61–70 of 188 posts
This sounds great in theory, but I don't find it convincing. Motorcyclists say the same thing about speed being a benefit and maybe it is in some cases, but if you look at the stats, the faster the bike, the more likely you will die. Speeding is a factor in 32% of fatalities. I'd be surprised if it's significantly different on an e-bike.
The thing about ebikes is they sit in a speed niche that hasn't really been seen before, and it's going to cause lots of problems. Before ebikes, you either rode a bicycle, or moved up to a motorscooter or motorcycle, which are much more regulated. The problem is, ebikes are stealth motorscooters . They go really, really fast, for sustained periods of time, and yet are as thin and quiet as a pedal bike. I just starte…
Not really? Class 1 and 2 ebikes in the US top out at 20 mph. Ebikes in Europe usually top out at 25 km/h (15.5 mph). Even 20 mph is achievable by a moderately fit person on a road bike for a sustained period of time.
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…
What will hurt is whether the brakes are sufficient to stop that mass, which naive conversions have. That makes the difference between stopping in time or not.
> 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…
So you think that you can calculate it as dangerous but they can't? It seems to me like the dangers of riding a bicycle fast on the road is really obvious and the e-bike riders are calculating the risk just as experienced riders are. Not everyone has your risk appetite.
It's the same thing as texting while driving. People know it's dangerous on some level, but that doesn't stop them.
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…
There is clearly a pain point in need of an innovative solution, might be a sizeable market.
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.
On some level they're aware of ebikes existing, or, y'know, the Dutch, but for some reason the thoughts of "the Dutch bike everywhere" and "the Dutch have children" never quite connect in their heads.
> 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’ve put your finger on a real problem for me. I live in the UK countryside, and we get a lot of serious cyclists visiting here. The most dangerous pattern I see is occupying the middle of the road - which is fine when they’re doing 25mph in a 30mph road. But they stay there in 60mph sections, causing drivers to accelerate and veer round them. If we had more riders doing the same thing on ebikes, I imagine there’d…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
> 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…
Now I live in a city and just got an eBike. I think it's more or less the same, even though you are more visible. Acceleration can be handy, but speed itself feels more of a risk if you don't have enough situational awareness.
Off course I am heavily biased towards separate bikepaths or roads where bikes have priority[1]
> 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…
What?