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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

#421

Post by ajuc »

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…

> 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.

Is this even a thing outside of USA? Nobody thinks that where I live, and it's not a particularly bike-friendly country like Netherlands, just average EU country.

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

#422

Post by ericmcer »

_se wrote: post #270
fnord77 wrote: post #265

Earlier 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.

On a quiet flat road 5 miles is a pleasant cruise, through a hilly busy city even 1-2 miles can be a huge pain.

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

#423

Post by snovv_crash »

mulmen wrote: post #246

I like that e-bikes are getting more people on two-wheeled transportation. I dislike that people are effectively riding motorcycles on dedicated bike paths. I especially dislike that companies get to profit from cluttering public spaces with bicycle and scooter litter. My hope is that long-term we get the e-bikes into the street where they belong and combine that with traffic calming measures to make scooter commutin…

> I especially dislike that companies get to profit from cluttering public spaces with bicycle and scooter litter.

Then you must hate on-street parking and parking lots.

I think the speed and power limits of ebikes are actually pretty reasonable. A fit cyclist can go faster on the flats, and I don't just mean a pro, anybody young and healthy who cycles a few times a week should be able to manage it.

Bikes should have their own transport spaces, not sharing with cars. Cars should be limited access from many areas. And pedestrians should be as mindful of bikes as they are of cars.

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

#424

Post by watwut »

Scroedingershat wrote: post #399
dan-robertson wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I mostly disagree. But this probably depends on the definition of cyclist. If these path users are lycra-clad individuals trying to go as fast as they can and desperately trying not to lose momentum, the experience will be poor. Similarly if you have e-bike users who are basically taking silent mopeds down a trail and swerving between people things won’t go well. But if it’s someone who is not obsessed with s…

Mixed use paths as seen in parks are for dogs, pedestrians, children cyclists and beginners. They are not and should not be for commuting except maybe as a last mile connection, because commuters are moving at about 15-20km/h if they want to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time. As soon as they get busy there are so many conflict points that accidents are inevitable. Calling them bike infrastructure is like ca…

I don't think this is true. The mixed use paths are pretty good start. People use them for commute. The special bike lane is more expensive and ideal step, but not necessary.

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

#425

Post by tlamponi »

mulmen wrote: post #263
danny_codes wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as they're speed-limited to conventional biking speed I don't think this is much of a problem. E-bikes have similar mass to normal bikes so the forces are basically the same.

They aren't limited to conventional biking speed. The rental bikes are close but they're still significantly faster than any human-powered vehicle on the bike path. A buddy of mine bought a Super73 which has speed limiting modes but operates purely on the honor system. In the "unlimited" mode it can do 28mph, without pedaling. In the "limited" mode it can still do 20, which is faster than most people are capable of f…

> They aren't limited to conventional biking speed.

Partially repeating my comment from another sub-thread here:

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)
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CEL...

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...)

There are faster pedelecs, but those need to be registered and have insurance, same as any lightweight motorbike needs to have since like ever, most common are the ones <= 50cc as those are allowed with 14 or 16 years of age, and those are not allowed on bike-only roads or lanes.

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

#426

Post by watwut »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #287
nradov wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

"That's a nice ideal but it's just not realistic in most existing built up areas. There's literally not enough space" There was not enough space for cars, we tore down entire neighbourhoods and blasted through bedrock to create highways. There is not enough money to fund a moon program or fix climate change, but when time came to bail out the banks, if you stacked that money as 1-dollar bills it would reach the moon.…

> There was not enough space for cars, we tore down entire neighbourhoods and blasted through bedrock to create highways.

The prioritization back then was that "those people" don't matter. That is how those were build.

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

#427

Post by foepys »

osigurdson wrote: post #402

I am amazed by what they have been able to do with e-mountain bikes. The battery and motor are barely discernible anymore. Not for me as I prefer to pedal but impressive nonetheless. https://www.specialized.com/ca/en/s-works-turbo-kenevo-sl/p/...

Meanwhile forest rangers and other land owners are extremely angry because now even more people carve lines into delicate forest grounds. Even in places the mountain bikers couldn't have reached before.

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

#428

Post by snovv_crash »

blunte wrote: post #268

Not a criticism of e-bikes, but I discovered an unexpected danger related to e-bikes which was much less an issue with traditional bikes: when driving a car, it's now much more difficult to judge how much time you need to pass a bike. I would say without hyperbole that it's much more dangerous now, to the cars and the bikes. I currently live in a Dutch village, so bikes and cars share rather narrow roads. The roads a…

If you're used to (slow, heavy) Dutch style bikes, 12-15 km/h is reasonable. However any "road" bike (rather than commuter bike) can easily go 25+km/h on flat ground. 45km/h is not unusual of for racers.

Of course, these are easier to spot than ebikes...

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

#429

Post by dirtyid »

I'd be more open to $1000+ bikes if there's better anti-theft system/mechanism. Some sort of registered biometric/id/rfid find my bike system that makes stealing bikes unprofitable and recovery easier. Expensive bikes are just too much of a PIA to own, especially in a large city.

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

#430

Post by legerdemain »

jay_kyburz wrote: post #375
burkaman wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you think people under the age of 16 should get around? For some examples, if they want to go to a friend's house a mile or two away, or from their home to a train station, or to the supermarket.

They should ride on dedicated bike paths or the sidewalk.

Erm... where I am in the US (Bay Area), many neighborhoods have neither. Just a rain gutter on the side of the road and no sidewalk.
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