The crazies have come to MN
#51
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#52
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#53
OwainGyndwr
#54
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#55
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There is a showdown building in Tucson.
Our 100 mile "Loop" is clearly marked no motorized vehicles. But people buy a 1k+ e-bike and think it came with a ticket to the Loop. It did not.
I only frequent a small 10-15 mile section on a regular basis and I've seen bloody accidents and screaming matches.
Two things about it get my goat.
E-bike buyers denying that e-bikes are motorized vehicles
Fat and otherwise completely out of shape people buying an e-bike and now they consider themselves the up and coming TDF class.
E-bike popularity with the couch class will EXPAND the available sizes for spank-dex though.
Our 100 mile "Loop" is clearly marked no motorized vehicles. But people buy a 1k+ e-bike and think it came with a ticket to the Loop. It did not.
I only frequent a small 10-15 mile section on a regular basis and I've seen bloody accidents and screaming matches.
Two things about it get my goat.
E-bike buyers denying that e-bikes are motorized vehicles
Fat and otherwise completely out of shape people buying an e-bike and now they consider themselves the up and coming TDF class.
E-bike popularity with the couch class will EXPAND the available sizes for spank-dex though.
https://prismic-io.s3.amazonaws.com/..._AZ_2020-1.pdf
#56
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Come to terms that ebikes are regulated in your state as bicycles:
https://prismic-io.s3.amazonaws.com/..._AZ_2020-1.pdf
https://prismic-io.s3.amazonaws.com/..._AZ_2020-1.pdf
#57
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These issues with e-bikes seems to be a universal problem. This cyclist in Switzerland sees much of the same problems we see here in the states.
#58
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One day I'll ask one of the riders I see on my local bicycle path why they spent so much on an e-bike when they could just stay home and watch a Gopro video from an actual bicycle rider. It is probably about the same amount of exercise.
#60
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Based on my observation of e-bike users I've seen on my local multi-use path, I am dubious they are getting the same amount of exercise. I don't see how they are getting exercise by not turning their cranks. I'll admit I've not followed every rider on their entire rides. But the couple I saw the other day were coasting into a head wind.
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Based on my observation of e-bike users I've seen on my local multi-use path, I am dubious they are getting the same amount of exercise. I don't see how they are getting exercise by not turning their cranks. I'll admit I've not followed every rider on their entire rides. But the couple I saw the other day were coasting into a head wind.
In fact, that might be the same or similar answer that would given by many people who are riding a regular bicyclist powered bicycle on the bike path, or if asked anywhere else other than at a velodrome or at the meeting point of the local "actual bicycle rider" club.
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Based on my observation of e-bike users I've seen on my local multi-use path, I am dubious they are getting the same amount of exercise. I don't see how they are getting exercise by not turning their cranks. I'll admit I've not followed every rider on their entire rides. But the couple I saw the other day were coasting into a head wind.
Why do you care?
It's none of your damn business how much exercise they're getting. I'm concerned with over-powered ebikes being used on paths both too fast and too heavy because those are legitimate safety concerns. Those affect the safety of other people. "George isn't turning his crank enough to matter" is a stupid, tsk tsk, fake level of concern kind of thing.
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I don't ride ebikes, but if any stranger asked me a pointed question like that unsolicited on a bike path, I wouldn't hesitate to suggest they perform an impossible solo sex act. Your question is the worst sort of Karening, you just assume they're interested in your approval or disapproval.
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E Bikes are more motorcycle than bicycle
They've got peddles but they're fast, powerful and big. I struggled to put my bike in a rack because someone put an Ebike in it. It was like one of the old mopeds they had in the early 80's.
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I think as the technology improves they'll get smaller and lighter....but they will also get faster and have a longer range. However, I agree, as of today, they are freakin' big and heavy.
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I am of two minds on ebikes. My biking partner is 78, has a pacemaker, and is on oxygen 24/7. Before his health declined, he rode a regular bicycle from San Francisco to New York City, across Alaska, and many of the bike trails across the country. Without a motor, he would be unable to ride. His bike is "assist," so he does get exercise if that matters.
On the other hand, I have had disappointing encounters with ebike riders. Passed at speed on a MUP with no warning, rider not wearing a helmet. Caught up at red light. Tried to explain she should give a warning when passing, but she had ear buds and couldn't hear me. That said, I have also had "regular" riders close pass, pass on the right, ignore traffic rules, etc.
My hope, as others have expressed here, is that ebikes will open riding to more people for everyday chores or just getting out of the house. And that this increase will benefit us all in the long run.
On the other hand, I have had disappointing encounters with ebike riders. Passed at speed on a MUP with no warning, rider not wearing a helmet. Caught up at red light. Tried to explain she should give a warning when passing, but she had ear buds and couldn't hear me. That said, I have also had "regular" riders close pass, pass on the right, ignore traffic rules, etc.
My hope, as others have expressed here, is that ebikes will open riding to more people for everyday chores or just getting out of the house. And that this increase will benefit us all in the long run.
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In the past few years I have encountered very few other ebikes on the local trails. Once in a while I would see a couple - her on an ebike, him on a road bike - maybe an older couple, both on ebikes or maybe an isolated single. But recently they seem to have multiplied to the point that I it is not uncommon to see several every time I ride. So far they all seemed to be ridden decently, with none of the crazy mad ebiker experiences that are usually reported on BF.
But that changed two days ago. I was riding a section of trail that runs through a heavily wooded lowland with many tight blind corners and few straight sections. I was riding comfortably through the winding trail at about 15mph when I saw two bikes in my mirror come up fast behind me. The man blew it past through a blind corner but the woman got caught behind me. She rode my rear wheel and then tried to pass on the next short straight just as two bikes came around the next blind corner in front of us. She braked, sliding both wheels and somehow we all managed to miss each other. It could have been messy with trees at the edge of the trail and no place to bail out. She almost took out 4 bikes in her rush to get by. In the process her ebike died and she called out for the man to wait. He stopped and as I caught up to him I clearly suggested that they cool it a bit and watch how they were riding on the blind corners. Probably didn't make a friend there.
So - the crazy ebikers have come to quiet suburban MN. Usually all I have to watch out for are dog walkers, joggers, and the guys in lycra running time trials for the TDF. Ah, the advance of technology . . . .
But that changed two days ago. I was riding a section of trail that runs through a heavily wooded lowland with many tight blind corners and few straight sections. I was riding comfortably through the winding trail at about 15mph when I saw two bikes in my mirror come up fast behind me. The man blew it past through a blind corner but the woman got caught behind me. She rode my rear wheel and then tried to pass on the next short straight just as two bikes came around the next blind corner in front of us. She braked, sliding both wheels and somehow we all managed to miss each other. It could have been messy with trees at the edge of the trail and no place to bail out. She almost took out 4 bikes in her rush to get by. In the process her ebike died and she called out for the man to wait. He stopped and as I caught up to him I clearly suggested that they cool it a bit and watch how they were riding on the blind corners. Probably didn't make a friend there.
So - the crazy ebikers have come to quiet suburban MN. Usually all I have to watch out for are dog walkers, joggers, and the guys in lycra running time trials for the TDF. Ah, the advance of technology . . . .