atoav wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lazy people won’t take an ebike unless all the infrastructure favours cyclists and everything else is worse. Ebikes are cool for older people tho: I know a guy who has one and he told me, since he has it he hardly uses anything else. His incentive was to be able to cycle normally, but take the electric aid when there is a steep hill or when he gets tired. I think this is a much more realistic use case: people who rea…

> The real lazy ones you descripe will take the subway, the train or the car if they can afford it. In most cities there is no subway or train. And cars have significant downsides in cities even if you can afford them - you have to deal with traffic and parking, and you have to take the car with you - no one-way journeys. Why do you think electric scooters are popular?

> Why do you think electric scooters are popular?

Are they really? Where I live the numbers dropped as soon as the summer ended and where I saw at least ten people a day I didn’t saw a single one in two weeks even when the weather was nice.

However the plural of annecdote is not data — do you happen to know any data on that?

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

#235

Post by unicornporn » Sun, Jan 05, 2020, 12:49 PM UTC

bagacrap wrote: post #228

unicornporn wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get an electric Brompton?

I've looked into folding electrics so I could take one on the BART. Many of them are too small if you're 6' or more, and the others seem like a PITA to actually portage anywhere like up stairs. Even if you can get one into your workplace though that doesn't solve the problem for anywhere else you might go, like a restaurant. And if you're only concerned about work I would hope to Ja that your employer has secure bicy…

> Many of them are too small if you're 6' or more

That's what the telescopic seatpost is for. "550mm but will extend up to 710mm so suits taller riders up to approximately 6'6" or 1.98m."[1]

Working on the saddle to handlebar drop is another thing. But the H-Type handlebar with the 60mm higher stem will likely solve that.

Of course you can bring your folded Brompton to a restaurant. Leave it in the wardrobe! :)

[1] https://www.brompton.com/brompton-swe/uk-store/parts/essenti...

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

#236

Post by wffurr » Sun, Jan 05, 2020, 1:26 PM UTC

riversflow wrote: post #231

wffurr wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Enjoy living in a dystopian hellscape forever then I guess?

? I think cars are fine, probably one of the greatest aspects of the modern human experience. I think all this “cars are horrible” talk is just edgy millennials who are now parents, worried about their out of control and highly distracted children. They’ve got their life in a situation that they can do without a car and as a result think that everyone else should do without too.

Wow, that's one way to look at 30,000 dead per year in the US alone. Sure, I am "just" worried about the number one cause of death for children 3 and up.

To say nothing of the costs car culture forces on individuals, the climate, the economy, etc.

Your "greatest aspect of the modern human experience" entails an enormous amount of human suffering too, you just choose not to see it or acknowledge it.

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

#237

Post by carapace » Sun, Jan 05, 2020, 7:03 PM UTC

asjw wrote: post #198

carapace wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

Good point. :-)

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

#238

Post by asdff » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 2:15 AM UTC

alisonatwork wrote: post #222

asdff wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sort of rule of thumb works fine with an abled bodied sober and alert adult, but throw in someone with a disability, an elderly person, a toddler, and suddenly it makes far more sense to have the bike/moped on the road and just offer the gutter at the very least for a bike lane. A road bike can kill a toddler.

Usually the way it works here is if a rider sees a kid or older person then they will slow down to walking pace and only pass when it's safe. Pedestrians still have right of way, after all. I am not against dedicated roads for bikes (although depending on the city's density, they can just end up as a second sidewalk), but I also think it shouldn't be treated as a prerequisite for developing a bike culture.

Again, the honor rule isn't a great rule for people. Most people are reasonable but we regulate for those that aren't. In my experience by shared bike/walking baths, if I see a cyclist in spandex riding a carbon fiber bike at 25mph, I barrel out of the way because they won't slow down, they will hit me, then they will blame me for being in the way of the bike.

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

#239

Post by tiew9Vii » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 11:49 AM UTC

steelframe wrote: post #205

tiew9Vii wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> Still pretty slow for full leathers When you're hit by a motorist and slide to a stop on asphalt, there's really no such thing as overkill when it comes to road rash protection. Speaking from personal experience.

I’ve had road rash from wearing regular denim jeans, scrubbed it with a stiff brush to clean which is the only way so know how it feels.

Kelvar should be sufficient for abrasion at 28km/h, it’s used in motorcycle gear where you go much faster. Also gear with 1000d ballistic nylon in the abrasion zones, same deal used for motorcycle clothing.

I’ve had a few offs 60-80+ kmph wearing textile gear on unsealed roads, dirt tracks etc and textiles have stood up well, just picked myself up and the bike and jumped back on.

Cycling on the road impact will be a far bigger issue than abrasion.

I can’t imagine cycling in leather, they are designed to be tight fitting, cut for sitting in a fairly static position, hot and sweaty. Leathers are not comfortable in hot weather on a motorcycle, I just can’t imagine having to pedal wearing them or doing anything physical.

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

#240

Post by siffland » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 2:30 PM UTC

valtism wrote: post #152

siffland wrote: post #18

I 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…

>We already had/have a HUGE problem with the escooters, people getting run down by kids on the sidewalks and riding them in traffic downtown. How much of a huge problem is that that you have seen personally? I personally have found that everyone loves to complain about them, but I never find much evidence of people being run down by them (in what I've seen)

I have personally almost hit people riding in the middle of he road on multiple occasions (mostly near the convention center area). On the weekends i will drive around the downtown area wasting time and gas to now avoid that situation.

My wife drives for lyft and spends a considerable amount of time downtown and has almost had accidents with people riding escooters in the street, to the point we engaged our insurance agent and asked about liability (we were assured if hit in the middle of the road and not in a bike lane, crossing lane or sidewalk we would bee free of liability and she now has 3 cameras in her vehicle).

An last year at PAX south in downtown SA I was walking on the sidewalk and hearing people yelling to move because they were having all sorts of fun chasing each other and almost running people down.

So I am not complaining to complain. I assume you live in San Antonio and are downtown quite a bit? People leave them everywhere, they fall over in the streets, you cannot say you don't see this.