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Electric bike, stupid love of my life

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Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#301

Post by acdha »

CalRobert wrote: post #110

The single most exciting thing about moving to the Netherlands next month is getting to ride an electric bakfiets with my kids every single day.

It’s great. I’ve never enjoyed daily life as much as bike commuting with my son, even in lousy weather.

My favorite memory of the trip to daycare happened on a shared path where I’d often see another dad taking his sons to work on a long-tail. One fall day, the boys were wearing superhero costumes and those bike helmets with the Roman warrior crests, and they were standing up on the running boards cheering him on as they raced down the hill. It was like a triumphal procession — and quite the contrast with all of the unhappy, raging people on the roads nearby.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#302

Post by hooverd »

globular-toast wrote: post #163
rcpt wrote: post #126

Greatest thing about bikes, and this still applies to ebikes, is that you actually experience and participate in the city you live in. You learn the small roads, you see other people and they see you, you spot tiny businesses and interesting parks. I lived in Los Angeles without a car for a few years. I often met people who lived here much longer but knew almost nothing about the local area despite having intimate kn…

I know people who can't get around without a car with GPS navigation. They do not know the way to the shops or their friends' houses. It's interesting to me that road rage is non-existent between cyclists and pedestrians. It seems to be a manifestation of the frustration of being reduced to a metal box with a monotone horn, a couple of lights and the ability to go forwards and backwards. On a bike you're still a pers…

Check out bike YouTuber ZeroEnigna. The man does nothing but road rage at pedestrians.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#303

Post by qwytw »

rsynnott wrote: post #285
rpozarickij wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 e…

I would suspect regenerative braking (assuming that this is actually true).

Do e-bikes generally have regenerative breaking? I assumed that given their weight the amount of energy captured would be very low also bikes have very different braking patterns compared to cars (unless maybe if you're going downhill and don't want to go too fast).

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#304

Post by hooverd »

paulhart wrote: post #12

Pity about Van Moof though - and the owners if the cloud service disappears and they can’t ride their bikes any more. https://electrek.co/2023/07/12/dutch-e-bike-company-vanmoof-... [German]: https://zug.network/@moritzkraehe/110716829137328870

They're putting DRM in everything these days.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#305

Post by lacrimacida »

Im in love with my EUC - electric unicycle. The learning curve is steepish only for the first half hour then tops off in about a couple of hours training. Pros: hands are free to carry items, it’s fun to ride, easier than walking after a few days of training. Good for training a good posture. Cons: lack of physical exertion, you’re basically standing on a floating platform with a wheel in the middle. All in all I highly recommend it for running errands or just pure fun.

Another pro is that it’s so small you can easily take it indoors so no risk of them getting stolen.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#306

Post by canucker2016 »

hughesjj wrote: post #155
BlargMcLarg wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>In Amsterdam, there's this thing called a bakfiet, which is super popular It's not super popular. The things are a hassle to carry anything with, and any small things are easier done with a regular bike with a satchel or just carrying the bags. Doubly so in a place like Amsterdam, where general commodities are within walking distance and any big things are near a central station. >It's big enough for you to put two…

You got a point on dutch teenager height lol. By super popular I mean most blocks id see at least one or two parked or riding by me. I was staying around the museum district. To your point though I suppose when there's like 50 bikes per street in some of those areas along the that doesn't make it "super popular". ( https://maps.app.goo.gl/SDP55mmEDotWMuaK8 ) I've seen them before in Seattle too around 2017 when prime…

dcrainmaker, who does reviews of sports-related tech devices, has written an annual blog entry when he gets a Christmas tree.

Now that he lives in Amsterdam with three young children, he goes Christmas tree shopping with a cargo bike with the kids in the front cargo space.

2020: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/12/getting-the-christmas-tr...

2021: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/12/getting-christmas-by-bik...

2022: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/12/getting-christmas-by-bik...

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#307

Post by vel0city »

kjkjadksj wrote: post #127
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.

Same issue with motorcycles and people just buy insurance, which you can do with bikes too.

I can pick up a bicycle and walk away with very little effort. They're usually less than 20lbs.

My motorcycle is 500lbs wet. Close to 700 with full cases.

Are you really suggesting it's just as easy stealing a 500-700lb bike as a 20lb bike?

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#308

Post by rsynnott »

jeffbee wrote: post #300
rsynnott wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The bulk of ebike injuries to children are coming from throttle-having class 2 bikes and in my view these should simply be outlawed Huh, I always thought that virtually everywhere treated these the same as motorbikes (ie you need a license, insurance etc).

I've never heard of any place that required a license for any of the 3 formal electric bike classifications. If you need a motorcycle license that is because the thing you intend to ride is, in fact, a motorcycle. The bike featured in the article, a BESV PSA1, is considered a "class 1" machine under the most common framework. It has a low-power motor, pedal assist, and no throttle. I am not aware of any place that re…

Oh, yep, I was talking about bikes with throttles. The bike in the article should be fine basically everywhere.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#309

Post by vel0city »

abeppu wrote: post #218
bluGill wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

60 years ago it wasn't hard to hot wire a car. Car locks are very good, 20 years ago encryption was added so you can't start the car withour the authorized keys. Decades before that the lock was attached to the steering wheel so you couldn't drive even if you srarted.it. and car locks are hard to pick (unlike many house locks)

... btw, since we know how to make locks that are harder to pick, why _don't_ we use them basically everywhere including houses. Are they a lot more challenging to manufacture?

I was working on adding a deadbolt to an exterior door. I started doing a lot of fine measurements to drill it out because I didn't want to crack the glass which was kind of close to the edge of the door.

Which I then questioned what the hell am I doing adding a deadbolt to a door with a massive window. If someone wants to get in, they're gonna get in. The only thing that really keeps my family safe is the fact the vast majority of my neighbors don't want to hurt me, not some lock on my door.

Re: Electric bike, stupid love of my life

#310

Post by rsynnott »

qwytw wrote: post #303
rsynnott wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would suspect regenerative braking (assuming that this is actually true).

Do e-bikes generally have regenerative breaking? I assumed that given their weight the amount of energy captured would be very low also bikes have very different braking patterns compared to cars (unless maybe if you're going downhill and don't want to go too fast).

Most don't. I can't see how the claim (ebikes are more energy efficient than normal bikes) could possibly be true in any other circumstance, tho.
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