Growing pain for e-bikes.
03-15-24, 08:11 AM
#151
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2023
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 571
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 366 Post(s)
Liked 273 Times
in
175 Posts
Take your pick - sailboats or gliders. For years, manufacturers have offered a small motor for their otherwise un-powered vehicles. As far as I know, everybody considers this an upgrade because it lets you do more.
E-bikes aren't like that at all. No parallel. E-bikers want a cargo ship or a speedboat disguised as a sailboat. They want a Cessna or a cargo plane disguised as a glider.
E-bikes aren't like that at all. No parallel. E-bikers want a cargo ship or a speedboat disguised as a sailboat. They want a Cessna or a cargo plane disguised as a glider.
03-15-24, 09:59 AM
#152
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: socal
Posts: 4,266
Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 883 Post(s)
Liked 824 Times
in
623 Posts
Our paths have a set width and you can't ride off the path easily. Even if you slow down, if some dog jets across in front of you, regardless of you having moved as far left as you can, or a kid runs in front of you or (as recently happened to me) some idiot standing off path steps right in front of you without looking, there isn't much you can do. My job as a cyclist is to obey the law. I am NOT responsible for making sure others pay attention. As a result I will not endanger myself further to avoid a collision with someone who is not behaving in a safe manner. I won't ride off the path, I will no longer lay down my. bike and risk injury, etc. I've had it with people who think cyclists have to watch out for them but they don't have to be at all aware of their surroundings or behavior. Last week some idiot was jogging in the oncoming lane to me in the correct lane while looking at his phone. I stopped and sat there and sure enough he ran right into my trike. Ripped his pant leg. He was very upset and I just kept repeating "try watching where you are going". I'm so over it.
Likes For 2old:
03-16-24, 03:34 AM
#153
Junior Member
Take your pick - sailboats or gliders. For years, manufacturers have offered a small motor for their otherwise un-powered vehicles. As far as I know, everybody considers this an upgrade because it lets you do more.
E-bikes aren't like that at all. No parallel. E-bikers want a cargo ship or a speedboat disguised as a sailboat. They want a Cessna or a cargo plane disguised as a glider.
E-bikes aren't like that at all. No parallel. E-bikers want a cargo ship or a speedboat disguised as a sailboat. They want a Cessna or a cargo plane disguised as a glider.
I ebike and I sail, and I find a lot of similarities in the two activities.
Both are vehicles which are inherently far more efficient than the fully motorized alternatives. Because of the engineering necessity to conserve a more limited power source.
This efficiency gives pleasure. In both cases you are mostly just gliding along -- so much more pleasurable than using a fully motorized transport device.
Both are incredibly efficient. I get around 100km out of my ebike on less than 750 watt-hours of power -- that's orders of magnitude better than a motorbike, not to mention a car.
Both can be used with little or no motor power for hours on end in good conditions, just gliding along. Then the motor is always there when it's really needed.
I don't know what you're on about with the cargo stuff. My sailboat is 31 95/100 registered tonnes and can carry a bunch of people and stuff when needed. I've crossed oceans with it and lived autonomously with 5 on board for months. My e-bike is a cargo bike which can carry all kinds of stuff. This doesn't detract at all from the nature of it.
Last edited by Dockhead; 03-16-24 at 03:38 AM.
Likes For Dockhead:
03-16-24, 03:43 AM
#154
Junior Member
I've seen it more & more, pedestrians not paying attention to where they are going, focused on their device while walking, not looking before crossing the street..
We all know that plenty of drivers do the same.
Main issue is ebikes make it easier for riders to ride at higher speeds, new or experienced riders alike,
until a rider is familiar with the performance of the ebike, able to respond to situations with minimal incidents,
there are going to be injuries & casualties.
Whether society prioritize legislation to limit PEVs on public roads/trails or educate the masses of importance of following the existing rules of the roads/trails; that's up to each of us to make priorities known to the legislators.
We all know that plenty of drivers do the same.
Main issue is ebikes make it easier for riders to ride at higher speeds, new or experienced riders alike,
until a rider is familiar with the performance of the ebike, able to respond to situations with minimal incidents,
there are going to be injuries & casualties.
Whether society prioritize legislation to limit PEVs on public roads/trails or educate the masses of importance of following the existing rules of the roads/trails; that's up to each of us to make priorities known to the legislators.
In Europe, you can only use pedelecs with assist limited to 25km/h (about 15 mph) on bike paths and other places where there are pedestrians. E-bikes with throttles are forbidden, and "speed pedelecs" (assistance over 25km/h) must stay on the road with the cars, and in some countries require a license. This is very sensible. It is a great, great advantage for us not to have to ride with the cars. Successful mixing with pedestrian traffic requires speed limits. And probably training and education.
Likes For Dockhead:
03-16-24, 03:50 AM
#155
Junior Member
On the topic of ascending death rates among NYC riders:
It's likely that at least some riders don't fully understand how much of an effect the increases in weight, acceleration, and top speed of e-bikes can have on controlling the bikes. Add the density and unpredictability of New York City traffic, and the changing rates of accidents (and deaths) are unsurprising.
It's likely that at least some riders don't fully understand how much of an effect the increases in weight, acceleration, and top speed of e-bikes can have on controlling the bikes. Add the density and unpredictability of New York City traffic, and the changing rates of accidents (and deaths) are unsurprising.
I'm not sure I agree that more speed makes it more dangerous -- I would think that the better you can match the speed of car traffic, the safer. Especially on hills I would think ebikes should be safer than pushbikes. But best of all is to get out of traffic and onto bike paths, and bike highways (like they have in Scandinavia). Bike lanes in roads help somewhat, but this is a half-measure. To be really useful they need to be physically separated from the road with car traffic. In Europe more and more they put the bike lanes on sidewalks rather than in roadways.
Likes For Dockhead:
