Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

thedrive.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 65 posts

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#41

Post by calgoo »

demarq wrote: post #33
afavour wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually don’t think it’s that absurd. It definitely is hype but I think e-scooters and (far more) e-bikes actually are a huge innovation in personal transport, not in pure tech but in effect on lifestyles especially when you factor in cost. I have a cargo e-bike I use as my daily driver, taking the kids to school, picking up groceries etc. If they didn’t exist I’d probably have to pay for (and deal with) a car. A…

But bikes aren’t scooters.

Here in Barcelona a lot of people dont have a car and there is no space for a bicycle. The scooter folds up easily and is easy to store away. When i was going to the office, people just bring them to their desk and plug them in during the day to charge. Some companies are now providing storage and charging areas for both scooters and ebikes.

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#42

Post by 4ggr0 »

lostlogin wrote: post #23
Ekaros wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

E-bikes have relatively huge wheels. These interact with any bumbs, curbwalls, pot-holes, rocks in much more safe manner. This with stability makes them to me much safer. Still does not do much difference when crashing to someone or something or someone crashing into you.

I was on a road bike with a peloton and half of us hit a pothole that was ~25cm deep when going at 50kmh. We had a few popped tubes and a damaged (but rideable) wheel. Good luck on a scooter. You’re a meat pencil.

> ~25cm deep

can this still be called a pothole, lol? at which point does a pothole become a hole...

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#43

Post by shmeeed »

kachapopopow wrote: post #38
demarq wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But bikes aren’t scooters.

scooters are great for apartments where there's no concept of bike parking / storage I absolutely hate having to bring my monster of an ebike down from 8th floor (via elevator thankfully). Scooters can use a large backpacks for storage instead as well.

Scooters can also be transported in a car trunk. A similar convenience in a foldable ebike sets you down a few thousand quid more.

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#44

Post by dazzawazza »

p0w3n3d wrote: post #14

delivery people in my city have already beaten this record driving their e-bikes on the sidewalks

yep, in London it's pretty normal to be driving at 30 and be overtaken by a teenager on a scooter with no insurance, no protective equipment and not a care in the world. They can kill themselves for all I care but they can easily kill a pedestrian or cyclist which doesn't seem reasonable to me.

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#45

Post by shmeeed »

klabb3 wrote: post #30

The most obvious comparison is an ebike, which would be superior in every way except one: portability. Where I live these scooters are popular, and people bring them in elevators and park them inside. This is a real issue: bike parking is insufficient and insecure from theft in many cities. Plus, you need to charge it somewhere, and bringing a conventional bike to an apartment is often prohibitive. These make scooter…

That's true, but a foldable ebike also costs several times more.

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#46

Post by calgoo »

lm28469 wrote: post #40
sjducb wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m unsure how the risk compares to an e-bike. Assuming speeds are equal I think the consequences of a crash are better on a scooter. You don’t have a crossbar between your legs to trip you as you fall, and you start in a standing position, so you’re more likely to land on your feet. Also your head and shoulders are above the cars so you’re less likely to end up under the car. Having said that I think scooter crashes…

> so you’re more likely to land on your feet Try jumping of a car at 25kmh. You'll be on your feet for some time indeed, the next step is both your wrist buckling (or snapping) because you'll instinctively put your hands up, and after that your head contacting the ground. Even at 15kmh I doubt most people would handle that gracefully. From what I gather the injuries are similar, but escooters are used by more diverse…

You can land on your feet but you have to see the crash coming. You will also basically create a runaway scooter that might hit someone as you jump off. This won't work on s pot hole you missed that basically ate your entire front tire catapulting you forward with no warning. I have had both happen to me and my wife driving around the city.

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#47

Post by hi_hi »

4gotunameagain wrote: post #36
hi_hi wrote: post #32

If you're going to be this ridiculous, at least make it look cool. Re-invent the Penny Farthing perhaps. An electric version of that, with some funky way of lifting the rider up, would be amazing. This is like the cronut of bikes, all the downsides of a scooter, and none of the upsides of a motorbike.

24 kW on a Penny Farthing-like bike ? At 100 MPH you hit the brakes and instead of stopping the whole thing just rolls over to slam you with the same velocity to the ground ? x)

Penny Farthing or E-Scooter, at these speeds you're going to slam into the ground and become a mess regardless. At least on the PF, you look cool...

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#48

Post by stavros »

4gotunameagain wrote: post #36
hi_hi wrote: post #32

If you're going to be this ridiculous, at least make it look cool. Re-invent the Penny Farthing perhaps. An electric version of that, with some funky way of lifting the rider up, would be amazing. This is like the cronut of bikes, all the downsides of a scooter, and none of the upsides of a motorbike.

24 kW on a Penny Farthing-like bike ? At 100 MPH you hit the brakes and instead of stopping the whole thing just rolls over to slam you with the same velocity to the ground ? x)

Listen I don't know the physics, I'm the ideas man, the practical details are for you eggheads to figure out.

Re: 24,000-Watt Scooter Is Going for a 100 MPH Speed Record at Bonneville

#50

Post by p0w3n3d »

dazzawazza wrote: post #44
p0w3n3d wrote: post #14

delivery people in my city have already beaten this record driving their e-bikes on the sidewalks

yep, in London it's pretty normal to be driving at 30 and be overtaken by a teenager on a scooter with no insurance, no protective equipment and not a care in the world. They can kill themselves for all I care but they can easily kill a pedestrian or cyclist which doesn't seem reasonable to me.

killing themselves is not the worst thing than can happen to them, and not so likely. Other possibilities involve long years of suffering in bed and on a wheelchair.

But the e-bikes are more heavy and will also likely make other people suffer.

Post reply on HN