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Show HN: Long Range E-Bike

jacquesmattheij.com

561–570 of 626 posts

Re: Show HN: Long Range E-Bike

#561
post #559

What's the motivation in peoples mind between using an e-bike and just using a tesla? If the argument is that the tesla is still unclean since the energy might not come from clean sources, doesn't that apply for e-bikes as well?

It uses a tiny fraction of energy to produce and drive around with. Lower emissions if you're using dirty energy. More energy left to spare if you're using clean energy.

Re: Show HN: Long Range E-Bike

#562
post #38

Awesome project Jacques! I saw a comment of yours on an article a day or two ago and was hoping to see this pop up soon. I've found the most difficult thing about riding an e-bike is the other motorists have no idea how to react to you. You're not really a regular bicycle anymore due to your speed, but you're also not a motorcycle that deserves its own lane. I have at least one car turn in front of me almost every tr…

> but you're also not a motorcycle that deserves its own lane. I have at least one car turn in front of me almost every trip out just because they're misjudging my speed. I get honked and yelled at when on the road because folks get frustrated when I'm using the left-hand side of the right-turn lane as a bike path. Cycling is my primary mode of transportation, and I've found a couple things help with this: 1. Take th…

I totally agree with this. I also find it’s best to take the lane in urban traffic where you’re not impeding the flow of traffic. The people I see getting in trouble/hurt are those (curiously, largely boomers) who insist on weaving around cars or moving up on the right without room. Just get in with the cars and move predictably.

Re: Show HN: Long Range E-Bike

#564
post #556

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you. I know two people with Stromers and their stories are quite comparable. The gear looks awesome and when it works it works fantastic but it seems a bit fickle and I'd really hate to be stuck halfway on a 65 km ride on a bike that heavy. Which is why I ended up building what I did, the Bosch system is reliable, a bit slower and DRM'd to the hilt but I figured I'd find a way to make that work. Fortunately the…

It is not the weight that is the problem (though the bike is heavy), it is that the fancy hub drive will not let the rear wheel spin freely when powered off. I have had to cycle home up to 20km with at about 18kmh, so slower than a lot of normal cyclists, while sweating, wearing my ugly helmet and illegally riding on the cycle path. The last time that happened I decided to sell the bike.

Probably electromagnetic drag. I can totally see how you decided to sell it, transportation should first of all be reliable. Funny bit: the bike may be slower than the car but with the car the variance is a lot larger due to traffic variability. I've taken three hours to do a 45 minute trip and with the bike it is the exact same time every time.

Re: Show HN: Long Range E-Bike

#565
post #555

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is NL, legally in town I'm supposed to be driving in traffic with this bike, it's an s-pedelec, not a normal e-bike. It's insured and has a yellow license plate, and it is legally treated like a 45 kph scooter even though it clearly isn't a scooter visually and so drivers get irritated by the slowpoke in 'their' lane.

Ooh sorry I thought you were talking about the bike, not the 45km/h thing. Got it!

Np, it's a confusing subject in practice and to talk about. There are 6 different classes of vehicle here that you can find on a bike path and probably more when you start to factor in cargo bikes and such.

Re: Show HN: Long Range E-Bike

#566

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* You're not really a regular bicycle anymore due to your speed, but you're also not a motorcycle that deserves its own lane.* If you’re traveling at normal road speeds, wouldn’t you be a (electric) motorcycle? And require lights, tags, and insurance like any other motorcycle?

E-bikes in the US require pressure on the pedals to avoid being classified as vehicles (they’re cycling assist devices). That said, many people have retrofitted those assist systems with garage modifications that remove the need to push the pedals or even add a digital “throttle”. Illegal? Sure. Are they going to get charged for it? Probably not.

No they don't. Federal class 2 ebikes are allowed throttle power without any assist.

Re: Show HN: Long Range E-Bike

#567
post #559

What's the motivation in peoples mind between using an e-bike and just using a tesla? If the argument is that the tesla is still unclean since the energy might not come from clean sources, doesn't that apply for e-bikes as well?

According to wikipedia[1], an ebike is about 10x as efficient per passenger mile as a tesla. Also, an ebike is 2x(!) as efficient as a conventional bike.

[1]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_efficiency_in_transpo...

Re: Show HN: Long Range E-Bike

#568
post #559

What's the motivation in peoples mind between using an e-bike and just using a tesla? If the argument is that the tesla is still unclean since the energy might not come from clean sources, doesn't that apply for e-bikes as well?

A bike is infinitely more convenient and fun than a car if you live in a city. And only cost a fraction.

Cars requirements on roads, parking lots and traffic jams also add to environmental profile if that’s your thing.

Re: Show HN: Long Range E-Bike

#569

As someone who lives in SEA this obsession with e-bikes is rather fascinating. Modern ice motorbikes are dirt cheap (you can get one for the price of OPs battery pack) , easy to maintain and are surprisingly silent. Finally it can carry the whole family - pets included! It's not that uncommon to see 4 people on a scooter around here. Honestly aside from weather I wonder why the west has such terrible adoption for imh…

> Honestly aside from weather

Also we are generally wealthy enough to afford cars and they fit a whole family a lot more comfortably. If you can afford a car, why by a motorcycle unless you want one for fun? Ebikes are nice in the west because they can travel in bike lanes which have a lot less traffic.

Re: Show HN: Long Range E-Bike

#570

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to be literally sued for this kind of thing to be a liability. Companies don't like this because even if they don't get sued, it becomes a PR liability when they get a reputation. When the average buyer sees that a product gets a lot of accidents, they're not going to put on their detective hat and spend much time getting to the bottom of "is this reputation truly deserved? was it the customer's fault?…

> it becomes a PR liability when they get a reputation This would rather be positive for PR. The news will talk about it, about how dangerous this is, then they come out with the real story, where the customer did some modifications, that the product is 100% safe if it is left the way they sell it.

That only works for those who read all of the article, not just the headline. Even worse, the correction might be in another article...
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