Is the time finally right for electric bikes?

[Steely Dan]

^ i ride 16 miles every work day (8 miles each way).

and i ride HARD because going slow is dumb (and way too time consuming).

it doesn't keep me in great shape, it just helps burn off some of those extra pizza and beer calories (required by my religion), which at the ripe old age of 42, is all i really care about.

get the heart rate up, keep the weight down, and have a blast getting to work every morning. YES!

i've never been a gym rat. i've never had a 6 pack. i've never had <15% body fat.

and i absolutely do not care.

daily bike communiting allows me to be merely overweight as opposed to obese, and that's a major win for me.

and it's fun as hell!

i'll drink to that!

[M II A II R II K]

What about workouts during long periods of freezing and/or blizzardly weather

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ i ride 16 miles every work day (8 miles each way).

That's pretty impressive -- definitely pretty far for a regular bike commuter.

My commute is 17 miles each way, although relatively flat. I haven't done it on a bike in several years. It would be pretty easy on an electric bike, though.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by M II A II R II K

What about workouts during long periods of freezing and/or blizzardly weather

I've biked to work in freezing conditions (not my current job), and it's not too rough until you get down to about 10F. I'm sure that I was pedeling much harder than normal, just to get out of the cold. I did it three times when it was around -7F to -10F, which was pretty wild. Luckily it was only four miles.

No telling how E-bikes do in extreme cold.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

That's pretty impressive -- definitely pretty far for a regular bike commuter.

back in my bachelor days (when i had a shit-ton more free time) i used to bike commute 30 miles everyday day (15 miles each way). i did that pretty much every work day, 12 months a year, for about 7 years in a row.

i was riding so much, so regularly that i would sometimes just do centuries on the weekends for fun without any kind of specific training. and because i had the free time to do it.

but then i went and did something stupid and started a family and now that i have two little kids to chase around, i can't even remember the last time i got out on an extended ride (sans burley and kids in tow).

[dubu]

its time for better electric scooters maybe. the front two wheels are fine with mine but the back wheel is hard rubber. i guess you get what you pay for. you have to pay 1,000+ to get something good

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

back in my bachelor days (when i had a shit-ton more free time) i used to bike commute 30 miles everyday day (15 miles each way). i did that pretty much every work day, 12 months a year, for about 7 years in a row.

i was riding so much, so regularly that i would sometimes just do centuries on the weekends for fun without any kind of specific training. and because i had the free time to do it.

but then i went and did something stupid and started a family and now that i have two little kids to chase around, i can't even remember the last time i got out on an extended ride (sans burley and kids in tow).

Your post inspired me to get off my duff and start biking to work again, despite the distance. Then this past Saturday I went over the bars on my favorite local mtb trail and sustained my worst biking injury since 2003. I cracked my ribs that time and came close this time...but now I'm a lot older and wont' be able to get back on a bike for a week. Had to walk my bike back to the car and was in so much pain I could barely get it in the hatchback.

Back in 2009 I lost my job in the spring and so got to dedicate that entire summer to riding...wow, I'll never be able to get that strong again unless I lose my job again. I'm no big-time athlete but I did several century rides on a commuter bike (I didn't own a road bike at the time...and without a job I couldn't afford one) and did 130 miles unsupported twice. That's like 200 miles on a road bike.

[Nouvellecosse]

Wow, really sorry to hear that man. Hopefully this won't mark the end of your return to the saddle but I'm sure it's a set back. I'm fortunate I haven't had any serious bike-related injuries (worst I've ever had were minor to moderate scratches, scrapes and bruises) but I'm well aware there's always the possibility. That said, there's inherent danger to physical inactivity just as there is with automobile travel, so one must bear that in mind. Best wishes for a speedy - and more importantly a thorough - recovery.

[jmecklenborg]

I am surprised by how many old mountain bikers there are. I see a lot of guys over 50. Last week I talked to a guy at the trailhead who told me he was 67. I don't know how those guys come back from the kind of injuries you can sustain out in the woods. I'm sure that some people have spent the night out on bike trails laying next to their bike because nobody came along before the sun went down.

In my opinion mountain biking is much more strenuous and much more dangerous than riding around town on paved streets either on a commuter bike or on a race bike. There is too much of an emphasis with bike safety on head injuries and cars. Obviously, any head/neck injury is a big deal, but there's a lot over other stuff that can happen to you that you can have a lot of control over.

This past weekend I saw a woman riding on a bikeshare bike with sandals who almost fell off the bike in the middle of a 5-way intersection because the sandals started slipping off. I don't like the bikeshare bikes for several reasons...the poor fit being a primary problem. Then add inappropriate footwear and there is a recipe for totally avoidable falls and collisions.

Electric bike share potentially ups the danger since people will be able to sustain much higher speeds...while on an ill-fitting bike and potentially with poor pedal contact and other inappropriate clothing.

[Doady]

The density of Chinese cities makes bikes more popular. Everything is closer together, the distances are smaller.

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by Doady

The density of Chinese cities makes bikes more popular. Everything is closer together, the distances are smaller.

The fact that a lot of major Chinese cities are extremely flat topographically helps too, as e-bikes aren't good at climbing hills. Chongqing, which is very hilly, has far fewer e-bikes than many other Chinese cities for this very reason.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Riding a bike is barely even exercise in a flat city like Chicago, Detroit, etc. Unless you sprint into a headwind, your heart rate isn't rising higher than walking.

I live on one of the big hills in Cincinnati and even here on a 15%+ grade with a low gear you can pedal pretty slowly and avoid getting your heart rate up to 150bpm.

My point: bike commuting is better than nothing but isn't rigorous exercise. Bike commuting alone, unless your commute is 10+ miles per day and involves some hills, isn't going to keep you in great shape.

Cycling at a reasonable pace (12mph+) is about 4:1 equivalent to jogging at a moderate pace in comparable terrain. So an 8 mile bike ride is comparable to running two miles. I used to average about a dozen miles a day at moderate+ speeds when I was really into biking and it was absolutely a good workout.

I think it's laughable to call e bikes eco friendly given that most don't replace petrol bikes, but regular bikes. It's hard to beat regular bikes for low eco footprint.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by emathias

I think it's laughable to call e bikes eco friendly given that most don't replace petrol bikes, but regular bikes. It's hard to beat regular bikes for low eco footprint.

Some people argue that the extra food you have to eat from bicycling does as much harm to the environment as driving. You see the sentiment a lot from pro-vegan anti-high meat/fat keto diet people.

Where I live major hills ring the downtown area and many large employers are located on hillsides or hilltops. So this is an area where e-bikes could help make a difference, but it seems to me so far that the e-bikes are being ridden by the sort of people who bought an imitation Vespa scooter back when they became a yuppie thing in the early 2000s...rode the scooter about 8 times and it's been sitting in their garage ever since. I don't sense that a lot of regular bike riders are jumping at the chance to buy e-bikes. People who like biking...like biking. They like pedaling up hills. I grew up in a hilly place where it was unacceptable to ever be seen walking your bike up a hill. I don't recall ever walking my bike, even once, in my life.

I was initially raised in the neighborhood shown in this video, but then we moved to a suburb that was similarly hilly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVOMEb7ABDw

[jtown,man]

I am in D.C for the last few days and today is the first nice day to get out. So I decided to rent a SPIN electric pedal-assist bike and man....what a GREAT time.

I was able to keep up with most of traffic and kept pretty cool(minus traffic light stops ) in the heat. I had a great time and covered vastly more territory than I would on a normal bike. I think pedal-assist is a no brainer for someone wanting to commute quickly and still get somewhat of an exercise.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

Some people argue that the extra food you have to eat from bicycling does as much harm to the environment as driving.

meh.

i don't eat any extra food to commute by bike.

my bike commuting simply helps me burn off some of those extra beer calories.

and i'm going to drink beer whether i ride my bike, take transit, drive a car, or ride on the shell of a giant tortoise to get to work.



Beer is my fuel.

Beer is my fire.

Beer is non-negotiable.

[jtown,man]

So I just bought a pedal assist ebike. It was affordable and looks nothing like an ebike. My top pedal assist put 3x the power I put into it. I have my car up for sale as my gf walks to work, so on really bad days I can drive her car or take the train/bus.

However, if I did not purchase this bike, I would have never put my car up for sale. My bike commute will go from around 35 minutes to about 15-20.

Again, I don't know why these arent more popular.

[electricron]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

So I just bought a pedal assist ebike. It was affordable and looks nothing like an ebike. My top pedal assist put 3x the power I put into it. I have my car up for sale as my gf walks to work, so on really bad days I can drive her car or take the train/bus.

However, if I did not purchase this bike, I would have never put my car up for sale. My bike commute will go from around 35 minutes to about 15-20.

Again, I don't know why these arent more popular.

The on really bad days you can drive her car or take the bus statement says a lot. Admit this first; you're a fair weather bike guy, not an every day no matter how bad the weather gets bike guy.

Which brings us back why the Model T made Henry Ford rich, it gets you out of the really bad weather - at a minimum a canvas top, adding a heater was a quick improvement in colder climates, and adding an air conditioner was even a greater improvement in hotter climates. Even with motorcycles, there's a need for foul weather gear. Not so with a well equipped car, van, or truck....

And when you must make that commute to work and back home twice a day, getting out of the really bad weather is great. Ever watched a bike race when its raining cats and dogs - observe how miserable the riders look who ride their bikes for a living.

Yes, making that short sprint to the car from the building or vice versa on really bad weather days is still troublesome, but once you get to either you're usually high and dry. When you get to your bike, you're still in the terrible weather.

[Dale]

Wait, so cars aren't the enemy ?

[JManc]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

So I just bought a pedal assist ebike. It was affordable and looks nothing like an ebike. My top pedal assist put 3x the power I put into it. I have my car up for sale as my gf walks to work, so on really bad days I can drive her car or take the train/bus.

However, if I did not purchase this bike, I would have never put my car up for sale. My bike commute will go from around 35 minutes to about 15-20.

Again, I don't know why these arent more popular.

Same reason why mopeds aren't popular. No one wants a half-assed bike.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by JManc

Same reason why mopeds aren't popular. No one wants a half-assed bike.

Homeless people do. They have piles of them at every tent camp around SF.


https://missionlocal.org/2018/03/sus...eleased-in-sf/