e-Bikes – Let’s talk

[dasgeh]

@mstone 168739 wrote:

It doesn’t, really. Just like speeding from stoplight to stoplight in a car doesn’t really help you drive a few blocks in the city any faster, being able to go twice as fast on a short trip isn’t going to make much difference compared to other factors (locking up, waiting for lights, etc.) If you want an ebike to save time, the distance has to be long enough for the difference in moving time to be a significant portion of the overall time.

You’re statement is true on the flat, but when you factor in hills, I think ebikes can make a significant difference in time even on trips that are shorter. Plus, the decreased effort makes it easier to dress for an ebike ride, and just makes the ride easier.

Take, for example, the ride from our house to our church — about a mile, and includes the dip from ASFS/Hayes Park to Kirkwood and back up to Lyon Village. Takes about 8 minutes on a dutch-style bike, 5 on an ebike, and on the ebike I don’t have to wear special clothes or show up sweaty.

PS. this thread reminds me the need to ask whether huskerdont is the CM…

[huskerdont]

@dasgeh 173953 wrote:

PS. this thread reminds me the need to ask whether huskerdont is the CM…

Not sure what CM is here (coffee isn’t helping today), but I can tell you I am not the County Manager.

[Judd]

@huskerdont 173954 wrote:

Not sure what CM is here (coffee isn’t helping today), but I can tell you I am not the County Manager.

I can vouch.

[Dewey]

@NovaEbike 173809 wrote:

My bike is a Juiced Cross Current. They don’t make it anymore, but now have the Cross Current S which is better/upgraded. It’s a good bike at a really good price compared to the e-bikes you see in store around here. The downside is that you have to buy direct and with no dealer network on this coast, after-sales support can be tough, but it’s getting better.

I liked the original Cross Current, and the ODK cargo ebike it’s a pity it looks like Tora isn’t getting those in anymore as the small wheel size and step-through frame meant it fit shorter people. However I wish Tora hadn’t specced the controller on the latest batch Cross Current S to have an off-road unlimited setting, the publicity video on the Juiced website demonstrating 31mph performance is at odds with labelling them with the Class 3 decal which is defined as <28mph. FLX are behaving similarly claiming 30mph performance then print 'where laws permit' get-out wording on their website, the EBR review on the FLX Roadster has them struggling over this saying it falls into an undefined Class 4 category which just muddies the water further. Those ebikes are capable of speeds that fall into the moped/motor-driven-cycle category under most states law.

[mstone]

@dasgeh 173953 wrote:

You’re statement is true on the flat, but when you factor in hills, I think ebikes can make a significant difference in time even on trips that are shorter[…]Take, for example, the ride from our house to our church — about a mile, and includes the dip from ASFS/Hayes Park to Kirkwood and back up to Lyon Village. Takes about 8 minutes on a dutch-style bike, 5 on an ebike, and on the ebike

I guess we can agree to disagree on whether 3 minutes is a significant amount of time. I’m going to go with “no”, and that a person could save way more than 3 minutes of their life by not looking at the bikearlington forum on a given day if they’re that pressed for extra minutes.

[dasgeh]

@mstone 174007 wrote:

I guess we can agree to disagree on whether 3 minutes is a significant amount of time. I’m going to go with “no”, and that a person could save way more than 3 minutes of their life by not looking at the bikearlington forum on a given day if they’re that pressed for extra minutes.

3 minutes is significant when you’re already late. Or when you have kids.

[jabberwocky]

@Dewey 173986 wrote:

I liked the original Cross Current, and the ODK cargo ebike it’s a pity it looks like Tora isn’t getting those in anymore as the small wheel size and step-through frame meant it fit shorter people. However I wish Tora hadn’t specced the controller on the latest batch Cross Current S to have an off-road unlimited setting, the publicity video on the Juiced website demonstrating 31mph performance is at odds with labelling them with the Class 3 decal which is defined as <28mph. FLX are behaving similarly claiming 30mph performance then print 'where laws permit' get-out wording on their website, the EBR review on the FLX Roadster has them struggling over this saying it falls into an undefined Class 4 category which just muddies the water further. Those ebikes are capable of speeds that fall into the moped/motor-driven-cycle category under most states law.

I expect this sort of thing to get worse, since people purchasing e-bikes are often doing so for speed, and the technology is getting better and cheaper which allows higher speeds at lower costs.

Which is the core of why the whole “class rating” for legalistic reasons is utterly pointless. Manufacturers can call anything “class whatever” and claim its limited, and then have a “wink wink offroad use only” setting that disables the limiter and allows people to go as fast as they want.

[Dewey]

I thought I’d share, I first came across adult kick scooters using bicycle components when driving through Lancaster County Pennsylvania where the Amish use them. Sure enough you can now buy them with an ebike hub motor, or if you own huskies sled dog powered, which do you think would get to the top of a hill first

[Dewey]

A Pedego dealer Todd Ketch recently opened in Alexandria. He will be on a panel at the 2018 National Bike Summit in March in DC talking about the ebike industry effort to encourage states to adopt the 3-tier ebike classification.

[Zack]

An ebike passed me this morning on the MVT, called their pass politely and passed safely. About a third of the conventional cyclists who passed me failed to do the same. Neat about ebike rental in Old Town although I can hear the naysayers howling about them and stop signs.

[Dewey]

@Zack 174567 wrote:

Neat about ebike rental in Old Town.

Yes, I also appreciate they’ll be selling the ex-rentals with a 1 year warranty on the battery.

[Emm]

@Dewey 174038 wrote:

I thought I’d share, I first came across adult kick scooters using bicycle components when driving through Lancaster County Pennsylvania where the Amish use them.

E-scooters were just in the Washington Post. Apparently some parts of California are having issues with them.

[Judd]

@Emm 174569 wrote:

E-scooters were just in the Washington Post. Apparently some parts of California are having issues with them.

Not just e-scooters…. dockless e-scooters. Southern California is doomed!

[lordofthemark]

The other day, as I was walking across M Street SE at 4th to get my LimeBike, some dude on a JumpBike was heading northbound, and ran up the curb cut and scooted (really scooted – not the fastest a Jump bike can go, but really fast for a sidewalk) north on the sidewalk (4th is one way SB above M) . Raises some Jump specific questions (no, I haven’t yet listened to the piece on Jump). CaBi gets lots of clueless and overly cautious riders who over rely on sidewalks, but since they can’t go very fast, its more an annoyance than anything else. If inexperienced riders (or ones new to urban riding) can suddenly go 20MPH, but are scared to ride in the street (or for whatever reason won’t seek out a route that gets around a one way street) how do we deal with more fast riders on sidewalks? (there was no ped I saw on that sidewalk that day, but I still think going fast on a sidewalk in a dense urban area is asking for trouble).

[lordofthemark]

@jabberwocky 174011 wrote:

I expect this sort of thing to get worse, since people purchasing e-bikes are often doing so for speed, and the technology is getting better and cheaper which allows higher speeds at lower costs.

Which is the core of why the whole “class rating” for legalistic reasons is utterly pointless. Manufacturers can call anything “class whatever” and claim its limited, and then have a “wink wink offroad use only” setting that disables the limiter and allows people to go as fast as they want.

Couldn’t those settings be banned on bikes sold as of particular classes?

[Author]

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