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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

#541

Post by hytdstd »

jay_kyburz wrote: post #382
hytdstd wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think that?

Because I think the road is dangerous place to be. I think we all accept that drivers should understand the road rules, have a license to drive, and should be more than 16-17 to do it. I think its weird that we would let children of any age, with no knowledge of road rules ride a bike around in traffic. In my small city, it's legal for kids to ride bikes on the footpaths, but in most of Australia its is not. I think…

I don't think the risk to yourself is the reason why operating a motor vehicle is a licensed activity.

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

#542

Post by radu_floricica »

2-718-281-828 wrote: post #526
radu_floricica wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

or even fly a plane? or operate a nuclear plant? we're talking here about cycling on bicycle lanes.

Most people don't fly planes to go buy cigarettes. Are you sure you're ok? I'd suggest a snickers :)

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

#543

Post by camkego »

Is anyone else concerned about ebike fire risk? EBike fires in NYC have doubled since last year. https://www.consumerreports.org/electric-bikes/how-to-preven...

"E-bike ownership has skyrocketed in New York since the pandemic began, and with it, e-bike fires, according to the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). There have been 75 e-bike fires so far this year, which is on pace to double last year’s total, officials said. The fires have caused 72 injuries and three deaths."

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

#544

Post by watwut »

fouc wrote: post #525
watwut wrote: post #520

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The separated lane is just too expensive while there are just a few bikers. If people start using bikes on mixed purpose roads too much, building them after makes sense. But while you are just in the process of promoting the whole cycle thing and there are not that many people, building dedicated tracks does not make much sense. This was the case in our city for quite long time. There was no massive negative sentimen…

It's not really expensive, since you're mainly re-drawing lines on the road, removing a lane for cars (or reducing parking area) and adding a lane for e-bikes. The bonus is that it encourages more e-bike use and reduces vehicle pressure.

Our city don't have all that many parking places. I do like riding bikes, but I would be really against reducing of parking area.

It is already difficult to have a car near house where you live here.

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

#545

Post by enriquto »

watwut wrote: post #544
fouc wrote: post #525

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not really expensive, since you're mainly re-drawing lines on the road, removing a lane for cars (or reducing parking area) and adding a lane for e-bikes. The bonus is that it encourages more e-bike use and reduces vehicle pressure.

Our city don't have all that many parking places. I do like riding bikes, but I would be really against reducing of parking area. It is already difficult to have a car near house where you live here.

So, you cannot afford enough space to store your stuff (your car, which besides having an impractically huge size is a major ecological burden) and you want that your city allocates premium street space just for you. Then you say cyclists ask too much. This over the top attitude would even be cute if it wasn't sadly so common.

You complain that bike lanes are not used "enough", but a single parked car forces a whole lane to have a throughput of 0 commuters per hour. A bike lane that gets a single cyclist per hour is infinitely more efficient!

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

#546

Post by Cycl0ps »

camkego wrote: post #543

Is anyone else concerned about ebike fire risk? EBike fires in NYC have doubled since last year. https://www.consumerreports.org/electric-bikes/how-to-preven... "E-bike ownership has skyrocketed in New York since the pandemic began, and with it, e-bike fires, according to the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). There have been 75 e-bike fires so far this year, which is on pace to double last year’s total, officials…

I remember a similar spike when the "hoverboard" became big. I assumed back then the cause was cheap batteries turned out fast enough to meet demand, is the same thing happening here?

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

#547

Post by AutumnCurtain »

scintill76 wrote: post #144
AutumnCurtain wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Texas "rolling coal" case shows you can attempt to murder a group of cyclists and face no legal repercussions if you are in the right political climate.

This one? https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/transpor... Charges were just filed.

Yes, thankfully the DA stepped in after the local PD tried to squash it.

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

#548

Post by liveoneggs »

mcny wrote: post #434
richiebful1 wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn't generalize to most cities though. In my Rust Belt city, the government has put a lot of effort into making cycling safer on the road. The people cycling from one neighborhood to the next are a diverse bunch. Kids are using cheap hand-me-down bikes to go to school. College kids are commuting to campus. Adults of all ages are riding to work at a service job or downtown office. What it took was a focus on g…

» What it took was a focus on good quality bike lanes outside the affluent white neighborhoods, bike accessibility at transit stations/on busses, and expansion of bikeshare to poorer neighborhoods. I've never been to Chattanooga, TN but once I realized I can work from home I've been curious about owning a home somewhere with gigabit fiber but without ridiculously expensive real estate within commuting distance to a C…

riding a bike in Chattanooga takes some muscle! Sidewalks are pretty optional in most of the south east, even in "wealthy" areas.

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

#549

Post by liveoneggs »

howenterprisey wrote: post #482
kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TN is a tax haven state. You're not going to get polished municipal services and infrastructure. Western New York has cheap housing and older, 150+ year old urbanization that doesn't suffer as much from 20th century shortsightedness.

What are some other tax haven states I should know about?

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, New Hampshire, and Wyoming

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

#550

Post by liveoneggs »

Spooky23 wrote: post #120
kevincrane wrote: post #18

Earlier 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.

The Atlanta Beltline is like this and it is crazy. I had some jerks tell me to "keep those kids on a leash" while they raced past us at 20 mph. I hope they fell down later.
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