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Electric bike, stupid love of my life

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Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#251

Post by criddell »

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…

> nothing for getting e-bikes

Where I live in Texas there’s a $800 rebate for e-bikes.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#252

Post by anotherboffin »

analog31 wrote: post #75
readingistuff wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You also need a higher quality, impact rated helmet. I'm sure plenty of folks buy am expensive bike and the cheapest helmet.

This could be a new market. Presently, there's no motorsport rated bike helmet. You can buy a motorcycle helmet, but it's a heavy, cumbersome beast. Or a bike helmet that comes with virtually no useful rating system except for the Virginia Tech rating program.

NTA 8776 spec-rated helmets are built to withstand more forces than “regular” bike helmets. IIRC they are required in certain EU countries when riding an S-Pedelec (45 km/h limit pedal assist e-bike)

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#253

Post by pmg102 »

fulafel wrote: post #206
pmg102 wrote: post #157

In the UK, as in Europe and Australia I believe, Ebikes ("pedelecs") are legally limited to assistance only up to 15mph=25kph (it's possible to exceed this downhill, of course). As someone used to riding a regular pedal bike, I would say this is close to but not quite fast enough to feel comfortable among urban traffic. Yet raising the limit to say 20mph could feel arguably unsafely fast on a shared use path through…

There are also the 45 km/h s-pedelecs in EU, maybe still in the UK too.

There are, although it's a bureaucratic palaver in the UK getting them registered, taxed, insured and legal. And then they, like mopeds, aren't allowed on cycle paths or in cycle lanes... In short, losing much of the freedom that makes bicycles such fun.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#254

Post by zimpenfish »

giobox wrote: post #191
throw0101a wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If I didn't live on the 3rd floor[1], or had bike storage downstairs, I'd get one ASAP. Folding bicycle? * https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/a20048132/best-folding-... * https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-folding-bike... There are e-bike variants available as well. (General consensus seems to be Brompton is (at) the top tier, but not cheap.)

Electric folding bikes are typically pretty heavy, I own a couple - my wife for one would really struggle to carry either of them to the first floor let alone the third. Most electric folding bikes, the fold allows easy moving in cars/elevators or storage, I would not personally recommend them for multi-floor stair commutes unless you are comfortable with what you are getting yourself into. I've also had two former c…

> Electric folding bikes are typically pretty heavy

Yeah, that's the problem, unfortunately.

> The e-scooters are far easier

Alas, they have the same "my knee is made of soap" problem.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#255

Post by Ylpertnodi »

ez_mmk wrote: post #178
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)

High quality locks prevent theft

The lock-picking lawyer on youtube may disagree.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#256

Post by rpozarickij »

readingistuff wrote: post #59
0wis wrote: post #56

Remember that bicycle are the most efficient way to move a human, that’s where the Steve Job’s quote « Computers are bicycles for the mind » comes from [1]. This efficiency never stops to amaze me. And an electric bicycle makes it way more convenient while still being quite efficient. I share the love of electric bikes with the author and I am sure that huge progresses in UX and efficiency are it to come in the field…

Electric bicycles are actually more efficient than bicycles (which are themselves more efficient than walking). The combination of human power and electric assist uses less total energy than human power alone!

I wonder how is it possible to use less total energy? If you need to apply an amount of energy to travel a given distance, the amount can't be that different whether the energy comes from muscles or from an electric motor (or a combination of both). These are different sources of energy, but it's still energy.

I'd imagine the movement of the legs while pedalling would affect the aerodynamics, but is there something else happening?

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#257

Post by prmoustache »

microtonal wrote: post #109
js2 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> E bikes really are the best form of travel Whether an E bike is the best form of travel is going to depend on a lot of factors. It's certainly less flexible than a car. For one person who doesn't need to carry a lot and who lives somewhere that has dedicated bike lanes or can at least safely share the road with cars and where the weather is neither much too cold nor much too hot and there aren't daily thunderstorms…

When I lived in Southern Germany, before WFH, I went by bike (non-ebike) literally every working day of the year (22-25 km depending on the route). 35 degrees (just leave earlier), snow, rain, whatever. It was so great, you automatically build up a lot of condition, have a lot of energy when you arrive at work, and some 1-2 days every week I'd cycle back through the hills to get some extra climbing practice. During t…

Yeah, weather is such a bad excuse.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#258

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

tjoff wrote: post #35
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 problem of thieves is such a downer though. Against all kinds of bikes, really takes both the joy and the utility out of it. Same with owning a scooter and similar vehicles. And even if you have good and safe parking at home and at the office (great!), which will cover the vast majority of trips it still limits the usefulness of a vehicle to be so tied up. Yes, there are solutions/mitigations/compromises. But exp…

There are many downers actually, none of which mentioned in that poem. People opening car doors right in front of you. Oil patches on roads. Dogs. Heat strokes. Inhaling all the nastiness that a car somewhat protects you against. But in countryside I imagine it could be very nice. Pity I never lived in countryside and never going to be.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#259

Post by sandworm101 »

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 smile of a totally able-bodied person living in a temperate climate heading to a job that doesnt require them to haul much more than thier own bodyweight to work. Not everyone can physically ride a bike. Not everyone lives in sunny california. Not everyone has the luxury of a single-location office job a few miles from home. Workmen drive pickup trucks for reasons.

There was so much smoke at my work on thursday (forest fires) that those who biked in were hitching rides home because physical activity outside was to be curtailed due to air quality.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#260

Post by prmoustache »

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…

You can ride in families. I can even take your kids on the bike, especially with assistance.
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