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Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

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Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#181

Post by sandworm101 »

_ph_ wrote: post #171
sandworm101 wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paris and SF maybe, but a nation-wide ban is a long long way off. Until electrics have power enough to move something akin to a fully loaded pickup truck 300+km, there will be a place for petro. Just look at the Fort MacMurry evacuation. Not many electrics could have made that drive. I doubt Tesla will ever sell many units in the Canadian north. Ask them how those batteries deal with -40c. It's a problem ignored by n…

And how many combustion engined cars crank at -40c without pre-heating? But indeed, there are a few places and uses where electrical cars are not the best solution. That does not mean, that in 90% of places and applications they are already a more environmental friendly alternative.

>> And how many combustion engined cars crank at -40c without pre-heating?

Plenty of them. In the last couple decades cold starts have really progressed. I think it's the developments in oil/lubricants that cling to metal surfaces. And the tighter tolerances that mean oils don't drain out of idle engines.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#182

Post by masklinn »

mapt wrote: post #67
yaur wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having these things silently blasting down the sidewalk at 20+ mph is incredibly dangerous.

People can bicycle at 20mph too using their legs. On paths and lanes where these things are banned. Common sense wattage restrictions (I have seen 1hp or 750W as a threshold, for example, and apparently parts of Europe do 250W limits) are perfectly feasible. Apparently federal law on imports dictates that the class of 'low-speed electric bicycles' is defined by a maximum of 750W and 20mph, which is a surprisingly app…

> apparently parts of Europe do 250W limits

That's part of the EU recommendation for classification as an assisted bicycle (pedelec) rather than an electric moped (e-bike): 250W maximum continuous rated power, assistance-only (user must be pedalling for engine to engage) and progressive cutoff to 25km/h[0] (so the cutoff starts earlier, at 25km/h or above there's no assistance)

[0] ~16mph

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#183

Post by krabpaaltje »

danielmorozoff wrote: post #23
yolesaber wrote: post #3

Delivery guys use these all the time in NYC and I'm seeing more and more folks riding on them, even fellas in bizness suits. I'd say they've arrived.

The delivery guys definitely- for a while now. Haven't seen that many suits on them. I'm interested what do people in the Netherlands think of them?

Of ebikes? To us they're equivalent of someone riding their bike very fast, which one encounters every now and then. No big deal.

Then again everyone rides bicycles here.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#184

Post by zumatic »

Coding_Cat wrote: post #179
zumatic wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bans have been proposed in Holland from 2025 ( http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/03/only-electric-... ) and Norway ( http://electrek.co/2016/06/03/norway-gasoline-powered-car-ba... ), but it's very early days -- these are only kite-flying exercises, not serious attempts at legislation.

We already have bans on certain cars in the Netherlands for example Utrecht does not allow diesel engines in the city center (Dutch source: https://www.utrecht.nl/milieu/luchtkwaliteit/milieuzone/ ).

Interesting -- we could do with that in London. Is it all diesel cars? The article seems to say something about Euro IV -compliant maybe being OK?

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#185

Post by damian2000 »

In countries where the car is dominant, one of the most important factors is safety. Cars can easily kill someone on a bike, scooter or motorbike just by running into them from behind, e.g. if the bike is stopped at lights, and the car driver is not paying attention behind them. In a car the most you'd get is whiplash.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#186

Post by damian2000 »

aianus wrote: post #66
DigitalJack wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 commuted daily on a motorcycle in Saigon and it's not as dangerous as it is here in North America (well, sometimes it is, but mostly because of idiots riding drunk with no helmet while texting). Everyone drives slower (~40km/h at most) and cars actively look out for motorcycles and make slow, smooth controlled changes in direction that everyone can anticipate.

Yeah I agree with that - traffic in Saigon looks initially completely disorganised in areas such as large junctions, but it really works well and is even safe for pedestrians. Its absolutely different to traffic in many other countries where the car is 95% of the traffic and the lowest speed anywhere is 60km/h.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#187

Post by sdk77 »

randallsquared wrote: post #159
Rumudiez wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I would still need a car for commuting to work. And that sums up why the typical US mentality will continue to impede transportation progress. I can easily carry over a week's worth of groceries to cook three meals per day for two people in one trip on my motorcycle. I ride to work every day of the year in Seattle . It's kind of like, you know, living in pretty much any other country in the world where cars are…

There are three people in my household. Between us, we drink 30-40 (depending on the week) 2L bottles of soda a week, as well as a couple of 12-packs of soda cans, maybe an 8-pack of gatorade/powerade, and 15-20 half liter bottles of water. Food is not the largest part of what we bring back from the store. There are a lot of opportunities lost when you can't carry more than, well, you can personally carry. The "white…

Just counting the bottles, soda intake in your household works out to 3350cc/day*person, on average. If you're not exaggerating, you have a very unhealthy habit.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#188

Post by seanmcdirmid »

sliverstorm wrote: post #158
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Meh. The streets of Beijing are even busier, the motorist even more aggressive, most of the bike lanes have become parking for cars, and it still seems to work.

Hard to imagine they could be more aggressive. Ever had an F-150 try to run you over, or aim for your head with his mirror?

Imagine if no driver could see you, or they pretended not to see you. They aren't aiming at you specifically, but they refuse to acknowledge your existence.

If you are in Mississippi redneck country...ya, you aren't going to bike their. But most cities should be ok.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#189

Post by tonyedgecombe »

Kadin wrote: post #123
URSpider94 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A co-worker of mine is an e-bike fanatic who builds his own hardware. He has street bikes that will go up to 40 mph. (He also does a massive trail ride on his regular MTB almost every morning, and road bikes on the weekends). Once or twice, he did the commute into work using Strava as his speedo ... needless to say, he got some fairly negative feedback when he accidentally claimed the KOM (king of the mountain) on a…

> He has street bikes that will go up to 40 mph. In my state that's a motorcycle, and illegal to ride on the street without a license plate and insurance. It'll be the same way most everywhere soon, I expect.

In the UK the limit is 250W / 15mph which seems reasonable to me.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#190

Post by theCodeStig »

contingencies wrote: post #151
digi_owl wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

There are full ride-on motorbike-style e-bikes here in China already. I've seen them carry two people on the street here with very fast acceleration. They are silent and dangerous. See for example: http://auto.big5.anhuinews.com/system/2005/04/14/001238792.s... http://news.ddc.net.cn/newsview_40737.html http://auto.china.com/zh_cn/life/more/11036827/20091022/1567... http://tech.hexun.com/2012-08-23/145064681.html Thi…

In Singapore these are commonly ridden on the sidewalk. Obviously it's very dangerous to pedestrians.
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