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Off-road E-Bike takes down Simon Cowell

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Off-road E-Bike takes down Simon Cowell

Old 08-09-20, 05:19 PM
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dmanthree
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Off-road E-Bike takes down Simon Cowell

Saw a report that Simon Cowell broke his back in several places after falling off his electric bike. So let's be careful out there.
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Old 08-10-20, 01:21 PM
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E-Bike takes down Simon Cowell

ABC News

Crazy sounding accident. Simon Cowell brakes his back in multiple places in his driveway? Says the bike took off throwing him off on his back.
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Old 08-10-20, 02:28 PM
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That's why I stay away from those battery powered death machines.
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Old 08-10-20, 02:34 PM
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Originally Posted by dmanthree
Saw a report that Simon Cowell broke his back in several places after falling off his electric bike. So let's be careful out there.

It happens, first fall I've had in 25 years was on my e bike, very low speed one at that, nonetheless, an ER visit. The low speed handling of mine on a patch of dirt bit me, I will second the "be careful" the e bikes are a different animal.
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Old 08-10-20, 03:04 PM
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Don't have one, but I am a fan of e-bikes. See lots of people having fun. Some of them are ,in essence, scooters. Lots of older people that have not ridden bikes, mopeds or motorcycles out on the roads now feeling free on e-bikes. Looked out my window yesterday and a truck was trying to pass an e-bike, both going just under the 30 mph speed limit and they were side by side for too long, just ugly. This is going to be a painful learning curve for a lot of people, no way around it.
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Old 08-10-20, 03:33 PM
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E

I thought those were great too originally. But I almost hit one that was going the wrong way down a one way street while I was driving. Grant you this was a 20mph speed limit street that everyone usually drives at 15 cause it isn't safe to drive faster. This thing blew by me. It made me think if a pedestrian would be hit by this guys it could be like getting hit by a motorcycle.
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Old 08-10-20, 03:37 PM
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Can we just make this thread an official e-bike hate thread? E-bikes seem fine for the old and the crippled population, but no self-respecting, able-bodied person should ever mount one of these Faraday-fueled motor bikes. They have taken what were once serene passages of roadways & trails and clogged them up with slack-jawed, mouth-breathing morons that have no idea how to ride, how to signal their intentions, or even about basic bicycle safety.

Not to mention they have turned segments into a joke, as each lame-ass with a Strava connected device will eventually realize they can use these whirring velocipedes to cheat their way to a victory over their local Freds. And now we apparently have electric mopeds to blame for hospitalizing a national hero in the middle of a pandemic! Where will the madness end? #banEbikes
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Old 08-10-20, 03:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Razorrock
ABC News

Crazy sounding accident. Simon Cowell brakes his back in multiple places in his driveway? Says the bike took off throwing him off on his back.
calling this an “E bike” is somewhat of a stretch. It could be more accurately called a 60mph electric trail bike, but without the benefit of footpegs that stay put. Yes, it has pedals, but I suspect that they’re more to get around the regulatory requirements associated with being a motorcycle.
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Old 08-10-20, 03:44 PM
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Originally Posted by BoraxKid
Can we just make this thread an official e-bike hate thread? E-bikes seem fine for the old and the crippled population, but no self-respecting, able-bodied person should ever mount one of these Faraday-fueled motor bikes. They have taken what were once serene passages of roadways & trails and clogged them up with slack-jawed, mouth-breathing morons that have no idea how to ride, how to signal their intentions, or even about basic bicycle safety.

Not to mention they have turned segments into a joke, as each lame-ass with a Strava connected device will eventually realize they can use these whirring velocipedes to cheat their way to a victory over their local Freds. And now we apparently have electric mopeds to blame for hospitalizing a national hero in the middle of a pandemic! Where will the madness end? #banEbikes
you almost had me going until “national hero” 😀👍
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Old 08-10-20, 03:52 PM
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A friend of mine, who has logged thousands of miles on his e-bike (so he should know better) was showing off how quickly it could accelerate, popped a wheelie, and crashed.

It's a vehicle, and vehicles can crash.
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Old 08-10-20, 09:06 PM
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My fall from a bike was on my regular road bike. I agree 100% that we need to be careful on ebikes, but we have to be careful on any bike.
As the saying goes "start low, go slow" are words of wisdom.
Be safe
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Old 08-10-20, 09:30 PM
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I read Cowell said it was an off road e-bike (likely higher speed) and he should have read the manual, apparently he was turning and shifting at the same time and ended up doing a wheelie and fell...first time riding the bike.
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Old 08-11-20, 07:31 AM
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Originally Posted by linberl
I read Cowell said it was an off road e-bike (likely higher speed) and he should have read the manual, apparently he was turning and shifting at the same time and ended up doing a wheelie and fell...first time riding the bike.
And I can picture that happening to someone who doesn't understand how those things work. I've never ridden one, so I can just guess. Hoping he recovers fully and has the chance to give it another go.
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Old 08-11-20, 09:55 AM
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Pedal electrics boost only when you are pedaling..
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Old 08-11-20, 10:01 AM
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You've got it wrong, dude.

Originally Posted by BoraxKid
They have taken what were once serene passages of roadways & trails and clogged them up with slack-jawed, mouth-breathing morons that have no idea how to ride, how to signal their intentions, or even about basic bicycle safety.
Seems to me that this precisely describes the slack-jawed, mouth-breathing morons who were very aggressively riding down the stripe of the trail we were on, on Sunday, showing off their cycling uniforms and their 90000 lumen blinding headlights as they were cutting in and out of the slower trail users. Let's ban THEM. They all need the "Breaking Away" treatment, IMHO.
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Old 08-11-20, 10:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Elbeinlaw
Seems to me that this precisely describes the slack-jawed, mouth-breathing morons who were very aggressively riding down the stripe of the trail we were on, on Sunday, showing off their cycling uniforms and their 90000 lumen blinding headlights as they were cutting in and out of the slower trail users. Let's ban THEM. They all need the "Breaking Away" treatment, IMHO.
It would seem to me that the wannabe racer boyz wouldnt be on MUPs with us freds and walker.
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Old 08-11-20, 10:56 AM
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Originally Posted by Elbeinlaw
They all need the "Breaking Away" treatment, IMHO.
Is this some sad Boomer reference I'm too Z to understand? Literally WTF did you mean by this?
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Old 08-11-20, 11:12 AM
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Originally Posted by BoraxKid
Is this some sad Boomer reference I'm too Z to understand? Literally WTF did you mean by this?

Google "pump in spokes".

I hated that movie too much to sit through it and even I know that.
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Old 08-11-20, 11:20 AM
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Originally Posted by Gresp15C

It's a vehicle, and vehicles can crash.
Not on their own.
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Old 08-11-20, 11:22 AM
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Originally Posted by Litespud
calling this an “E bike” is somewhat of a stretch. It could be more accurately called a 60mph electric trail bike, but without the benefit of footpegs that stay put. Yes, it has pedals, but I suspect that they’re more to get around the regulatory requirements associated with being a motorcycle.

It's a motorcycle in everything but name:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlton.../#526d3854d7fa

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Old 08-11-20, 11:32 AM
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Pedal-electric only boost when you pedal , stops helping when you stop pedaling, so would be more "fool-resistant" (nothing is Foolproof).

but he had serious money to spend..

Last edited by fietsbob; 08-12-20 at 03:19 PM.
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Old 08-11-20, 11:36 AM
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Thread moved from General Cycling Discussion to E-Bikes.
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Old 08-11-20, 12:17 PM
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Duplicate threads merged.
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Old 08-11-20, 04:19 PM
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Max speed 80mph, 20 times more powerful than legal e-bikes in most of the U.S.
https://www.treehugger.com/simon-cow...e-bike-5074440
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Old 08-11-20, 05:00 PM
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
Pedal-electric only boost when you pedal , stops helping when you stop pedaling, so would be more "fool-resistant" (nothing is Foolproof).

If you have the e-bike in it's highest pedal assist mode, and rotate the crank from a stop, it kicks -in NOW, some have a soft start, but they still take off pretty quickly which could also be a problem at a stoplight. There are interrupters built into the brake levers, but you have to be aware of that and be diligent of what assist level you are in. I have seen new riders slow way down in high assist levels to avoid things, and then get startled when they pedal and the bike bolts up to speed. People just need to practice operating the bikes and familiarize themselves with the controls.
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