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Riding an ebike has dramatically changed the routes I take when commuting because I now prioritize safety and enjoyment over pure efficiency or avoiding incline

Riding an ebike has dramatically changed the routes I take when commuting because I now prioritize safety and enjoyment over pure efficiency or avoiding inclines. My commute is 25 minutes on an ebike vs 70 on a regular bike, or 30 in a car in traffic.

agumonkey 9y ago
Barely related but EV drivers also change their path. I don't have an EV (car or bike) don't really like driving in traffic (too chaotic for my brain) I often take smaller, slower roads where I just coast along smoothly. That said I wish I could try an ebike or even an EV.
- komali2 9y ago
  Reminds me of how I had to take feeder roads and turn off the freeway during bad traffic when my shitty old toyota would overheat if I couldn't get good airflow into the radiator :P
  - agumonkey 9y ago
    "mechanical sympathy"
    - protomyth 9y ago
      It is amazing how folks have to plan when their vehicle is ‘non-optimal’. For the almost opposite effect, I had a Ford Ranger (passed unwillingly to me) that even with 700lbs of weight on the back axle and good winter (non-stud) tires sucked in winter. I was very careful about my route anywhere.
      - agumonkey 9y ago
        Allow me to extrapolate wildly: progress considered harmful ?
        protomyth 9y ago
        Well, progress of time considered harmful. Also, poor design will accelerate that quite a bit.
        agumonkey 9y ago
        heh, don't get me started on this. To go back to the first point there are issues with too much progress. It makes us lazy. Not enough and we might suffer. The balance is important. I remember one anecdote about Northern African culture. They don't mass produce tech, instead they go with the flow and find solutions on the spot, by the means of a few tools. They say it's smarter to do it this way (maybe, maybe not), surely it keeps your mind creative. Also, in dev circles, having too much compute power makes your solutions bad. Because you can just ignore the innefficiencies. Plus it's self feeding through the hardware market (more bloat, more sales)
  - ficklepickle 9y ago
    Oh terrible flashback. I had an '87 Jetta with a similar propensity. Stuck in traffic in the summer, I had to run the heater on full. Brutal. Handy that the heater core is a mini-radiator, though.
  - vacri 9y ago
    My first car was a beaten-up old hunk of junk. I knew it was time to get rid of it when I realised that every time before I drove it, I was planning my route so that I'd be least inconvenienced if it broke down at any point along that route...
erentz 9y ago
Wow that's a big time difference. Why? Is it due to the extra speed the bike gives you or because you're not avoiding inclines...?
- xythian 9y ago
  For me it's a combination of consistent speed and being able to not care about inclines at all. The safest bike route to work for me is ~2 miles longer than the optimal route and includes a steep incline. This is a pain on a regular bike, but no big deal on my ebike.
  - jchanimal 9y ago
    Also with an ebike you are almost never going slow. Accelerating to cruising speed usually takes a couple of pedal cranks, not a full city block.
- boxcardavin 9y ago
  I live in Seattle and there are a lot of hills when going east/west because it's a glacial area and the glaciers come down from Canada north/south. Fun!
OstrichGlue 9y ago
Can I ask what ebike you use?
- jseliger 9y ago
  Not the OP but I've heard good reviews of Karmic bikes: http://www.karmicbikes.com/shop/koben-s http://www.karmicbikes.com/shop/koben-s which are expensive but do "everything" and Propella bikes: http://www.propellabikes.com/ http://www.propellabikes.com/ which are much less expensive but still supposed to be good.
  - awjr 9y ago
    I'd still go with whatever your local bike shop stocks. They do go wrong at some point and you will need a repair and even a courtesy bike while it gets repaired. Shipping a bike is not fun.
- awjr 9y ago
  Buying an eBike is a lot about choosing the motor you want then hunting down a bike that uses the motor. I would strongly suggest that you buy from your local bike shop and buy the brand that the bike shop normally stocks. My pick was the Brose mid-drive motor available in Tour 50nm/City 75nm/MTB 90nm models. I then bought an ex-demo one off model from a localish bike shop. https://www.ebike-manufaktur.com/en/e-bikes/11lf-shimano-deore-xt-10-gang https://www.ebike-manufaktur.com/en/e-bikes/11lf-shimano-deo... Problem with battery meant it took 11 weeks to get it back on the road as the shop did not have a relationship with the bike manufacturer. The bike however is phenomenal. I weigh 130kg and it takes me up ANY hill in Bath. There's a couple of 1 in 3s that I can cycle up one handed.
  - switch007 9y ago
    What makes it worth 3100 EUR?? That's seems a lot of money even for an electric bike. (I'm guessing your ex-demo was a bit cheaper)
    - 9y ago
awjr 9y ago
Also something to consider is that I can happily cycle 2-3 hours on a flatish route on a normal bike, but will find hilly routes something I do not do. On my eBike I'll happily explore hills without thinking about it. Given that my eBike is pedal-assist, you still have to work hard to get a top speed going up a hill but I no longer feel hills are a problem.

agumonkey 9y ago

Barely related but EV drivers also change their path. I don't have an EV (car or bike) don't really like driving in traffic (too chaotic for my brain) I often take smaller, slower roads where I just coast along smoothly. That said I wish I could try an ebike or even an EV.

komali2 9y ago
Reminds me of how I had to take feeder roads and turn off the freeway during bad traffic when my shitty old toyota would overheat if I couldn't get good airflow into the radiator :P
- agumonkey 9y ago
  "mechanical sympathy"
  - protomyth 9y ago
    It is amazing how folks have to plan when their vehicle is ‘non-optimal’. For the almost opposite effect, I had a Ford Ranger (passed unwillingly to me) that even with 700lbs of weight on the back axle and good winter (non-stud) tires sucked in winter. I was very careful about my route anywhere.
    - agumonkey 9y ago
      Allow me to extrapolate wildly: progress considered harmful ?
      - protomyth 9y ago
        Well, progress of time considered harmful. Also, poor design will accelerate that quite a bit.
        agumonkey 9y ago
        heh, don't get me started on this. To go back to the first point there are issues with too much progress. It makes us lazy. Not enough and we might suffer. The balance is important. I remember one anecdote about Northern African culture. They don't mass produce tech, instead they go with the flow and find solutions on the spot, by the means of a few tools. They say it's smarter to do it this way (maybe, maybe not), surely it keeps your mind creative. Also, in dev circles, having too much compute power makes your solutions bad. Because you can just ignore the innefficiencies. Plus it's self feeding through the hardware market (more bloat, more sales)
- ficklepickle 9y ago
  Oh terrible flashback. I had an '87 Jetta with a similar propensity. Stuck in traffic in the summer, I had to run the heater on full. Brutal. Handy that the heater core is a mini-radiator, though.
- vacri 9y ago
  My first car was a beaten-up old hunk of junk. I knew it was time to get rid of it when I realised that every time before I drove it, I was planning my route so that I'd be least inconvenienced if it broke down at any point along that route...

erentz 9y ago

Wow that's a big time difference. Why? Is it due to the extra speed the bike gives you or because you're not avoiding inclines...?

xythian 9y ago
For me it's a combination of consistent speed and being able to not care about inclines at all. The safest bike route to work for me is ~2 miles longer than the optimal route and includes a steep incline. This is a pain on a regular bike, but no big deal on my ebike.
- jchanimal 9y ago
  Also with an ebike you are almost never going slow. Accelerating to cruising speed usually takes a couple of pedal cranks, not a full city block.
boxcardavin 9y ago
I live in Seattle and there are a lot of hills when going east/west because it's a glacial area and the glaciers come down from Canada north/south. Fun!

OstrichGlue 9y ago

Can I ask what ebike you use?

jseliger 9y ago
Not the OP but I've heard good reviews of Karmic bikes: http://www.karmicbikes.com/shop/koben-s http://www.karmicbikes.com/shop/koben-s which are expensive but do "everything" and Propella bikes: http://www.propellabikes.com/ http://www.propellabikes.com/ which are much less expensive but still supposed to be good.
- awjr 9y ago
  I'd still go with whatever your local bike shop stocks. They do go wrong at some point and you will need a repair and even a courtesy bike while it gets repaired. Shipping a bike is not fun.
awjr 9y ago
Buying an eBike is a lot about choosing the motor you want then hunting down a bike that uses the motor. I would strongly suggest that you buy from your local bike shop and buy the brand that the bike shop normally stocks. My pick was the Brose mid-drive motor available in Tour 50nm/City 75nm/MTB 90nm models. I then bought an ex-demo one off model from a localish bike shop. https://www.ebike-manufaktur.com/en/e-bikes/11lf-shimano-deore-xt-10-gang https://www.ebike-manufaktur.com/en/e-bikes/11lf-shimano-deo... Problem with battery meant it took 11 weeks to get it back on the road as the shop did not have a relationship with the bike manufacturer. The bike however is phenomenal. I weigh 130kg and it takes me up ANY hill in Bath. There's a couple of 1 in 3s that I can cycle up one handed.
- switch007 9y ago
  What makes it worth 3100 EUR?? That's seems a lot of money even for an electric bike. (I'm guessing your ex-demo was a bit cheaper)
  - 9y ago

awjr 9y ago

Also something to consider is that I can happily cycle 2-3 hours on a flatish route on a normal bike, but will find hilly routes something I do not do. On my eBike I'll happily explore hills without thinking about it. Given that my eBike is pedal-assist, you still have to work hard to get a top speed going up a hill but I no longer feel hills are a problem.