Electric bike, stupid love of my life

Post by adrianN » Mon, Jul 17, 2023, 3:27 AM UTC

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…

Post by adrianN » Mon, Jul 17, 2023, 3:46 AM UTC

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…

Post by mulmen » Mon, Jul 17, 2023, 4:49 AM UTC

renewiltord wrote: post #360

mulmen wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It means I can just take it with me into the office instead of having to park it somewhere. I'm glad that works for you. This is explicitly forbidden in my office, for good reason. It takes up a ton of space in the elevators and there's not much space in the office to store it. In the winter it would create a muddy, slippery mess. Most places I have worked have a bike locker for this reason.

Consider my statement amended to "in San Francisco" wherever required.

Post by DANmode » Mon, Jul 17, 2023, 5:54 AM UTC

ComplexSystems wrote: post #343

DANmode wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You want to take away people's e-bikes because...there exists a class of people so poorly coordinated that they presumably can't operate any vehicle safely 100% of the time?

That's a huge strawman. Nobody's saying get rid of them, but if they're as dangerous as motorcycles then they should be regulated similarly.

Post by shellfishgene » Mon, Jul 17, 2023, 6:10 AM UTC

miketery wrote: post #296

beebmam wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If by "experience and participate" you mean "get hit by a negligent car", then yes, I agree. I'll never ride a bicycle again until my city is serious about cyclist safety.

What city are you in? It will get better if more and more people ride.