141–150 of 234 posts
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People downvote stuff when they dislike the implications of something even if it's true, actually especially if it's true. As to your point, a friend of mine has an electric motorcycle. He said that it's silent is scary because in traffic cars don't notice he's there. He has to always be on guard for people merging into his lane.
Adding a speaker would not take a lot of power.
eBikes are sincerely a great alternative to cars for me. I've been using an electric bike (Stromer ST1) for about 3 years now in LA and Boston. It makes perfect sense for these cities. The total cost of ownership is way below a car, due to the low cost of Uber, other people with cars, insurance and gas. In high traffic and hard parking cities like LA and Boston, I get to my destination faster. And though a bicycle is…
Conversely, I am pretty much subsidized by other people's vehicles. Where are you getting that from? Car specific taxes generally don't even come close to paying for roads, especially the roads bicycles are likely to be using. In the US its actually far more likely that you're subsidizing them than the other way around.
[1] Santa Clara country, paid to extend HWY85 out of their own pocket and as a result, trucks are banned. Last time I drove it, it was still seemed in good shape after mumble twenty years. Compare with HWY880 though Oakland CA. Always being worked on, always broken up.
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I didn't down vote but from a different perspective: - Not being able to hear / audible warning is a terrible argument for many reasons - The danger is understood, but that's because of a lack of training for all road users; no amount of visual warnings will mitigate the lack of education / training I think the downvotes stem from the lack of critical thought portrayed by the comment? I can't really say - to me it do…
I've got 145,000 miles on my motorcycle. I have some experience. Call it a terrible argument if you want, but you are wrong. I was replying to a comment with a kickstarter about an electric motorcycle, seems pretty relevant to me, hence my surprise.
And I was attempting to articulate why someone may have down-voted you by being overly critical; I didn't feel negatively towards your original comment either way.
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On that note, i ran into a kickstarter on one that was styled more like a motorcycle than a typical bicycle. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/782844499/the-super-73
It's pretty dangerous riding a motorcycle. And I just mean the danger from other motorists. Imagine if your motorcycle was silent. I know people raised the same concerns about electric cars back in the day, but people are far more likely to not "see" a motorcycle. Maybe mitigate with a strobe light, but I find those very distracting when I drive by a cyclist.
I don't really understand why this is a kickstarter. Just buy a well established e-bike brand with the specs you want.
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Stromer ST2
Do these really sell for $6K+? I'd love to have an electric assist option for my 30 mi round trip, but the cost is a tough pill to swallow... $3K I'd do in a minute.
I'm a bit out of touch of the latest developments in the market (I walk to work these days) but I'm sure you can find plenty of good options under 3k.
Pretty serious MTB/cyclocross racer here that's done a lot of trailbuilding and trail advocacy: a lot of dudes are scared that offroad ebikes are going to kill access to hard-won trails. It's a not-unfounded fear as motorized bikes are pretty dang close to motorcycles in most people's eyes. That said, I'd love to have an ebike! I have a 26 mile one-way commute (that's a 30 minute train ride) but every once in a while…
Made me want to get one.
I agree with your point about MTB versions
Pretty serious MTB/cyclocross racer here that's done a lot of trailbuilding and trail advocacy: a lot of dudes are scared that offroad ebikes are going to kill access to hard-won trails. It's a not-unfounded fear as motorized bikes are pretty dang close to motorcycles in most people's eyes. That said, I'd love to have an ebike! I have a 26 mile one-way commute (that's a 30 minute train ride) but every once in a while…
I had a pretty strong knee-jerk reaction to the electric mountain bike proposition initially. We're not really seeing the trails get overcrowded with them though, and I don't expect that any time particularly soon. With regular mountain bikes already costing an insane amount, I don't think any regular riders will risk it until prices become reasonable. I guess the weight requirements can be lessened though, which could help the cost.
I always assumed dirt bikes tore the hell out of trails (and some do), but what surprised me was trials bikes - with low pressure and good riding style, these actually have far less impact that your typical mountain biker (or hiker), even on sensitive moss/loam. With luck, we could have a similar situation with ebikes, perhaps even semi-automated.
My initial reaction I think was more disgust that untrained, out-of-shape people would be clamouring on my favourite trails en-masse, wrecking it in short order. That's a pretty exclusive/elitist opinion though, and doesn't make my athletic endeavours any less worthy. Plus that no e-bike is going to make descending shore-style trails any easier (probably the opposite).
Hopefully these things can evolve in a way that's inclusive, sustainable, and respectful to all trail users. Personally, I'd just like a little re-gen from my brakes :)
And for commuting, I think they're just about perfect. Once I have a long commute again, I'll probably nab one.
The e-bike situation in China is very different from the US. These are people who are moving UP from human-powered bikes, or walking, to their first vehicle -- not buying them so that they can leave their car at home and feel the wind in their hair. Here's a photo of a very typical Chinese e-bike: http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00zsrEyYQIYOqo/Chinese-El... As you can see, it has a second seat in the back for a pa…
Here in Brazil you see a lot of people moving from cars/bus to bicycles. I think a number of factors contributed to that: First and foremost, following the commodities boom there was also a boom in car sales in Brazil, but not a boom in car lanes. Government is spectacularly inefficient around here, specially when it comes to building and maintaining roads. Traffic has worsen considerably in the last decade, and all…
The e-bike situation in China is very different from the US. These are people who are moving UP from human-powered bikes, or walking, to their first vehicle -- not buying them so that they can leave their car at home and feel the wind in their hair. Here's a photo of a very typical Chinese e-bike: http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00zsrEyYQIYOqo/Chinese-El... As you can see, it has a second seat in the back for a pa…
I charge mine downstairs together with a lot of other electric bikes. It costs me 30 RMB per month to charge. My neighbourhood is a typical Chinese one - i.e. not one of those fancy foreigner compounds.
My bike has a range of around 40-50 km depending on how many people are on the bike and how I drive it.
It doesn't look like the one in the picture you sent. More like a traditional motorised scooter - just with a battery. I paid 3000 RMB for it (new). It even comes with built in Bluetooth speakers, so I can annoy my fellow drivers on the street and people taking a stroll in the park with loud death metal music.