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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

#141

Post by bitexploder »

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.

This one time a guy did like 35mph on a road for like 2 miles. I was ready to be annoyed when I saw him turning and accelerating, but that’s the speed I usually do, so they just kept up. Guy hit 40 at a couple points and legit could have gotten a speeding ticket. However, in general, a lot of cyclists in my area are extra aggressive and it creates conflict and the general sentiment is one of annoyance at them hijacking this one relatively busy road. But it’s also motorists not knowing how to pass them properly and share the road. We just need bike lanes on this road. Everyone just wants to get where they are going and the perception is cyclists are out there doing it for fun (most of them are just doing it for exercise on this road, not commuting).

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

#142

Post by ghaff »

criddell wrote: post #53
ahoy wrote: post #7

I can imagine a world, maybe a generation or 2 from now, where our suburbs have shrunk to a bike-accessible scale. That would really, finally, be a step in the right direction.

Self driving cars are going to fuel sprawl like never before.

I'm skeptical door-to-door self-driving will happen for the general case in the foreseeable future. But, if it does, certainly. An hour "being driven" to go into town for the evening is pretty tolerable compared to driving yourself (and even more so driving yourself back)--and would probably change the tradeoffs for a lot of people.

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

#143

Post by asdff »

rnotaro wrote: post #83
acomjean wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My cousin tried the really cheap bike route. I think a little over $100. Lamentably it didn't matter, it was still stolen.

I bought a 80$ used bike at my local community bike repair shop earlier this year and I'm keeping it outside every day without getting it stolen. I just bought a Kryptonite + a Kryptoflex and nobody tried to steal it yet. My locks were more expensive than my bike but it seems to work for now.

As a former kryptonite lock and bike owner, it works until it doesn't.

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

#144

Post by scintill76 »

AutumnCurtain wrote: post #138
KennyBlanken wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I fear the push-back when someone inevitably gets hurt. Which is fascinating and really tells you something about ingroups and outgroups because cyclists are hurt and killed every day by drivers and strangely nobody seems to be that fussed about it.

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.

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

#145

Post by hyperpallium2 »

Fuelled by the smartphone battery revolution.

Like hydrofoil surfboards [1], one-wheel skateboards [2], electric paragliders [3]... what next!?

1. https://youtube.com/watch?v=i9yCe6ibhzU

2. https://youtube.com/watch?v=XNqOU4jx62I

3. https://youtube.com/watch?v=BeayJZzaXjM

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

#146

Post by bitexploder »

TrevorJ wrote: post #88
multjoy wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you remove the speed limiter you are riding an electric motorcycle, which needs to be somewhere other than with pedestrians and cyclists.

More specifically, you have and electric motorcycle with no traction, no safety features and an untrained rider.

It is trivial to get a motorcycle license in America. An order of magnitude more training should be required for cars and motorcycles before I would consider people trained.

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

#147

Post by drran »

rnotaro wrote: post #83
acomjean wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My cousin tried the really cheap bike route. I think a little over $100. Lamentably it didn't matter, it was still stolen.

I bought a 80$ used bike at my local community bike repair shop earlier this year and I'm keeping it outside every day without getting it stolen. I just bought a Kryptonite + a Kryptoflex and nobody tried to steal it yet. My locks were more expensive than my bike but it seems to work for now.

I use steel chain with steel lock[0] for last 5 years. No problems so far.

[0]: https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1UMz3k8yWBuNkSmFPq6xguVXar/1pc...

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

#148

Post by analog31 »

jzymbaluk wrote: post #109
Robotbeat wrote: post #31

They also don’t last as long (miles-wise, possibly time-wise as well?), so you may have the same person buying multiple bikes over time when the first one wears out or breaks or is stolen. Usually for electric cars, the vehicle enters the used market and doesn’t leave (for the junkyard) until 15-20 years and 200,000 miles later.

With regular maintenance and replacable batteries, I don't really see any reason an average eBike wouldn't last for many years

Most of my friends with e-bikes are already on their second e-bike.

One issue is obsolescence. The newer bikes have bigger tires, better frame designs to accommodate the motor, better controls, more battery capacity, and so forth. They are purpose built as e-bikes, rather than conventional bikes with a motor and battery strapped on.

Another is repair. Finding spare parts for the electronics is a headache. The hall sensor went out on one friend's bike motor, resulting in a new bike. Voltages and connector pinouts have to be matched unless you're a whiz with a soldering iron and can find documentation -- good luck.

Conventional bikes had similar issues with both things, but there's a brisk global market for keeping older bikes working, and a sufficient supply of aftermarket parts for obsolete bikes are available in the US. And there's a lot of shared folklore on how to keep old bikes working, along with people who cobble bikes together from old parts and sell them. I can still maintain a 1963 Schwinn. All but one of my bikes are assembled from spare parts. That kind of secondary economy hasn't emerged for e-bikes yet.

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

#149

Post by ashtonkem »

paulgb wrote: post #4

The thing that excites me most about e-bikes is that they change the politics around cycling. 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. With e-bikes becoming more common, I know a number of people who would not have touched a bike share but are using it as a replacement for Uber/Lyft rides. People…

I think people should start pushing for cycling infrastructure on fiscal responsibility grounds. A good cycle path system is an extremely cheap way to provide mobility options to a city, all considered.

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

#150

Post by TulliusCicero »

asdff wrote: post #136
TulliusCicero wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Electric cars are rapidly approaching the point where they're actually cheaper than ICE cars, due to lower operating costs. As they scale up, they may well become cheaper up front, too.

A lot of working poor people rely on being able to do low cost maintenance themselves or bringing it to a family member or close friend with experience or a very trusted repair shop. They would never get their car serviced at the dealer given the costs. If the cost of repair is too large they sell the car for scrap and buy another bottom of market car and repeat the process. What happens for these people in the EV ag…

Well, I think the idea is that while it would be difficult to work on an EV motor yourself, it's also much less necessary, as electric motors are much simpler, with far fewer moving parts. I don't know if we have enough data yet to evaluate, but EV's should be much lower maintenance in that regard.

Outside of the powertrain, seems like the rest of the car should be similar though, like tires and brakes, right?

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