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Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

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Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#91

Post by [deleted] »

URSpider94 wrote: post #18
rzt wrote: post #6

Pretty serious MTB/cyclocross racer here that's done a lot of trailbuilding and trail advocacy: a lot of dudes are scared that offroad ebikes are going to kill access to hard-won trails. It's a not-unfounded fear as motorized bikes are pretty dang close to motorcycles in most people's eyes. That said, I'd love to have an ebike! I have a 26 mile one-way commute (that's a 30 minute train ride) but every once in a while…

A co-worker of mine is an e-bike fanatic who builds his own hardware. He has street bikes that will go up to 40 mph. (He also does a massive trail ride on his regular MTB almost every morning, and road bikes on the weekends). Once or twice, he did the commute into work using Strava as his speedo ... needless to say, he got some fairly negative feedback when he accidentally claimed the KOM (king of the mountain) on a…

[deleted]

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#92

Post by [deleted] »

ghaff wrote: post #30
URSpider94 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, e-bikes are an odd tweener. They don't mix well on bike paths if you're bombing along at 20 mph, and in a lot of places people still just don't feel safe riding anything with two wheels on public roads. I don't see a lot of people who aren't already comfortable cycling to work (though maybe preferring to get there faster and with less sweat), going out and buying an e-bike.

That was one of the issues with Segways as well. A lot of people (understandably) didn't want them on sidewalks. But they weren't really suited for roads either.

[deleted]

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#93

Post by Shebanator »

DigitalJack wrote: post #74
DigitalJack wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's pretty dangerous riding a motorcycle. And I just mean the danger from other motorists. Imagine if your motorcycle was silent. I know people raised the same concerns about electric cars back in the day, but people are far more likely to not "see" a motorcycle. Maybe mitigate with a strobe light, but I find those very distracting when I drive by a cyclist.

Really like to hear the rationale for downvotes, just because it's surprising to me.

I don't think you deserved downvotes for your original post, fwiw - it isn't particularly well argued, but it isn't offensive. On the other hand, your followup comment "Call it a terrible argument if you want, but you are wrong." does mark you as a bit of a jerk.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#94

Post by kennell »

rckclmbr wrote: post #85

I rode a manual bike for several years, and bought an e-bike about a month ago for my 25-mile (round trip) commute. It's been amazing. I still get cardio (albeit not as much), I don't have to change in my lycra, don't have to shower when I get to work, and the commute is actually faster than driving (the 101 sucks). I'll still do the occasional ride on my old bike, but it's mostly e-bike now.

What e-bike are you using?

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#95

Post by outworlder »

bambax wrote: post #26

What's holding me back is what I read about batteries, how fragile they are and how they self destruct if you don't keep them plugged in all the time. Is this still true?

Sort of.

Individual cells are usually fragile (as in, you can dent or puncture easily). However, they are usually protected by their enclosure.

If you are talking about lithium cells, then you should not drain them completely. Which means that they should be kept with some charge. But, unless you intend to keep them stored away for months at a time (and maybe even then) you should be fine.

There's also that fact that, when people think about batteries, they think about laptop batteries. Those are optimized for power density above all else. They are not the only type of cells available.

If you are worried about safety (and charging cycles), get a LiFePo battery (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_iron_phosphate_battery). This is the same kind usually found in electric vehicles and hybrids.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#96

Post by Brakenshire »

URSpider94 wrote: post #21
alvern wrote: post #17

I ride 20 miles a day in Minneapolis on my e-bike. My biggest fear is when we will ruin it for everyone. There just isn't the proper infrastructure for them. Bike paths around here have 10mph speed limit signs and are mostly mixed use. Not enough connecting roads have bike lanes. It will grow wildly popular once a cheap US based lithium battery supplier appears (Tesla/Panasonic).

Exactly, e-bikes are an odd tweener. They don't mix well on bike paths if you're bombing along at 20 mph, and in a lot of places people still just don't feel safe riding anything with two wheels on public roads. I don't see a lot of people who aren't already comfortable cycling to work (though maybe preferring to get there faster and with less sweat), going out and buying an e-bike.

e-bikes in the EU are limited to 17 mph, and quite low wattage, so it's not really an issue being in bike lanes, as long as you're decent about it. In the US a lot of them seem to be basically motorbikes.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#97

Post by ArkyBeagle »

digi_owl wrote: post #58
URSpider94 wrote: post #16

The e-bike situation in China is very different from the US. These are people who are moving UP from human-powered bikes, or walking, to their first vehicle -- not buying them so that they can leave their car at home and feel the wind in their hair. Here's a photo of a very typical Chinese e-bike: http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00zsrEyYQIYOqo/Chinese-El... As you can see, it has a second seat in the back for a pa…

On that note, i ran into a kickstarter on one that was styled more like a motorcycle than a typical bicycle. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/782844499/the-super-73

Nice! Is there a possibility of multiple batteries to double/triple range?

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#98

Post by Brakenshire »

khedoros wrote: post #78
Rumudiez wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But I would still need a car for commuting to work. And that sums up why the typical US mentality will continue to impede transportation progress. I can easily carry over a week's worth of groceries to cook three meals per day for two people in one trip on my motorcycle. I ride to work every day of the year in Seattle . It's kind of like, you know, living in pretty much any other country in the world where cars are…

It's a chicken+egg problem. I've considered riding a bicycle to work (it's only about 6 miles), but there are busy streets without bicycle lanes (or even sidewalks), and drivers in the area are known to be actively aggressive against cyclists. These things drive down the numbers of cyclists, which increases the general feeling that they aren't accepted, and that it's not worth it to cater to them. > if we could just…

I suspect a lot of it is pure population density. The US needs to make downtown areas pedestrian and bike friendly, and then allow high density development near the centre. That makes the bike lanes and the bus network self supporting.

In London there was a very big push to extend the bus network about 15 years ago, by the left-wing mayor (who had been given newly created powers). He also introduced a congestion charge for other vehicles. Both policies were quickly supported across the political spectrum. In central London few people use cars now, it is just far more of a hassle. The last mayor expanded bike lanes a lot, and now bike journeys are on course to overtake car journeys in central London.

The big development definitely helped to establish the network, but it happened on top of high density (in the number of people working in the centre, if not actually living there). And now we are getting much more housing closer to the centre.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#99

Post by Pxtl »

We see them frequently here in Hamilton, Ontario and it's quite unfortunate - culturally, theyve ended up on the bottom rung of society. Idealists bike, pragmatists drive, so e-bikes are the domain of drunks and the unemployable.

The perfect low-cost solution to traffic carbon emissions and we hate the people who use it. Expect the same in USA.

Re: Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the U.S. Next?

#100

Post by Pxtl »

rzt wrote: post #6

Pretty serious MTB/cyclocross racer here that's done a lot of trailbuilding and trail advocacy: a lot of dudes are scared that offroad ebikes are going to kill access to hard-won trails. It's a not-unfounded fear as motorized bikes are pretty dang close to motorcycles in most people's eyes. That said, I'd love to have an ebike! I have a 26 mile one-way commute (that's a 30 minute train ride) but every once in a while…

Theyve already banned e-bikes from trails and bike-lanes in Toronto, cyclists are unaffected.
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