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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

#301

Post by breuleux »

_se wrote: post #279
wmil wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google maps estimates it about 35 minutes, so almost twice as long as you're thinking.

I do it every day. It depends on elevation gain (so it could take much longer depending on the route) but usually I'm closer to 15 minutes than 20. 15mph on average for a daily bike commuter doesn't seem unreasonable at all to me.

It depends on location, if you're biking in a city at rush hour you're stopping every other block, getting stuck behind other cyclists, and at least where I live, constantly slowing down to avoid getting killed by potholes. There's basically no way you're doing 5 miles in 20 minutes.

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

#302

Post by Scoundreller »

wolverine876 wrote: post #293
rdtwo wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That and they often work at night when it’s extremely unsafe to bike

> night when it’s extremely unsafe to bike Not necessarily. There is often less traffic at night, for example. It depends on how well-lit the route is.

And it's really impressive what you can get for $35 in bike lights these days.

I use this set (with the 1000 lm):

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002708075115.html

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

#303

Post by nradov »

slt2021 wrote: post #283
jmcphers wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It’s super unfortunate that it still gets the stereotype as a “rich white people” activity when it’s really so much more financially accessible than a car. It's true that a bicycle is itself cheaper than a car, but housing within biking distance to job centers sure isn't. In my view this is the primary reason bicycle commuters are stereotypically rich folks. The bicycle itself isn't the expensive part; you need pro…

i heard that in US living in downtown is for poor people, and rich people prefer slrawling suburbs

That was the stereotypical pattern for decades, but gentrification has somewhat reversed it in first tier cities. Families with small children do still tend to move out to the suburbs in search of better quality schools and more living space.

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

#304

Post by Rapzid »

celtain wrote: post #242
Rapzid wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where I'm at there is a major project to overhaul a road, let's call it "Broadway", with conservation drainage, walkability(like 10ft wide sidewalks), medians, trees, and bike paths. The project kept getting derailed due to bicycle special interests having a literal fit because a section of the road was too narrow to have the walkable sidewalks(priority number 1), the cycle lanes with adequate safety, and not congest…

So the alternative to making the bikes take a detour was that there would be more congestion, not that the road would be closed to cars entirely? It sure doesn't sound like the "bike special interests" were the ones being unreasonable here.

The parallel road is not a full city block away as you might imagine. More like an ally but an actual road; the businesses have back entrances and there is foot traffic.

The congestion would not just be on that section of road, it would propogate out and cause major issues. The bikes are not going to experience congestion.

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

#305

Post by beebmam »

wolverine876 wrote: post #298

What is the solution for weather? Major cities in the US can regularly be in the 30s F (~0-5 C) in the winter. Add to that a nice 10-15 mph wind in your face from riding. And especially add snow and ice - or worse, rain or freezing rain - and I don't see many people wanting to rely on an e-bike for unavoidable trips.

As someone who lives in this part of the country and uses an ebike for nearly everything for the last 4 years, it can be pretty annoying. Especially when it's raining, as I'm going to get soaked and there's pretty much nothing I can do about it other than bring a change of clothes and find a place to warm up when I get to my destination.

I use these to keep my hands warm while riding: https://cozywinters.com/shop/bar-mitts.html

I rarely use just the motor when I ride, and that helps keep me warm; I'm usually pedaling just as hard as if I were riding without a motor. The motor makes me much faster, and also a lot less of an annoyance to vehicles. :)

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

#306

Post by _se »

breuleux wrote: post #301
_se wrote: post #279

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do it every day. It depends on elevation gain (so it could take much longer depending on the route) but usually I'm closer to 15 minutes than 20. 15mph on average for a daily bike commuter doesn't seem unreasonable at all to me.

It depends on location, if you're biking in a city at rush hour you're stopping every other block, getting stuck behind other cyclists, and at least where I live, constantly slowing down to avoid getting killed by potholes. There's basically no way you're doing 5 miles in 20 minutes.

That's fair. I biked in San Diego last week and the lights/potholes were brutal.

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

#307

Post by LAC-Tech »

_se wrote: post #270
fnord77 wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

5 miles is quite a distance for a bike commute. I've done about this distance for a while and I won't go back to doing it. Interestingly, the average distance the Dutch ride is about 1.2 miles per day: https://www.peopleforbikes.org/news/best-kept-secret-dutch-b...

5 miles is a very easy bike commute, not sure what you're talking about. It's about 20 minutes each way.

It's a very easy bike commute for the kind of people who self-select as riding bicycles.

General population would struggle. I used to bike commute twice that distance regularly and think that'd take me more like 25, maybe 30 now that I haven't done it for almost 2 years.

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

#308

Post by rhinoceraptor »

wmil wrote: post #278
_se wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

5 miles is a very easy bike commute, not sure what you're talking about. It's about 20 minutes each way.

Google maps estimates it about 35 minutes, so almost twice as long as you're thinking.

That would be an extremely leisurely pace. If you commute regularly on a bike and are reasonably fit, you should be able to ride at about 12 mph without breaking a sweat, which gets you a time of about 25 minutes.

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

#309

Post by chrisseaton »

mjmahone17 wrote: post #231
jmcphers wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It’s super unfortunate that it still gets the stereotype as a “rich white people” activity when it’s really so much more financially accessible than a car. It's true that a bicycle is itself cheaper than a car, but housing within biking distance to job centers sure isn't. In my view this is the primary reason bicycle commuters are stereotypically rich folks. The bicycle itself isn't the expensive part; you need pro…

Housing within bicycle commuting distance (under 5 miles) in many cities is abundant, if you’re willing to forgo a car. Especially if you convert the car savings to rent or mortgage payments. Basically, if you can be all-in on not driving, you save a lot. But once you even want to drive a little bit, the savings to driving only sometimes instead of all the time is not very large (and can in fact be negative, as you p…

> Housing within bicycle commuting distance (under 5 miles) in many cities is abundant

Housing isn’t abundant within 50 miles of London and other similar major cities, let alone 5.

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

#310

Post by jay_kyburz »

Johnny555 wrote: post #280
jdavis703 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless you’re on a major downhill, there’s no street legal e-bike doing 30 MPH.

I didn't say they were street legal, but it's not hard to find a 30mph capable kit: https://www.electricbike.com/cheap-electric-bike/ http://myelectricbikemotor.com/category/30mph/ https://www.amazon.com/Folding-Electric-Bike-Adults-Enduranc...

I haven't seen it in the comments yet, but it will only be a matter of time before these ebikes will need to be registered, have a number plate, and can receive speeding tickets.

Right now there is no way to identify a speeding bicycle, no matter how fast its going. You could be doing 50 in a 40 zone and there is no way to issue a fine.

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