The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down • Hacker News Board

Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down

#11

Post by monkmartinez » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 8:32 PM UTC

I just built one with recycled laptop batteries... super fun to ride. It was a shit ton of work to do the batteries right, but I learned so much. Endless-Sphere is where my build thread is...

My bike is 2004 Specialized mountain bike. Bought the motor from ebay and just bolted it on. The battery lives in a home sewn bag I made which I velcro strapped to the frame. I have gone about 35mph on it. Do not recommend super high speeds unless you are a capable bike rider.

It looks like a mad max experiment. I just wanted to ride the thing and wire management is def an afterthought. I do not ride anywhere I can't take it inside with me even though I only have about $500 into it. Too much work to risk theft.

So much fun to ride. Peeling out in dirt is thrilling on bicycle.

Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down

#12

Post by paiute » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 8:32 PM UTC

paulgb wrote: post #4

The thing that excites me most about e-bikes is that they change the politics around cycling. Proponents of efforts to make roads safer for cyclists have always gotten pushback from people who think that cycling is a niche hobby of rich lycra-clad yuppies. With e-bikes becoming more common, I know a number of people who would not have touched a bike share but are using it as a replacement for Uber/Lyft rides. People…

I love mine, I think it opens up some opportunities to work on relations with cars and pedestrians. I feel less in the way when I can maintain a better speed up hill. and on trails it's not a burden to slow down when passing pedestrians on foot. Nothing is worse than a bike whizzing by when you don't expect it. I just wish they'd remove those stupid speed limiters.

Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down

#13

Post by TulliusCicero » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 8:33 PM UTC

ahoy wrote: post #7

I can imagine a world, maybe a generation or 2 from now, where our suburbs have shrunk to a bike-accessible scale. That would really, finally, be a step in the right direction.

I don't think it would take that long, if there were the right policies. Especially if ebikes letting you go 20 mph were the norm, most suburbs aren't so low density that you couldn't have, say, bakeries or small grocery stores within biking distance. That would often require zoning changes, in addition to adding bike paths, but it wouldn't take a whole generation to get done.

Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down

#14

Post by jacquesm » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 8:34 PM UTC

darkwizard42 wrote: post #9

I wonder which mapping platform will start to improve routing for the e-bike user. I find that currently using an e-bike I don't get a very accurate ETA since the routes are calculated for regular bicycles (at least on Google Maps!). Also with an e-bike hills are no longer as large an issue as they would be to regular bikes so route decisions could be less roundabout.

Good point. Most bike map systems (even the dedicated ones, such as the Bosch Nyon) absolutely suck at the basics, taking the shortest route, keeping up with changes and so on. UI usually also is way below what's acceptable. Even a decade old TomTom does a better job.

Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down

#15

Post by jacquesm » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 8:35 PM UTC

monkmartinez wrote: post #11

I just built one with recycled laptop batteries... super fun to ride. It was a shit ton of work to do the batteries right, but I learned so much. Endless-Sphere is where my build thread is... My bike is 2004 Specialized mountain bike. Bought the motor from ebay and just bolted it on. The battery lives in a home sewn bag I made which I velcro strapped to the frame. I have gone about 35mph on it. Do not recommend super…

How much range do you have at that kind of assist level?

Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down

#16

Post by multjoy » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 8:36 PM UTC

paiute wrote: post #12

paulgb wrote: post #4

The thing that excites me most about e-bikes is that they change the politics around cycling. Proponents of efforts to make roads safer for cyclists have always gotten pushback from people who think that cycling is a niche hobby of rich lycra-clad yuppies. With e-bikes becoming more common, I know a number of people who would not have touched a bike share but are using it as a replacement for Uber/Lyft rides. People…

I love mine, I think it opens up some opportunities to work on relations with cars and pedestrians. I feel less in the way when I can maintain a better speed up hill. and on trails it's not a burden to slow down when passing pedestrians on foot. Nothing is worse than a bike whizzing by when you don't expect it. I just wish they'd remove those stupid speed limiters.

If you remove the speed limiter you are riding an electric motorcycle, which needs to be somewhere other than with pedestrians and cyclists.

Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down

#17

Post by darkwizard42 » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 8:36 PM UTC

kccqzy wrote: post #3

I really enjoyed my e-bike when I bought it in 2018 or so. The pedal assist really felt seamless: you can get to the top speed of 20mph by pedaling with as much effort as it took to get to maybe 12mph on a regular bike. Unfortunately, the bike being worth thousands of dollars, it was a prime target for theft. My bike was stolen in San Jose and I decided to replace it with a sub-$1000 regular bike.

This really is my biggest fear with owning these. I think going to and from the office is a safe one since you can park the bike indoors, but for errands or outdoor casual riding it feels too risky!

Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down

#18

Post by kevincrane » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 8:36 PM UTC

paulgb wrote: post #4

The thing that excites me most about e-bikes is that they change the politics around cycling. Proponents of efforts to make roads safer for cyclists have always gotten pushback from people who think that cycling is a niche hobby of rich lycra-clad yuppies. With e-bikes becoming more common, I know a number of people who would not have touched a bike share but are using it as a replacement for Uber/Lyft rides. People…

> Proponents of efforts to make roads safer for cyclists have always gotten pushback from people who think that cycling is a niche hobby of rich lycra-clad yuppies.

Which I think is misguided pushback btw (which I think you agree with based on the context).

I see it as a chicken and egg thing. The roads are unsafe for bikers, so the only people who bike are those who are super dedicated to it. Then when people ask for the roads to be safer, it gets pushed back as "only biking enthusiasts use the roads now".

Safer roads means more people will bike, which means biking will stop being seen as an elitist thing.

Edit: to add on, bikes are like 1-2 orders of magnitude cheaper than cars too, both in upfront and ongoing costs also. It’s super unfortunate that it still gets the stereotype as a “rich white people” activity when it’s really so much more financially accessible than a car.

Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down

#19

Post by jacquesm » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 8:37 PM UTC

paiute wrote: post #12

paulgb wrote: post #4

The thing that excites me most about e-bikes is that they change the politics around cycling. Proponents of efforts to make roads safer for cyclists have always gotten pushback from people who think that cycling is a niche hobby of rich lycra-clad yuppies. With e-bikes becoming more common, I know a number of people who would not have touched a bike share but are using it as a replacement for Uber/Lyft rides. People…

I love mine, I think it opens up some opportunities to work on relations with cars and pedestrians. I feel less in the way when I can maintain a better speed up hill. and on trails it's not a burden to slow down when passing pedestrians on foot. Nothing is worse than a bike whizzing by when you don't expect it. I just wish they'd remove those stupid speed limiters.

Those speed limiters are indeed stupid, especially because on a 'regular' bike you can fairly easily outrun a normal e-bike (though probably not for as long unless you are in very good shape). Normal ones should be limited at 35 or so and speed-pedelecs at 50 Kph so you don't end up holding up other traffic. Where I live a speed-pedelec has to be in traffic but it isn't allowed to go as fast as that traffic, which creates all kinds of dangers.

Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down

#20

Post by jacquesm » Mon, Nov 08, 2021, 8:38 PM UTC

multjoy wrote: post #16

paiute wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love mine, I think it opens up some opportunities to work on relations with cars and pedestrians. I feel less in the way when I can maintain a better speed up hill. and on trails it's not a burden to slow down when passing pedestrians on foot. Nothing is worse than a bike whizzing by when you don't expect it. I just wish they'd remove those stupid speed limiters.

If you remove the speed limiter you are riding an electric motorcycle, which needs to be somewhere other than with pedestrians and cyclists.

That depends on the conditions. If you adapt to the conditions then that would be fine, if you don't then even at normal e-bike speeds you are a danger. I never got why we have 200 Mph cars but a moped that can go 30 over the legal limit gets confiscated.