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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

#471

Post by carlmr »

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 can cycle in to work without breaking a sweat.

This is a big one for me. Cycling into work doesn't take too much time (30 minutes), and it's good to be active. But showering at work you often need to wait, you need to bring all your clean clothes with you, and after going back you need to shower again.

It just costs too much time to cycle because of the sweating.

With e-Bikes I'm able to cycle into work slightly faster (saving a few minutes when going up hill) and I'm still fresh when I arrive.

Sure it's not as sporty, but it's something, especially compared to driving.

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

#472

Post by radu_floricica »

2-718-281-828 wrote: post #466
jimmaswell wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Street legal ebikes don't let you go any faster than a fit cyclist. They just make hills, taking off, and long rides easier.

a 60 y/o hearing impaired unexperienced cyclist riding as fast as a fit experienced cyclist - good look with that. maybe you want to overthink your argument.

The same 60 yo might use a car instead, and drive multiples of 25kph. And energy is proportional to the square of the speed, so typical ebike will have about an order of magnitude less energy than the typical car, with also an order of magnitude less mass.

Nassim Taleb made some pretty interesting points on the magnitude of a risk vs its probability. If you get a shower of pebbles thrown on your head, you'll be sore at worst. If you get the same mass thrown as one big rock... you're dead.

Same with bikes. You're much more likely to fall (you really are). But chances are, you'll not even ruin your clothes when you do, and the risk of serious injury, while of course present, is much much smaller.

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

#474

Post by tonyedgecombe »

asdff wrote: post #136
TulliusCicero wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Electric cars are rapidly approaching the point where they're actually cheaper than ICE cars, due to lower operating costs. As they scale up, they may well become cheaper up front, too.

A lot of working poor people rely on being able to do low cost maintenance themselves or bringing it to a family member or close friend with experience or a very trusted repair shop. They would never get their car serviced at the dealer given the costs. If the cost of repair is too large they sell the car for scrap and buy another bottom of market car and repeat the process. What happens for these people in the EV ag…

I think a more likely issues is the large capital cost of replacing the battery will put a floor on the affordability of EV's. Bangernomics[1] is probably on its way out.

[1] https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/used-car-buying-guides/25...

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

#475

Post by LAC-Tech »

Scroedingershat wrote: post #372
LAC-Tech wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a very easy bike commute for the kind of people who self-select as riding bicycles. General population would struggle. I used to bike commute twice that distance regularly and think that'd take me more like 25, maybe 30 now that I haven't done it for almost 2 years.

Funny thing about exercise is you get better at it, people who have had ebikes for a while (especially the ones that assist based on pedal power) tend to be less overweight and fitter for a reason. Also trikes work just fine for someone with mobility or balance problems (although a decent e trike is by no means cheap, similar up front to a second hand car). I live in a city with mediocre to poor bike infrastructure a…

> Your experience can only be due to bike hostile infrastructure or laws.

No, I'm just a person with very little natural fitness who happened to enjoy riding a bicycle.

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

#476

Post by tonyedgecombe »

DantesKite wrote: post #172

Bikes are too dangerous. Read too many stories about people breaking their face. Not a fan. But if they change the way cities are designed, it can perhaps be a bit more safe.

The evidence in the UK is that you gain more from the exercise than you lose to the risks. Not only that but there are some basic precautions you can take that minimise the risks.

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

#477

Post by Jensson »

oarabbus_ wrote: post #363
_se wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do it every day. It depends on elevation gain (so it could take much longer depending on the route) but usually I'm closer to 15 minutes than 20. 15mph on average for a daily bike commuter doesn't seem unreasonable at all to me.

You're claiming you can ride 5 miles in closer to 15 minutes than 20, and through a city?

If you commute you will mostly ride on dedicated bike lanes without many stops so you can go at full speed most of the way. I've commuted around 3 miles in a not so bike friendly city in Europe and it took about 15 minutes since there are dedicated bikeways without any traffic lights you can take most of the way.

If you commute in rush hour that is actually a lot faster than going by car, so biking is the fastest option available.

Edit: And that was at a leisurely pace, similar to the effort of walking.

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

#478

Post by jay_kyburz »

cranekam wrote: post #465
jay_kyburz wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They should ride on dedicated bike paths or the sidewalk.

Riding on the sidewalk is a terrible idea. The sidewalk is for pedestrians, not people weaving around on bikes. I'm massively pro-cycling, but bikes belong either in dedicated infrastructure or on the roads. Roads must not be monopolized by motor traffic — everyone pays for this infrastructure through taxation and it should serve everyone equally well.

I think a bike - pedestrian collision is less likely to kill somebody than a car - bike collision.

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

#479

Post by Gareth321 »

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 cycle to work now on an ebike and it's awesome. Just need to dress warm when it's cold. One catch is there's an obvious range limitation. If it takes longer than other forms of transport, people are going to choose the other forms of transport. On the other hand, as congestion in a particular area increases, that equation shifts in favour of ebikes, meaning they can be considered organic efficiency regulators of the transport system.

Another catch is safety. Forcing bikes to share the road is dangerous. Cities really need bike lanes.

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

#480

Post by Gareth321 »

enriquto wrote: post #94
TrevorJ wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It cuts both ways. I am lucky enough to live in an area with an EXTENSIVE system of mixed-use trails for bikes and pedestrians. I worry that e-bikes, which are potentially much less pedestrian-friendly, will lead to a pushback against bikes being used on these trials at all.

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…

I agree, but I prefer mixed use paths to mixed use roads. In terms of speed and safety, bikes are much closer to pedestrians than cars. It is insanity to have bikes sharing the road.
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