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Electric bike, stupid love of my life

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Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#141

Post by renewiltord »

nicbou wrote: post #118
mulmen wrote: post #107

I'm glad Americans are (re-)discovering the motorcycle. It's like the 1960s all over again. But this time instead of Hondas it's e-bikes. I just hope they take a safety class and stay on the road where they belong.

I have a motorcycle and a bicycle. They're not comparable. After riding my motorcycle in almost every European and Central Asian country, I'm about to sell it because every nice motorcycle day is a better bicycle day. My motorcycle is stuck on the road. I can ride my bicycle to the lake and back along nice trails. All of my friends have bicycles, so they can come too. I can also ride my bicycle wearing shorts and a t…

Same. I prefer riding my ebike to work. The portability is great. It means I can just take it with me into the office instead of having to park it somewhere.

E-bikes and scooters are the future of city transportation for the able. I love them.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#142

Post by turdprincess »

karaterobot wrote: post #54
ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #3

It amazes me how little attention e-bikes are given in terms of reducing traffic, pollution, CO2 etc. The BBC is especially bad at this - they promote lots of articles singing the praises of electric vehicles (i.e. cars) and almost never mention e-bikes as being far better for a lot of use cases. It also grinds my gears that there's tax breaks for getting e-cars and nothing for getting e-bikes. It's almost as if poli…

I love my e-bike (and feel like I have to point that out in threads like this), but while the use cases for them are many, they do not realistically replace ICE cars for most people. They just don't. People with families need cars, and would never forego owning one (or two, or even three) of them just because they have the option of riding electric bikes. That's why electric and hybrid electric cars remain a big deal…

Replacing the car completely is unrealistic. Replacing a second car - totally possible. The folks who are buying electric cars are often buying it as a second car anyways since they still need the ICE car for bigger trips. Those folks could probably get by with one ICE car and a couple of e-bikes, which would be cheaper, healthier and more fun.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#143

Post by jeffbee »

dghlsakjg wrote: post #139
jeffbee wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think this can be ignored. The bulk of ebike injuries to children are coming from throttle-having class 2 bikes and in my view these should simply be outlawed. I’ve seen people crash then who clearly thought they were stopping, but who were holding the throttle. They were riding a motorcycle without motorcycle training. Torque-assist pedal systems are perfectly intuitive to anyone who knows how to ride a regu…

Unlike a motorcycle, if you engage the brake on an ebike, the motor is completely disabled in every model I’ve ever seen. You can hold the throttle wide open, and it won’t matter if any amount of brake is applied. E-bikes just aren’t that dangerous, especially compared to a full power motor vehicle. I suspect that the bulk of injuries to children on e-bikes are happening in throttle models because those are cheaper m…

Rad brand bikes with hydraulic brakes do not integrate the brake lever with the motor controller. Even on the ones you mention, that integrate the brake and motor controller, it’s still possible to come to a stop, release the brake lever, and then take off unintentionally into cross traffic because you were holding the throttle open the entire time. It’s a bad interface.

Total agreement on the other part but the injuries I’m hearing about have been kids riding their class-2 e-bikes into fixed objects, not crashing with cars.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#144

Post by SmellTheGlove »

LoganDark wrote: post #28
swader999 wrote: post #6

E bikes really are the best form of travel. The only issue is how do you get rid of that ridiculous looking grin on your face. You just had a huge rush, got a bit of exercise, paid nothing for parking, eight pennies for 'gas', and beat all your co-workers who were stuck in traffic. The grin is real and not a good look professionally at the office when commuting. Thanks ebikes.ca, endless sphere forums and Sheldon Bro…

> The only issue is how do you get rid of that ridiculous looking grin on your face. You just had a huge rush, got a bit of exercise, paid nothing for parking, eight pennies for 'gas', and beat all your co-workers who were stuck in traffic. The grin is real and not a good look professionally at the office when commuting. This is the most hilarious non-satire comment I've read in a while. The grin is indeed an issue

Ive been enjoying RTO because most of my commute is via the Elliott Bay Trail in Seattle. It really does put me in a different mood for the day.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#145

Post by [deleted] »

gerbilly wrote: post #83

Unpopular opinion: Ride a regular bike. In terms of theft, just use a beater bike for commuting. By getting rid of the 'E' part of the bike, you'll get more exercise and won't have to worry about theft. For years I rode a beater that I found in the garbage and that I fixed up with some parts I had lying around. Later I upgraded to a singlespeed because derailleurs freeze up in the winter. It's a trek earl. Seriously…

[deleted]

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#146

Post by analog31 »

blamazon wrote: post #125
analog31 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be that car theft is more policed because of political pressure from insurance companies, and because cars were typically more valuable than bikes. Fighting car theft lowers insurance rates. But virtually nobody insures a bike.

I would also imagine most police officers in USA patrol their jurisdiction in automobiles, not on bicycles. Number 2 is probably motorcycles. I would also venture to guess that most officers don't cycle to work or in their free time.

Indeed, but their priorities are set by their departments and cities.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#147

Post by mulmen »

renewiltord wrote: post #141
nicbou wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a motorcycle and a bicycle. They're not comparable. After riding my motorcycle in almost every European and Central Asian country, I'm about to sell it because every nice motorcycle day is a better bicycle day. My motorcycle is stuck on the road. I can ride my bicycle to the lake and back along nice trails. All of my friends have bicycles, so they can come too. I can also ride my bicycle wearing shorts and a t…

Same. I prefer riding my ebike to work. The portability is great. It means I can just take it with me into the office instead of having to park it somewhere. E-bikes and scooters are the future of city transportation for the able. I love them.

> It means I can just take it with me into the office instead of having to park it somewhere.

I'm glad that works for you. This is explicitly forbidden in my office, for good reason. It takes up a ton of space in the elevators and there's not much space in the office to store it. In the winter it would create a muddy, slippery mess. Most places I have worked have a bike locker for this reason.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#148

Post by dermesser »

Filligree wrote: post #16
blamazon wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The first problem you outline has a very simple solution: insurance. Just like cars. E-bikes can also be leased, to lower the barrier to entry. As an alternative to providing costly downtown parking, many employers in USA subsidize month-to-month e-bike leases with a final cost of like 30 bucks a month.

Bicycle theft insurance costs approximately ten percent the cost of the bicycle, per month. Which should tell you how good an idea it is to leave one unattended.

Yes, if your bicycle costs $100. But why insure it then?

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#149

Post by mitthrowaway2 »

kjkjadksj wrote: post #123
bluescrn wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless bike theft is solved, an e-bike will remain a toy for the weekends for most people. An expensive e-bike is a prime target to thieves. They require a secure indoor storage space at both ends of the any journey, and many potential users lack that, either at their workplace or their home (e.g living in an apartment only accessible via stairs)

Bike theft is solved the same way car theft is solved. You merely insure the bike.

That works if bike theft is a rare condition that strikes a few unlucky people. But if bike theft is really a chronic problem, insurance can't possibly cost less than buying a new bike every time it's stolen. Otherwise the insurance company would lose money.
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