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Electric bike, stupid love of my life

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Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#261

Post by Moldoteck »

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…

I think there were a study that people actually exercised more with ebikes since it allowed them to not get tired so fast, something like how people are doing in gyms: if everything was too heavy, ppl would exercise less compared to when they can choose the difficulty

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#262

Post by daveoc64 »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #48
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)

There's an interesting problem here in Bristol where a couple had improvised an e-cargo bike locking solution on the side of the road using a couple of planters. Unfortunately, the council aren't happy about it and are threatening to remove them. Seems like parking spaces are unfairly prioritising cars or at least aren't flexible in providing locking points for e-bikes. Bristol City Council do have a scheme for bike…

>Unfortunately, the council aren't happy about it and are threatening to remove them.

Quite rightly too - it's simply not legal for them to put it there.

There are proper processes in place to get an official hangar installed. These might be challenging, but that's the only fair way to do things.

I think the biggest problem with cars is that we happily accept the impact they have on the entire community, just so that some people who use them can have more convenience. The cost of having a car is passed on to everyone.

Similarly, with bikes it's never going to be possible for every single person in the city to have a cargo bike parked outside their house - there simply isn't room. This isn't ideal, but a situation where only someone who gets there first can do it isn't ideal either.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#263

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#264

Post by zachkatz »

georgeoliver wrote: post #249
mulmen wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah very disappointing. I'm e-bike curious but they're all so _ugly_. Something with VanMoof style and a "dumb" drive system would be perfect. Give me a conventional derailleur-and-cassette in the back and an electric drive up front without screaming "this is an e-bike!" in my face and I would be the first in line.

Ebikes are ugly (subjectively speaking) because of the battery, but there are significant trade-offs when you design that away, like vendor-locked designs and energy capacity/performance. Assuming battery technology will improve, which seems likely, ebikes should get nicer looking (again, subjectively) in the future.

The Gazelle Arroyo C8 is a Dutch e-bike (one of the only models available in the USA) with a beautiful design.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#265

Post by swader999 »

prmoustache wrote: post #257
microtonal wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Extreme heat maybe, but cold can be handled.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#266

Post by pjmlp »

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…

I get the same with a motorbike.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#267

Post by parshimers »

abeppu wrote: post #216
c-cube wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't tried but I'm curious about them: would a foldable (e)bike do it for you? You just don't leave it outside at all! I've been eyeing the Bromptons but without a commute it's harder for me to justify the cost.

> You just don't leave it outside at all! How practical is this really? You bring your folding bike into the restaurant where you're eating, into the bar where you're meeting friends, into the gym (it doesn't fit into a locker), into the little corner store with narrow aisles, etc? I feel like taking the folding bike indoors can work for a commute if your office doesn't have dedicated safe bike storage, but I think i…

A Brompton is really small when folded. Smaller than a carry-on suitcase by volume. It rolls on little scooter wheels on the rear rack when folded. I bring mine into all the places you just listed on a regular basis, except for a gym. For a restaurant, it typically will fit under a table. At a bar, if you are at a table the previous thing works. I've also had the bar staff offer to stash it inside the store room. If someone you are meeting up with is DD'ing a trunk works as well. I've never been in a store so small I couldn't roll it in, you can just pull the seat up a bit and roll it in front of you.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#268

Post by [deleted] »

somerandomqaguy wrote: post #87
blamazon wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cars once upon a time required a secure storage space for security. Technology improved, comprehensive insurance became a social norm, etc, and now you can just snug it against a curb, hop out of your car and press a button and generally not worry about theft, but if it does happen you're covered. Why can't e-bikes be this way? My answer: they can and are, just not all of them yet.

Technology improved, but cars one main advantage. To steal a 4000lbs car one needs either a tow truck, or to enable the engine, or a lot of guys to push. To steal a 15 lbs bicycle, one need only pick it up and walk away.

[deleted]

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#269

Post by daveoc64 »

itsagavin wrote: post #21

Anecdotally it seems like these things are causing a crazy amount of head injuries. I get all the tales from the ICU at the dinner table and if I had kids I don't know if I would even let them hang out with another kid if they had an ebike. They seem super cool and I always stop to watch someone zoom buy but I can't help but notice that a lot of the people on ebikes shouldn't be going that fast and aren't built to ta…

What are "these things"?

Are you talking about something with a throttle?

In the EU (and still the UK), anything with a throttle is treated like a motorcycle - it needs licence plates, tax, insurance and a driving licence. A child would therefore not be able to ride one. You also can't ride them on bike paths or lanes.

A pedelec on the other hand, which is what "ebike" usually refers to, still requires pedalling and can only offer motor assistance up to 15.5 MPH - these can be used wherever bicycles can and by anyone, and have no legal requirements to use.

I understand that the US doesn't really regulate non-standard vehicles, but it does seem to me like a child shouldn't be using something with a throttle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedelec#Legal_status_of_pedele...

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#270

Post by KeplerBoy »

DANmode wrote: post #247
somerandomqaguy wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technology improved, but cars one main advantage. To steal a 4000lbs car one needs either a tow truck, or to enable the engine, or a lot of guys to push. To steal a 15 lbs bicycle, one need only pick it up and walk away.

Good ebikes are/will be 75-150lbs.

wtf, no? How would a 150 lbs ebike even look like?

That's an electric moped.

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