Biking is something that should be basically impact zero and provide you with lifelong DIY skills through simple mechanics. Get a proper bike, not a glorified scooter which will inevitably cost you a hefty fine in terms of bills, maintenance, and pollution
The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down
411–420 of 599 posts
Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down
#412Earlier quoted context omitted.
Mixed-use paths are an extremely bad idea and dangerous for everybody. I actively avoid them as a pedestrian and as a cyclist. They should all disappear. If ebikes help to accelerate the inevitable dismissal of these stupid mixed-use lanes, so good! A bike-friendly infrastructure is based on three separate networks, for pedestrians, cycles and cars. Each of the three networks must be continuous, reasonably complete a…
That's a nice ideal but it's just not realistic in most existing built up areas. There's literally not enough space for three separate networks without knocking down existing buildings and buying a lot of land through eminent domain. Let's focus on what can actually be achieved with realistic levels of funding.
A tram or two way brt lane, a dedicated bike path, a footpath, and 2 lanes of car traffic can carry 5-20x as many people as a 6 lane stroad and takes up less space.
It also costs less to maintain, kills fewer people, massively reduces healthcare costs improves the local economy and is far nicer to live next to.
There is plenty of money, most places are just directing it to yet another road widening project that will make things worse.
Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down
#413Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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 fo…
You have a point, but the Lance Armstrong wannabes make everyone miserable. In my area, they “took over” a popular bike trail and now kids and more casual people are pushed aside. It’s like dealing with serious lap swimmers.
Stand your ground or lose it to idiots, no need to let rude people take over something as universal as cycling
Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down
#414Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you think fast cycling "Lance Armstrong wannabes" are bad, wait until the trail is taken over by 30mph eBike riders that not only aren't experienced enough to ride safely at that speed, but they bolted on the eBike drive to a bike that was not intended for that speed.
30mph is often needed to keep up with cars in areas where the bike infrastructure is poor or nonexistent. If you can't maintain the speed of traffic, cars will try to pass creating a more dangerous situation for the ebike rider.
I fail to find the connection between speed and safety, especially from a completely unshielded pilot point of view. It's not a bike's job to maintain safety and traffic speed, but the opposite.
Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down
#415Earlier quoted context omitted.
5 miles is quite a distance for a bike commute. I've done about this distance for a while and I won't go back to doing it. Interestingly, the average distance the Dutch ride is about 1.2 miles per day: https://www.peopleforbikes.org/news/best-kept-secret-dutch-b...
5 miles is a very easy bike commute, not sure what you're talking about. It's about 20 minutes each way.
> 5 miles is a very easy bike commute
Having done a similar distance in the cycling capital of the world for about a year I wouldn't exactly call it "easy". I was happy to exchange it for a bus + tram combination even though it added ~15 minutes. Though I'll admit it's nice to be able to commute that distance by bike once or twice a week; but to do it day in and day out gets tiring.
Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down
#416A major problem with electric pushbikes is that they are fast . A few days ago I was pulling out of a side road. I was turning to go into town such that I had to first cross a lane of traffic going out of town. I checked the crossing lane — nothing except for a guy in work clothes, no helmet, on a push bike. I checked the other direction and it was clear. I looked back towards town and got ready to start moving and……
In Europe, the speed at which an ebike motor may assist one is limited to 25 km/h (~ 15.5 mph):
> pedal cycles with pedal assistance which are equipped with an auxiliary electric motor having
> a maximum continuous rated power of less than or equal to 250 W, where the output of the motor
> is cut off when the cyclist stops pedalling and is otherwise progressively reduced and finally
> cut off before the vehicle speed reaches 25 km/h;
-- REGULATION (EU) No 168/2013, Article 2, §2 (h)Note that while the current regulation is valid since 2016 there was a (in this regard) very similar one since 2002 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A...)
Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down
#417Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd suggest starting with bike paths to schools. Kids don't have the problems you mention, they also don't have an alternative when they want to travel independently.
A lot of Americans are morbidly afraid of their children being away from adult supervision for more than a minute. I think suggesting 10 year olds ride a bike instead of taking a car or bus might infuriate more than a few people.
I remember discussion on reddit where people literally called mom neglectful because she refused to have car.
The issue was that she and 4 years old walked 20minutes to preschool and back. That is it, 40 min total walking time was assumed to be beyond 4 years old capabilities.
Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down
#418Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
The law is there as mandate from the people. If it isn't working, or seriously inconviences a particular demographic, it can be changed. Note that cyclists have no problems with circles/roundabouts...
Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down
#419The 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…
>from people who think that cycling is a niche hobby of rich lycra-clad yuppies This has never been true, of course. As you would expect for something that costs a hundredth as much as a car, bicycling to work has always been more common among the poor: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/05/08/low-income-americans-...
Given that breakthrough is significantly more expensive e-bike, owners being too rich was unlikely to be the real issue. If more expensive tool fixes social problem, the people were more likely to be offputted by poor.
Re: The popularity of e-bikes isn’t slowing down
#420Earlier quoted context omitted.
I thought this video addressed nicely this criticism of cyclists https://youtu.be/HT_KdFCVEdc
It doesn't. The law is that they have to stop. Motorists should stop too.
The law is that nobody goes above the speed limit as well, I hope you never do that since you seem to be an absolutist on this? Because from what I've seen, 95% of cars break the speed limit. I'd even argue it's a higher percentage than bicycles who blow through stop signs.