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@lordofthemark 62220 wrote:

Personally my biggest issues are on hills – I would love something that gave me a power boost on the hills but was so light it didn’t effect the rest of my ride (lets not discuss gearing right now).

Then you might benefit from a lower power system that kept the weight down. Something like a 250 watt Cute motor hub would add about 5lbs. You could mate it to a 24 volt battery (5.5lbs), or a 36 volt battery (8.2lbs). Either battery should offer plenty of torque and would get you around 10-15 miles of heavy throttle use; plenty for flattening hills on a commute.

Less relevant to your question, but the 36V would top out on flats at around 20-25mph and the 24V around 15-20mph. Geared hub motors add very little drag to a hub, so the rest of your ride wouldn’t be terribly impacted. Style wouldn’t even be too bad with a small hub and battery in a saddlebag. Pictures something like this:

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@Tim Kelley 62110 wrote:

Fascinating. About putting a 1000 watt rider on top of that 500 watt motor? Do you think that the weight & “non-aeroness” would still be too much to overcome?

I think probably so. The motor + battery probably adds 40lbs to the bike. At 36 volts a 500 watt motor is going to top out at 20-ish mph. You could run a 48 volt motor and push that to 25-ish. Even assuming they have the gearing to do it, I think that a person is going to have a lot of trouble putting enough energy into the system to get the bike up to your 30+mph sprint. At that point you’re losing a lot to the wind, the weight, and I think drag on the maxed out hub.

If you point it up a 6% grade, suddenly your max via the motor hub drops to ~15mph, but it’s a lot easier to put more energy into the system to keep you closer to 20mph overall. At least that’s been my experience up Capitol Hill and tracks ebikes.ca’s simulator.

But maybe we should bolt this thing to someone’s tri bike and find out for sure. You know, for science!

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@Tim Kelley 62070 wrote:

Hide your Strava segments!

I’ve ridden my e-bike along the Anacostia trail and your KOM segment (30+mph on up a slight incline!) and wouldn’t come close to touching you with a 500 Watt/36 Volt motor (even without hauling picnic supplies). For fun I also ran a couple of segments during my commute awhile back. The same bike on a fresh charge and carrying just light work stuff is only good for #10 up Capitol Hill.

Everyone can relax! For anything short of an extended effort up a very steep hill, an e-bike is just too heavy and spins out at too low a speed to be a Strava killer! Though if they start filtering the leaderboards for people wearing suits while hauling groceries and kids, watch out!

@dasgeh 62095 wrote:

I’ll even go one further: ebikes are good for you. All of you.

eBikes will get people on bikes who wouldn’t otherwise be on the bike. More people on bikes makes biking safer for all. Jokes are fine — I even like them — but please don’t hate the ebikers. They really are helping you.

And they’ll let some of us stay on bikes when, for practical reasons, we’d otherwise be pushed into cars. I love my traditional bikes and would take them everywhere if I could get away with it, but employers and life generally don’t allow it.

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@dasgeh 62080 wrote:

I love the numbnuts (portly guy in illfitting spandex that’s usually eating a candybar) I see on the MVT on the [insert bike type here] that doesn’t bother to call passes and drives like a complete assclown at all times.

I’ll see your edit and raise you an additional generality!

“I love the numbnuts ([insert unflattering description of cyclist’s dress, diet, hygiene, and/or sexual predilections]) I see on the MVT on the [insert bike type here] that doesn’t bother to call passes and rides like a complete assclown at all times.”

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@baiskeli 62054 wrote:

P.S. reading the comments on this story, I see that county ordinance says electric-powered bikes are illegal on bike trails.

I didn’t ride an e-bike often when we lived in Crystal City, but I haven’t been able to find a decent route to the city (Capitol Hill specifically) that doesn’t involve an insane highway crossing or a tour of most of Arlington. So far when I’ve needed to go back for one reason or another I’ve just used the MVT. I hadn’t noticed just how badly the maze of controlled access highways divides north from south Arlington.

And I suspect they’ll be moving a substantial number more of these than they will of these.

I also totally dropped the ball on the suggested e-bike meetup. I’m going to try to make the next Friday AM coffee at Swings if anyone would like to swing a leg over an e-bike.

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@Tim Kelley 61467 wrote:

Got a plate number? Please report the aggressive driving to the police!

And add an exceedingly polite note on the windshield…in serial killer handwriting?

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@Tim Kelley 61271 wrote:

*sigh* That’s still too small…

I feel your pain. I’ve got a saved ebay search for big bikes that returns far too few hits. This is nice though.

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Thanks!

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I got “persuaded” by some folks in the office to sign up for Culpeper and am still trying to decide between the metric and english routes. What’s the pace like on the full? I’ve been getting out in the mornings and putting in 20-30 miles before work averaging ~15-18 mph (including lights) by myself. I’m hoping to be strong enough by October to find a group that I’d reasonably fit into.

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@consularrider 61191 wrote:

Let the person know that’s what you are doing and there should be no issue if there is no oncoming traffic waiting to cross as well.

Agreed. No harm done there if you were already looking for the safest time to scoot around them. Asking is especially nice; I’ve never seen anyone take the time to do that.

Though I would recommend being sure that you’re actually faster. I regularly get “preemptively passed” by people on road bikes who–even though I’m already stopped and waiting–assume that I’ll be slower since I’m riding an upright mountain bike with fat tires, a big front crate, and loaded saddle bag.

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Apparently the double-shoal is a thing! I had a gabby couple headed to work do it to me on East Cap this week. Pulled right past me at the light–one to either side–and then proceeded to soft-pedal along while chatting idly and taking up 100% of the bike lane.

I was sorely tempted to push right back up the middle of them and, being a bit of a jerk regarding this particular issue, probably would have had they not been toting both of their kids in child seats! Your hipsters totally deserved a cow catcher interjected into their phone call.

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@creadinger 61031 wrote:

Or do passive aggressive things to them?

I’ve taken to just executing an aggressive aggressive pass. That usually inspires better behavior at the next light.

One day soon I may break out my (very old) full face helmet and downhill pads and just ride up and down East Capitol and Penn like it’s my own personal BMX/dual slalom course. I may also replace my front rack and crate with a menacing cow catcher.

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@consularrider 61068 wrote:

Pretty late entry being on the same day as the Seagull Century and the Tour of Richmond Gran Fondo.

And the Culpeper Century.

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My rides around town during the work day to/from meetings are usually so tranquil compared to commuting hours. So much so that it’s easy to let your guard down and just enjoy being outside on a better than expected afternoon.

And then on Penn Ave some girl tries to pass a pedicab in the intersection, coming at you head on right by the barriers. At that exact moment, a cabbie veers into the bike lane to avoid something or other. And you end up with an arm inside the open driver’s window grasping onto the cab’s “oh shit” handle while screaming foul, unprintable things at the salmoning rider, cabbie, and any gods they might pray to.

You do this right in front of your office building, during the lunch hour, then go sit in your office to see who drops by to compliment your colorful vocabulary. ::ETA:: No one, thank the previously blasphemed gods.

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Repeatedly shoaled by someone in full Artemis team kit this AM. Vicegrip’s haiku game remains awesome, but this tested my new-found patience.

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