e-Bikes – Let’s talk

[EasyRider]

Trouble in paradise:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/22/older-dutch-cyclists-warned-surge-electric-bike-deaths-police-netherlands

[hozn]

@sjclaeys 166282 wrote:

Wait, based on this thread I thought that parents with children and the physically challenged would be the only ones on e-bikes.

Yeah, of the ebikes I see on my commute, zero are driven by parents with children or the physically challenged. Most were running at 25-30mph down the W&OD. I guess we can “wait and see what happens” as they become more widespread, but I think there’s some pretty clear early data that people are going to use them the way they’re marketed (“get to work faster!”, “feel like a superhero!”). I’m all for banning class-3 e-bikes from our trails. (And I think I’m all for permitting class-1 or class-2 e-bikes.) I’ve heard no argument for why we should be allowing class-3+ e-bikes on the MUPs.

[Harry Meatmotor]

@bentbike33 166290 wrote:

Then he’s not the only one riding one of these. I saw one a couple weeks ago coming up the ramp from MVT to the 14th Street Bridge as I was going down. I did not get a really good look because trail traffic, but the picture on the web page sure looked like the same old-time motorcycle I saw coming up the trail.

What color was it?

I think, but haven’t confirmed, that there’s a single Chinese or Taiwanese OEM that’s making a whole slew of these relatively new motorcycles (all 1.5-3kW hub driven from what I’ve seen) that look more like vintage motorcycles and at least a handful of companies importing/branding them, like Icon. The dead giveaway is to look at the top tube/seat tube/seatstay junction – there’s one OEM that’s using a hydroformed top tube that’s welded to the seatstays in a weird way. They’re also putting branding on the fake combustion engine/battery cover that would differentiate brand, but the branding placement indicates it is the same OEM.

“I, for one, welcome our new 3kW overlords!”

[bentbike33]

@Harry Meatmotor 166305 wrote:

What color was it?

I did not get a good look, it was more like, “Why is that idiot riding an old motorcycle on the trail? Oh wait, he’s pedaling.” As he got closer I saw the fake motor cover, but very quickly. I assume it was different from your guy based on timing and your guy’s claim of first ride.

[Dewey]

@Harry Meatmotor 166289 wrote:

I’m waiting for 5kW and $200; maybe by 2019?

Taiwanese motor manufacturer Cyclone exports their 3,000w motor for $350 a 7,500w version for $700, the product line goes up to 20,000w, the batteries are extra – say $550 for 72V. These are electric motorcycle motors, with power not meant to be put through bicycle components, and illegal for road use let alone on a trail, anyone strapping one to a $200 Walmart Mongoose Dolomite would be candidate for the Darwin award.

[dasgeh]

@sjclaeys 166282 wrote:

Wait, based on this thread I thought that parents with children and the physically challenged would be the only ones on e-bikes.

If you need some exercises on reading comprehension, I can pull some out of my daughter’s homework folder…

[sjclaeys]

@dasgeh 166315 wrote:

If you need some exercises on reading comprehension, I can pull some out of my daughter’s homework folder…

Are they next to the dictionary with the definition of “sarcasm”?

[lordofthemark]

Can’t we all get along?

[Brendan von Buckingham]

@Harry Meatmotor 166260 wrote:

Awww Yissss!!

Finally, normal people are riding e-bikes! Just yesterday I saw a nice fellow riding an Icon e-Flyer on the MVT!!!

http://iconelectricbike.com/

3500w Race Mode, FTW! That’ll easily make all of our bike/ped infrastructure headaches disappear!

I’m done. If that’s a bicycle it’s only because it has pedals. And in that case I’m gonna crazy-glue some cranks and pedals to the hood of my car and use the MVT express lane to drive to work.

[baiskeli]

@hozn 166298 wrote:

Yeah, of the ebikes I see on my commute, zero are driven by parents with children or the physically challenged.

Well, one can’t just look at a cyclist and know they aren’t physically challenged.

[bentbike33]

@Brendan von Buckingham 166355 wrote:

I’m done. If that’s a bicycle it’s only because it has pedals. And in that case I’m gonna crazy-glue some cranks and pedals to the hood of my Tesla and use the MVT express lane to drive to work.

ftfy

Power source is important.

[Emm]

@baiskeli 166358 wrote:

Well, one can’t just look at a cyclist and know they aren’t physically challenged.

Agreed. Making judgments about this is serious pet peeve of mine. Many physical disabilities are invisible. Just because someone looks young-ish and healthy doesn’t mean they don’t have a disability that might make riding a normal bike significantly more difficult than most other people find it, if they can even ride a normal bike.

[EasyRider]

@baiskeli 166358 wrote:

Well, one can’t just look at a cyclist and know they aren’t physically challenged.

That’s true, appearances can be deceiving. But in the following sentence Hozn wrote, “Most were running at 25-30mph down the W&OD.” I struggle to think of a disability status, obvious or not, that justifies going that fast down the W&OD.

[hozn]

That is fair. I have talked to most of them and they just explained that they liked having e-assist to make the commute easier or wanted to go faster. You’re right that I can’t know for sure that someone doesn’t have a physical disability if I didn’t ask them. But yeah, flying down the trail suggests that the reason for the e-bike is something else.

[sjclaeys]

Sign of the apocalypse?

An e-bike recumbent: http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/terratrike-releases-the-e-v-o-e-recumbent-bike/021771

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