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The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down

nytimes.com

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

#61

Post by acomjean »

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.

My cousin tried the really cheap bike route. I think a little over $100. Lamentably it didn't matter, it was still stolen.

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

#62

Post by hectormalot »

Robotbeat wrote: post #37
zwieback wrote: post #26

I'm a year-round non-e-bike commuter in Oregon. I love e-bikes but until you can ride without getting soaked it'll be successful only part of the year in most of the US. We need something between the e-bike and golf-cart style EVs to fill the gap, some kind of sophisticated fairing or a 3 wheel format that isn't super dorky.

Right. A lot of times you see 3 wheel vehicles instead of 4 for regulatory reasons. That’s silly. I agree it’d be super awesome to get car-like protection from rain and wind, better stability than a bike, but maintaining the very low mass (and therefore low inertia and low pedestrian risk) & low cost & low footprint & high efficiency of bikes.

I see these around the city: https://www.estrima.com/en/models/biro-winter/

approximately 360kg, so def not as light as a bike, but not incredibly heavy either. 100km range.

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

#63

Post by paiute »

multjoy wrote: post #38
zip1234 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except in many places pedestrians and cyclists have no choice but to share the road with cars and I don't see too many people clamoring for speed limiters on those...

If you remove the limiter and pedal assist requirement, you have an electric motorcycle. If you want one of those, then you'll need to be licensed to ride one. Do you want an e-bike you can ride like a bicycle, or do you want an e-bike you can ride like a motorcycle?

only because we have brain dead laws on e bikes. why not 24.5 mph? I see actual electric motorcycles on our bike paths all the time, I have never seen them cause a real problem. People on normal bikes cause all the problems because they have so much invested in their current speed.

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

#64

Post by clairity »

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'd personally like to see two policy changes (especially in a city like LA that's perfect year-round for biking):

1. convert curbside parking into dedicated and protected bike lanes (not everywhere, but extensively)

2. require bike parking (preferably covered and right next to entrances/foot traffic) and liability requirements anywhere that has a (car) parking lot

this would put biking on par with cars and would encourage businesses to reorganize around mixed traffic, rather than car only.

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

#65

Post by parineum »

kevincrane wrote: post #35
parineum wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I support the efforts to make cities more friendly to cyclist traffic but the increased popularity of both ebikes and electric scooters in downtown areas has made life as a pedestrian and a motorist stressful, especially around closing time. All the things that annoy me about cyclists (running stop signs when driving in the street and driving on the sidewalk are my two biggest annoyances) have gotten worse. Cycling a…

Most bikers only use the sidewalk when the road infrastructure as-is isn’t safe enough for bikers. And I fully agree that there are a lot of bad bikers, but a bad biker is a nuisance to a driver while a bad driver is a potential fatality to a biker.

> Most bikers only use the sidewalk when the road infrastructure as-is isn’t safe enough for bikers.

You have to see how this is a completely selfish position right?

The road is dangerous for cyclists so cyclists make the sidewalk dangerous for pedestrians. Sure there's a difference in degree but that's not a justification.

> And I fully agree that there are a lot of bad bikers, but a bad biker is a nuisance to a driver while a bad driver is a potential fatality to a biker.

To me, the "bad cyclist" is generally creating havoc on both the sidewalk and the street, alternating between street, sidewalk, crosswalks, alleys, etc. as it's convenient. This is really what I'm referring to when I said "especially at closing time". Those people are creating a dangerous environment for even safe drivers who may either hit them or get in an accident avoiding them.

I don't often find the hobbyist biker doing things like that which are dangerous to themselves except treating stop signs like yields.

I'm not nearly as concerned about the hobbyist as I am about the guy who thinks driving his ebike home from the bar is a great way to get home without drinking and driving. And that is definitely happening, especially with electric scooters.

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

#66

Post by Robotbeat »

hectormalot wrote: post #62
Robotbeat wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. A lot of times you see 3 wheel vehicles instead of 4 for regulatory reasons. That’s silly. I agree it’d be super awesome to get car-like protection from rain and wind, better stability than a bike, but maintaining the very low mass (and therefore low inertia and low pedestrian risk) & low cost & low footprint & high efficiency of bikes.

I see these around the city: https://www.estrima.com/en/models/biro-winter/ approximately 360kg, so def not as light as a bike, but not incredibly heavy either. 100km range.

Too heavy to allow driving in the bike lane, IMHO. Needs to be a weight, speed, and footprint limit. But the number of wheels shouldn’t matter, regulation-wise.

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

#67

Post by parineum »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #55
parineum wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I support the efforts to make cities more friendly to cyclist traffic but the increased popularity of both ebikes and electric scooters in downtown areas has made life as a pedestrian and a motorist stressful, especially around closing time. All the things that annoy me about cyclists (running stop signs when driving in the street and driving on the sidewalk are my two biggest annoyances) have gotten worse. Cycling a…

That's generally because of terrible infrastructure. Lanes designed for cars are everywhere. Most cities, sidewalks are just about everywhere. What percentage of streets have physically separated lanes for biking, the way we have them for walking? Bikes don't fit well with pedestrians or cars, and painted bike lanes are a joke -- imagine if you replaced every sidewalk with "painted walk lanes". In places where there…

You're not going to get any push back from me that bike lanes aren't plentiful or especially safe. The push back you get from me is that "the streets are dangerous" isn't an excuse to make sidewalks dangerous.

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

#68

Post by bch »

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…

> people who think that cycling is a niche hobby of rich lycra-clad yuppies

I don’t know who “those people” are, or what regional politics are at play, but that doesn’t pass my “smell test”. How about deploying “think about the children” here for something that increases exercise and happiness, mobility, fosters growth… it’s not even contentious with respect to (e.g.) civil liberties.

I suspect the answer is people just don’t care. Especially once they’re behind the wheel of an automobile, electric or otherwise.

(Edit: expand/clarify suggested benefits)

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

#69

Post by parineum »

pcwalton wrote: post #45
parineum wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I support the efforts to make cities more friendly to cyclist traffic but the increased popularity of both ebikes and electric scooters in downtown areas has made life as a pedestrian and a motorist stressful, especially around closing time. All the things that annoy me about cyclists (running stop signs when driving in the street and driving on the sidewalk are my two biggest annoyances) have gotten worse. Cycling a…

Regarding running stop signs, "Why Bicyclists Hate Stop Signs" is an important read: https://nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Fajans-J.-and-M...

I've ridden a bicycle before, I don't need this explained to me. Unfortunately for cyclists (including me), it being more strenuous to obey the law isn't an excuse to not obey it.

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

#70

Post by notacoward »

notatoad wrote: post #44
notacoward wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they change the politics around cycling While I agree with e-bikes being a generally good thing, I also think they involve a lot of secondary consequences and we still need to figure out the best solutions. For example, having more e-bikes on the already overcrowded bike path near where I live is becoming a disaster . There had already been enough problems with mismatched speeds, impatience on all sides, etc. There…

this is exactly the politics around cycling that need to change. cyclists have been asking for better infrastructure for decades, and been told to go play in traffic because we're a weird niche interest group who can be ignored. we need better infrastructure for non-car transportation. the short-term hell is simply more people experiencing what most cyclists are already used to.

> the short-term hell is simply more people experiencing what most cyclists are already used to.

Did you miss the part where the cyclists are the ones inflicting that hell on others sometimes? Cyclists haven't been the only ones demanding better non-automotive infrastructure. I've supported the local path with both my dollars and the sweat of my brow, only to have freeloading cyclists tell me that they have priority (exactly opposite to how the laws are written) and I should get out of their way. One political change that needs to happen is that cyclists need to stop looking down their noses at other non-automotive users. When cyclists stop treating pedestrians exactly the same way they complain about being treated by cars, maybe greater cooperation will be possible. Nobody likes the smell of hypocrisy.

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