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Reflections on E-Bikes

ebikes.neighbor-ryan.org

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Re: Reflections on E-Bikes

#51

Post by soheil »

So many cringe statements in this post I'm not going to reference them here. One note which I think is missed often with heavy electric cargo bikes is a simple equation, used in car collisions to determine safety requirements.

F = 0.5 mv^2

The electric nature of these bikes makes them go faster than regular bikes so the force in case of an accident is increased by the square of increase in velocity. Add the increased mass of these cargo bikes and the force on impact is very large. It's very surprising there is no regulation on use of these bikes on normal bike lanes or sidewalks which I see often in places like San Francisco.

Re: Reflections on E-Bikes

#52

Post by fy20 »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #39

In Sydney it’s just too treacherous to cycle, and the risk of injury is too high to me to make it worth it. In addition there are places where bikes are massively inconvenienced vs cars. The classic example is the (I’d guess) 6 story flight of stairs to walk your bike up to use the harbour bridge. There are other examples like this, around bridges. These add a lot of time and sweat to a commute making it more conveni…

We will be moving to a house in the suburbs next year, and then we probably will get a cargo bike, as there we will have space to safely store it and the roads are better for cycling than the city centre.

Bikes also need a good amount of infrastructure, and most cities do not have that right now. Given its usually car drivers that pay taxes for roads (either a direct road tax or through fuel) it not really a suprise that they are designed for them.

Re: Reflections on E-Bikes

#53

Post by mixmastamyk »

ambivalents wrote: post #3

I am excited by e-bikes and love riding them, but I'm not nearly as bullish. If you're single living in a bike-friendly city, sure. But I and many others have moved out of cities and often have to transport more than just our own bodies around. Roughly 80% of my rides include my dog (I take him to the park, to day care, to family outings, etc.), and I also appreciate the car as a second informal storage space - climb…

The article had people on cargo bikes doing the weekly groceries, and riding with four kids.

Re: Reflections on E-Bikes

#54

Post by fulafel »

Gigachad wrote: post #2

IMO, the number one hurdle for ebikes is theft. The things cost a decent chunk of money and there is basically no way to secure them properly. I have owned an ebike and it's such a fun way to get around, but I quickly sold it because I was in constant fear of it being stolen. And shortly after, one of my cheap non ebikes was stolen while locked inside my apartments bike storage area. I think electric scooters might h…

An ebike costs usually less to replace as a car catalytic converter which are stolen more. I wonder if there will be similar solutions. Around my part of the world, bikes are usually insured against theft, for one.

Re: Reflections on E-Bikes

#55

Post by chrisfosterelli »

hans-moleman wrote: post #37
chrisfosterelli wrote: post #28

> Previously, you had to be a serious cyclist to access this speed (and corresponding ability to simply exist on car-dominated roads), but now almost everyone can. Wow, interesting that they frame this as a positive. I'm a general advocate for e-bikes but this has been the absolute biggest drawback I've noticed with them: e-bike riders suddenly get all of the speed of a very fit cyclist but absolutely none of the roa…

You would rather this type of person drive a 2 ton vehicle? “Well people are going to have poor judgement” isn’t really a good argument against anything.

I don't think this is comparable. People driving a two ton vehicle have to be licensed, which means they have a general understanding of the rules they're supposed to follow and a general mentality that they should follow them. More experienced cyclists are similar (not in the license, but mentality). A lot of amateur cyclists don't have this mentality on the bike when they start out.

Re: Reflections on E-Bikes

#56

Post by chrisfosterelli »

mgraczyk wrote: post #45
chrisfosterelli wrote: post #28

> Previously, you had to be a serious cyclist to access this speed (and corresponding ability to simply exist on car-dominated roads), but now almost everyone can. Wow, interesting that they frame this as a positive. I'm a general advocate for e-bikes but this has been the absolute biggest drawback I've noticed with them: e-bike riders suddenly get all of the speed of a very fit cyclist but absolutely none of the roa…

Just meeting anecdote with anecdote, but in my experience the overwhelming majority of accidents and near accidents with bicycles happen because either a driver isn't paying attention, or the bicyclist intentionally cuts in front of traffic to get hit or fuck with people (San Francisco). E-bikes make the first case safer because, as described in the article, the faster you go the more time the driver has to notice yo…

Oh yeah I don't have any data at all, and I don't doubt that statistic about accidents for a second.

> E-bikes make the first case safer because, as described in the article, the faster you go the more time the driver has to notice you and slow down before crushing or swiping you

I think this is true in some degree, but has a corresponding elongation in the time required to pass the cyclist (which increases the chance that drivers gun it to do so) and reduction in the time to respond when you're going to be cut off. I would suspect it's mostly a wash.

Re: Reflections on E-Bikes

#57

Post by londons_explore »

mixmastamyk wrote: post #47
londons_explore wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ability to click "I lost my iPhone" and be confident that no thief can just erase the phone and use it himself. It normally involves ensuring the device has secure boot, non-rollbackable firmware, tamper-resistant storage for a 'when I last talked to my server' timestamp, and network connectivity to be able to talk to a server to get the lock/unlock status.

So results in untamperable lockdown next time it connects to icloud?

Pretty much, yeah.

It also forces the phone to not allow various offline use (like erasing it and setting up a new user)

Re: Reflections on E-Bikes

#58

Post by chrisfosterelli »

FemmeAndroid wrote: post #35
chrisfosterelli wrote: post #28

> Previously, you had to be a serious cyclist to access this speed (and corresponding ability to simply exist on car-dominated roads), but now almost everyone can. Wow, interesting that they frame this as a positive. I'm a general advocate for e-bikes but this has been the absolute biggest drawback I've noticed with them: e-bike riders suddenly get all of the speed of a very fit cyclist but absolutely none of the roa…

Yeah. I agree with this. I tend to be very law abiding. And I think e-bikes enable me to be more willing to come to complete stops, and generally follow traffic laws than most bike riders I know. But I’d definitely acknowledge that a lot of e-bike riders seem to be engaging in risky behavior, quite possibly without realizing the risk.

That's a good point about stops. Starting off on an ebike is so much easier haha.

> I tend to be very law abiding.

Same. I've always tried quite hard to follow the letter of the law on my bike; it seems every counter example is otherwise held against cyclists as a whole. I'm hesitant to criticize ebikes as I do think they're a net good. More people biking is better for everyone.

Re: Reflections on E-Bikes

#59

Post by TulliusCicero »

authed wrote: post #4
ambivalents wrote: post #3

I am excited by e-bikes and love riding them, but I'm not nearly as bullish. If you're single living in a bike-friendly city, sure. But I and many others have moved out of cities and often have to transport more than just our own bodies around. Roughly 80% of my rides include my dog (I take him to the park, to day care, to family outings, etc.), and I also appreciate the car as a second informal storage space - climb…

> in a bike-friendly city also, many bike friendly paths don't allow electric bikes (sometimes not enforced and it will probably change in the future though)

Is this still really that common?

Re: Reflections on E-Bikes

#60

Post by Gigachad »

mixmastamyk wrote: post #47
londons_explore wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ability to click "I lost my iPhone" and be confident that no thief can just erase the phone and use it himself. It normally involves ensuring the device has secure boot, non-rollbackable firmware, tamper-resistant storage for a 'when I last talked to my server' timestamp, and network connectivity to be able to talk to a server to get the lock/unlock status.

So results in untamperable lockdown next time it connects to icloud?

It's more than that. To factory reset an iphone, you _must_ be able to log in via the current apple account. Regardless of whether the owner has marked it as lost or not. The lost mode simply allows you to remote wipe the phone to reduce the risk of hackers getting in somehow.
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