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Long Range E-Bike (2021)

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Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#331

Post by tenacious_tuna »

theultdev wrote: post #330
tenacious_tuna wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I have never seen one of these ridiculous looking bikes in any city or anywhere. > > Where do y'all live, a Dr. Suess book? I saw them every day in Chicago. I see them every day in southern Ontario. I saw them whenever I visited Boston or NYC. Where do you live that you don't? > I will not bike them in the rain, With soggy bags and squishy pain. > I will not bike them up the hill, When every pedal feels like drill.…

I have an EV as well as an ICE truck. Powertrain is not a concern. It's the load a bike can carry vs a car overall. The bonus of having storage and rain cover is extra. Sure you can do a lite version but why? I don't want to risk having an injury on a bike either. A car is much safer.

> Powertrain is not a concern. It's the load a bike can carry vs a car overall.

Sure, an automobile will pretty much always win out in raw capacity, but I'd argue it's a policy problem that makes us reliant on automobiles for day to day life. If people only needed a car for their weekly grocery trip but could bike to work or school or the doctor's office that would still significantly reduce our reliance on automobiles, with benefits in health and energy.

> I don't want to risk having an injury on a bike either. A car is much safer.

Also a reasonable concern, but again more of a policy problem: we prioritize cars over pretty much every other form of transportation to the detriment of everyone else in public spaces. If we had more protected walkways / bikeways then everyone would be safer.

In general I don't think we regulate the safe use of automobiles nearly as much as we ought to in the states. Leaving it as an individual concern makes it a race to the bottom, with everyone buying bigger and bigger cars in the name of safety, all other externalities be dammed.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#332

Post by bjustin »

rsynnott wrote: post #269
bjustin wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I propose a new and improved e-bike classification scheme: Class A: Bikes that can not go over 10mph via a throttle. And can’t go over 28mph with pedal assist. Or set the pedal assist limit at 20mph if you’re feeling especially conservative. Class B-Class infinity: These aren’t considered bikes. Class A is the only class of e-bike.

> And can’t go over 28mph with pedal assist. Or set the pedal assist limit at 20mph if you’re feeling especially conservative. That doesn't seem _that_ conservative, honestly. Lots of places have a 20mph/30km/h limit for _cars_ in urban areas.

There are plenty of long, straight, flat roads around town here, where riding at 28mph would be perfectly safe. People driving feel free to go 30+mph, after all. My e-bike's assist only goes up to 20mph, which I can sustain even without assist on many of those roads. I'd guess 25mph would be about as fast as I could go with assist while still feeling safe on a bike.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#333

Post by PrairieFire »

lostlogin wrote: post #305
PrairieFire wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live about 3 miles out of town, fortunately directly on a rail trail. I ride my e-bike in to town to get groceries weekly. I have saddlebags on the bike and I pull a kids trailer with the seat folded down and have never run out of room, or had issues with weight. Sometimes I'll even get a few bags of water softener salt. I have a fat tire ebike (aventon), it's pretty sturdy. I've got about 2k miles on the bike, I'd…

Pleaser tell me that the bike trail is off road and unpaved.

indeed it is, its a former railbed, crushed gravel. the most dangerous part of the journey is the grocery store parking lot.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#334

Post by socalgal2 »

lmm wrote: post #222
socalgal2 wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False. If you jump in front of a car who has the right of way and is not speeding it's not the driver's fault. The victum in this case is the driver who has done nothing wrong. The perp is the person who broke the law and faces the consequences.

The victim is the one who's injured or dead.

Sure, if you commit suicide you're a victim of yourself

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#336

Post by throwaway2037 »

eloisant wrote: post #329
throwaway2037 wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be clear, when the OP wrote "Japan has bicycles with license plates", it is important to clarify the term "bicycle". It would more accurate to say "motorized bicycle". If you ride something that looks like a bicycle where you can power it only with a throttle button (no pedalling required), then it requires a license plate, at least in Tokyo. Explanation here: https://www.city.inagi.tokyo.jp/en/kurashi/zeikin/1002…

Alright, a moped requires a plate. That's not a bike. And I don't need to ask AI, I used an e-bike (without a licence plate) last week in Tokyo.

    > I used an e-bike (without a licence plate) last week in Tokyo.
Did you (1) need to pedal to get assistance, or (2) could you get power with a throttle button only? If #2, then you were breaking the law. It seems like police are not yet enforcing. In neighborhoods with a lot of "night life", I see this often with host-looking dudes. I expect 6-12 months after the law is activated, police will begin to crack down. (This is a pretty normal pattern when introducing new traffics laws in Japan.)

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#337

Post by conductr »

oblio wrote: post #130
SoftTalker wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> most people don’t want to peddle at all. Most people don't want a two-wheeler, period. Otherwise everyone would be riding motorcycles. People want a vehicle that will keep them dry, comfortable, and safe. Two-wheelers of all types fail at all of those things.

Plenty of people will ride two wheelers if the infrastructure is good. Most places in the world just have crap infrastructure for using bicycles safely and calmly.

I tend to agree more with GP, at least in the western world.

People I know and pretty certain a huge percentage of the US start their day getting dolled up. Hair, makeup, clothes, etc each and every day. Even without the physical excursions of peddling, people don’t want to be exposed to the dirty outside air and especially dealing with the elements. The want to move from one climate controlled setting to another including their transportation system.

The Netherlands where biking is common has a completely different norm for style, dress, fashion and even hygiene because they’ve become so used to biking. The rest of the western world has some work to do in those areas or some realities to face if they ever wanted to actually get on board with bicycling as transportation.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#338

Post by Zambyte »

socalgal2 wrote: post #334
lmm wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The victim is the one who's injured or dead.

Sure, if you commit suicide you're a victim of yourself

You seem to be unwilling to assign blame to the operator of hazardous machinery for running people over. Why is that? "They should know better"? Kids? Disabled people unable to use their mobility devices on the unplowed sidewalks? Animals?

If you cannot control yourself enough to slow down around people, you need to get out of the driver's seat. If you cannot stop before a potential crash, you were going too fast. 100% of the time. It literally does not matter if someone jumps in front of you. If you're going to choose the statistically most violent mode of transportation by multiple orders of magnitude, that is your responsibility.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#339

Post by s0rce »

pbmonster wrote: post #251
s0rce wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really like a low speed throttle, like 3-5mph max is fine. 20mph is too fast and results in ebikes basically designed a motorcycles that cannot be pedaled. The throttle is so nice to have to get started quickly like turning left at a light, if you didn't have time to downshift before stopping, on a hill, or if the bike is heavily loaded with stuff. Its also nice to be able to use to slowly move between cars with yo…

Those are legal, at least in the EU. It's called "push support" or "walk assist", my bike engages it when I long-press the down button. It's purpose is to help you push the heavy e-bike up ramps and hills, but I mainly use it as a throttle when I ride behind my toddler on his balance bike. It's closer to 3mph than 5mph, and as such needs some slow-riding skills, but it works.

One of my bikes without a thumb throttle has this but there is a bit of delay from the long-press required which I don't like compared to the basically instant response of the thumb throttle. It also requires a bit for attention to press the small button vs the throttle you can keep your eyes on the road.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#340

Post by oblio »

conductr wrote: post #337
oblio wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plenty of people will ride two wheelers if the infrastructure is good. Most places in the world just have crap infrastructure for using bicycles safely and calmly.

I tend to agree more with GP, at least in the western world. People I know and pretty certain a huge percentage of the US start their day getting dolled up. Hair, makeup, clothes, etc each and every day. Even without the physical excursions of peddling, people don’t want to be exposed to the dirty outside air and especially dealing with the elements. The want to move from one climate controlled setting to another inc…

> Even without the physical excursions of peddling,

Physical exertion of pedalling :-)

Also, ebikes. Going slow. In non-hot climates people don't really sweat on bikes. Especially if the bike infra is good (so distances are short due to bike overpasses, bridges, tunnels, etc) and safe (so no stress due to having to avoid getting hit by cars).

> people don’t want to be exposed to the dirty outside air

Said "dirty air" is only dirty because of cars. Vicious cycle, catch 22.

> The rest of the western world has some work to do in those areas or some realities to face if they ever wanted to actually get on board with bicycling as transportation.

That's the real problem, and it's even worse, and it ties in with this:

> The want to move from one climate controlled setting to another including their transportation system.

Laziness/convenience. People don't really realize that convenience kills. Life is too comfortable and our bodies aren't made for being bored and comfortable 24/7. They can go crazy and do stuff like increase autoimmune attacks (and many other things, a lot of our internal systems function worse when not used).

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