[Dewey]

@mstone 192727 wrote:

I’m still just not seeing how they’re new.

They probably have been around for years but are new to the dockless shared fleet and I was not impressed by the WAMU writer’s choice of moniker.

[Dewey]

@LeprosyStudyGroup 192723 wrote:

So when are these venture capitalist geniuses going to debut rideshare lawnmowers on the national mall? Navigating between them is going to be thrilling.

Surely with the condition of the turf grass on the National Mall we need these grass slippers…

[Dewey]

Harley-Davidson showed images of prototype ebikes at their Annual Dealers Meeting this week. No details as yet but what we can see are fairly standard high end (>$4,000) ebike features, mid-drive, enviolo cvp hub, belt drive, even a step-through. No details on what motor/battery they are using or if the system is designed/built by Harley. Compared with competitors these Harley’s look closer to the lighter Yamaha Power Assist Bicycles than the heavier long range Fuell ebike from Erik Buell, like the Yamaha’s (except the YDX-Torc eMTB model) the ebikes in the released images don’t have a suspension fork, might this indicate that like the Yamaha’s they will be Class 1 (20mph) rather than Class 3 (28mph)? Hopefully they copy Yamaha’s 3-year transferrable warranty, gas Harley motorcycles have a 2-year transferrable warranty, this is still rare for ebikes but would promote used and trade-in value.

[Dewey]

@mstone 192711 wrote:

Really?

So your top picture is a mobility scooter, bottom is a motor scooter, these new vehicles are a type of motorized scooter, they are not mopeds or ebikes because they don’t have pedals. If they need a new name to distinguish them from stand-up motorized kick scooters surely it is not beyond the wit of man to come up with an appropriate name that keeps them herded together…sit-down motorized scooter, seated electric scooter? Sorry it’s the librarian in me coming out…must…classify.

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[Dewey]

@mstone 192711 wrote:

Really?

In your post the top is a mobility scooter, bottom is a motor scooter. These new vehicles are in the motorized scooter class so ought to be called something scooter not something bike – the WAMU writer called them pedal-less ebikes but ebikes have pedals that’s why they are bikes. A scooter with a seat, so sit-down scooter, seated-scooter, laz-e-boy scooter…

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[Dewey]

@mstone 192711 wrote:

Really?

In your post the top is a mobility scooter, bottom is a motor scooter. These new vehicles are in the motorized scooter class so ought to be called something scooter not something bike – the WAMU writer called them pedal-less ebikes but ebikes have pedals that’s why they are bikes. A scooter with a seat, so sit-down scooter, seated-scooter, laz-e-boy scooter…

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[Dewey]

Sit-down scooters, a new class of personal mobility device.

WAMU published a list of shared vehicles you can rent by app in the DC area. My attention was drawn to the heading ‘What’s Not Available Yet’ (presumably these are coming at some point) showing scooters with a seat. The article writer describes two companies, Wheels and Bird, as offering ‘pedal-less ebikes’, and a third company Razor offering a ‘sit-down scooter’. To be clear these are not ebikes, having foot pegs or a footrest platform but no pedals, neither are they electric mopeds like the Revel shared mopeds that have DOT compliant safety equipment capable of 30mph. This type of ‘sit-down scooter’ from Wheels, Bird, Razor, etc. uses modified scooter or ebike frames with 14″ or 20″ wheels. In California where these vehicles are being trialled in Los Angeles and San Diego they are treated the same as scooters, so the state requires speed be limited to 15mph, they may not ride on sidewalks, and can ride on streets with a 35mph speed limit or higher if there is a bike lane Source: California vehicle code Scooter speed limit and riding rules.

If (when?) these sit-down scooters come to DC they would be classed as a personal mobility device (DC) or shared mobility device (Arlington & Alexandria), and presumably regulated the same as dockless scooters and ebikes.

[Dewey]

@n18 192598 wrote:

One kit I am eyeing is this one, but I don’t know the minimum wattage needed. It’s $300 and the battery is nearly $400 extra.

That’s a large heavy 48v direct drive motor with a 30a controller, with users reporting speeds up to 30mph. Given your desire to ride legally and remain at trail speeds I’d suggest their cheaper ($235) lighter 36v geared hub motor with the 22a controller, it will easily perform at 15-20mph and help you up hills, their 36v 11.6ah bottle battery is $280. For the pros and cons of dd vs geared see their blog post.

[Dewey]

Finally got to try one yesterday after the overnight rain the CaBi bikes at the rack were soaking wet, but the new CaBi CVP bikes are equipped with enclosed Sturmey Archer drum brakes and I found they worked well even on a wet bike, strong and no brake fade going down hill on the Custis Trail towards Rosslyn. The rotary bell on the left grip is louder and more distinct than the ping bell on regular CaBi’s. The hard plastic grips are a little uncomfortable, but the pedals are wide and grippy and the wide tires meant the bike felt very steady. I rode East across Roosevelt bridge so coming up from the Mt Vernon trail I needed to shift down gear, this is the first time I’ve ridden a pedal bike with a CVP up hill and was pleasantly surprised to find I could shift down incrementally while pedalling to dial in a comfortable cadence. One small niggle, I found with the new front cargo tray I could not wedge my backpack into it like on the regular CaBi’s, the front catch for the bungee strap doesn’t work and the bungee itself is too short so I just wrapped it over my bag, but the bungee strap held it in place and stopped it from falling out when riding over bumps. Overall I’m impressed with the new bikes.

[Dewey]

@dasgeh 192599 wrote:

The only conversions I know of that are easy to take on and off the bike are the ones like the Copenhagen wheel.

I think the OneMotor friction drive was supposed to fill this niche but it’s expensive for such a small battery.

[Dewey]

@ChristoB50 192593 wrote:

Now, I want to live in the FutureHAUS

Very cool, thanks for that, looking forward Powerwall style home batteries look like a natural fit with a solar roof installation.

I enjoyed reading about Justin LeMire-Elmore and his wife’s adventures on their solar tandem trike on last year’s Sun Trip rally

[Dewey]

@ChristoB50 192577 wrote:

An E-sponder category I could’ve tried out this time, if I wasn’t booked elsewhere!

I don’t see the rules require you provide your own power source but that would be a contention in a real power outage. The received wisdom on the Endless Sphere forum is a home solar system, of the sort Arlington homeowners can purchase through a solar co-op, is the best solution for fully charging an ebike battery in a useful amount of time off the grid. There is an off-the-shelf 120w panel canopy kit available specifically for the Pedego Stretch cargo ebike but the 48v motor on that bike consuming say 20wh/km would burn through 120w in about 6km/10-15 minutes for a day’s worth of charging so not really practical, still I wonder if Todd Ketch owner of Pedego Alexandria could be persuaded to participate?

[Dewey]

WTOP are reporting Lyft will go ahead with returning CaBi+ Pedelecs to the streets this fall.

[Dewey]

An email was sent by 54 outdoor and trail conservancy groups to the National Park Service, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management, opposing any change by public land management agencies to legalize e-bikes on non-motorized trails, the email is worded to emphasise their particular concern is with “primitive” trails, back country, and wilderness areas. The Bicycle Products Suppliers Association/People for Bikes response said it supports decision making at a local level to allow trail managers to decide whether to allow ebikes on trails, roads, bicycle lanes, and improved multi-use paths on land owned/operated by the NPS, USFS, and BLM. In the DC area the Park Service operates non-motorized trails on arterial bicycle commuting routes including the C&O, MVT, CCT, and approaches to the Potomac bridges. According to the BRAIN article reporting the issue the Park Service told BRAIN on Monday it is in the process of developing an e-bike policy but did not say when it will be completed.

[Dewey]

Lyft are in the news again for an ebike safety issue. After relaunching their e-bikeshare service in San Francisco when Ford GoBike was rebranded as Bay Wheels, after two separate battery fires yesterday Lyft pulled all 1,000 ebikes from the streets just two weeks after they were deployed. Chris Nolte who owns ebike shops in New York and California commented on an article in the San Francisco Examiner one problem is there is no requirement for e-bikeshare operating companies to have their batteries tested to Underwriters Laboratory standards.

[Author]

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