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First, solve bike theft. (Then, don't demonize the e-bike. It allows longer journeys by bike, makes a bike a realistic option for older and less healthy people

First, solve bike theft. (Then, don't demonize the e-bike. It allows longer journeys by bike, makes a bike a realistic option for older and less healthy people who couldn't get around by pedal power alone, and makes it a more fun/appealing option for healthy people)

ehnto 4y ago
I ride all kinds of bikes, MTB, gravel, road, bikepack/touring. A bonafide cycling enthusiast. I use an e-bike to commute, because my main aim is to get to work, and that I can do that by bike is rad. People should see e-bikes as a replacement for a car commute, not as a replacement for cycling. I still do plenty of that, but I also have get the groceries and get to work.
- acdha 4y ago
  Yeap - my e-bike is a kid hauler, with the battery canceling out ~80lbs extra weight to make it feel like my road bike. We know so many parents who’ve picked those instead of a car (or more likely SUV). The right way to think about it is as a two order of magnitude reduction in the amount of battery needed to transport the same number of people compared to an EV, and without all of the other negative impacts on city life.
stehtisch123 4y ago
Theft is a huge factor if you live in a city. I have been riding crap bikes all my life since the good ones get stolen :/
- bluescrn 4y ago
  And for many people living in apartments, even storing a bike at home is problematic, you don't really want to be lugging an e-bike up/down stairs every day. If we want cycling to be treated as a serious form of transport, then we need to treat bike theft almost as seriously as car theft. (But it seems that we're going in the other direction, and allowing car theft to rise as ever-younger kids learn how to steal cars from videos on social media)
  - hdhrufjdi 4y ago
    Fwiw foldable bikes make storage and stairway usage way easier
HEmanZ 4y ago
The old Italian classic movie “Bicycle Thieves” is almost 100 years old now. In many places (I’m most familiar with Seattle) the rate of bicycle theft is so high it has to be organized crime. I once saw (assumed “homeless”) people on Capitol Hill openly carry around bolt cutters while looking through bike racks and taking whatever they could. They had at least a dozen bike haul and it looked like the police didn’t stop them. There’s no way they are pawning off that many bikes. There are at least a handful of sophisticated fences and a real crime ring in the city targeting bikes, creating a huge incentive for addicts to steal them. And I don’t see much political will to take these down.
packetlost 4y ago
Ok, but. Get this. There are places in the world, that have to deal with negative temperatures and heavy snow. Bikes are downright dangerous in non-ideal conditions
- andor 4y ago
  Just because it doesn't seem realistic in one place does not mean it cannot work. Cycling in winter seems to be a non-issue in Finland, for instance. I don't live in Finland, but I do ride my bike for fitness in bad weather. Last weekend I got snowed on, it was actually quite fun.
- bradlys 4y ago
  Places like Finland deal with this effectively. This is just automobile propaganda. https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU
chrismcb 4y ago
Who demonizes ebikes? Other than those cheap services that let people leave the bike anywhere I've never heard someone demonize ebikes.

ehnto 4y ago

I ride all kinds of bikes, MTB, gravel, road, bikepack/touring. A bonafide cycling enthusiast. I use an e-bike to commute, because my main aim is to get to work, and that I can do that by bike is rad. People should see e-bikes as a replacement for a car commute, not as a replacement for cycling. I still do plenty of that, but I also have get the groceries and get to work.

acdha 4y ago
Yeap - my e-bike is a kid hauler, with the battery canceling out ~80lbs extra weight to make it feel like my road bike. We know so many parents who’ve picked those instead of a car (or more likely SUV). The right way to think about it is as a two order of magnitude reduction in the amount of battery needed to transport the same number of people compared to an EV, and without all of the other negative impacts on city life.

stehtisch123 4y ago

Theft is a huge factor if you live in a city. I have been riding crap bikes all my life since the good ones get stolen :/

bluescrn 4y ago
And for many people living in apartments, even storing a bike at home is problematic, you don't really want to be lugging an e-bike up/down stairs every day. If we want cycling to be treated as a serious form of transport, then we need to treat bike theft almost as seriously as car theft. (But it seems that we're going in the other direction, and allowing car theft to rise as ever-younger kids learn how to steal cars from videos on social media)
- hdhrufjdi 4y ago
  Fwiw foldable bikes make storage and stairway usage way easier

HEmanZ 4y ago

The old Italian classic movie “Bicycle Thieves” is almost 100 years old now. In many places (I’m most familiar with Seattle) the rate of bicycle theft is so high it has to be organized crime. I once saw (assumed “homeless”) people on Capitol Hill openly carry around bolt cutters while looking through bike racks and taking whatever they could. They had at least a dozen bike haul and it looked like the police didn’t stop them. There’s no way they are pawning off that many bikes. There are at least a handful of sophisticated fences and a real crime ring in the city targeting bikes, creating a huge incentive for addicts to steal them. And I don’t see much political will to take these down.

packetlost 4y ago

Ok, but. Get this. There are places in the world, that have to deal with negative temperatures and heavy snow. Bikes are downright dangerous in non-ideal conditions

andor 4y ago
Just because it doesn't seem realistic in one place does not mean it cannot work. Cycling in winter seems to be a non-issue in Finland, for instance. I don't live in Finland, but I do ride my bike for fitness in bad weather. Last weekend I got snowed on, it was actually quite fun.
bradlys 4y ago
Places like Finland deal with this effectively. This is just automobile propaganda. https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU https://youtu.be/Uhx-26GfCBU

chrismcb 4y ago

Who demonizes ebikes? Other than those cheap services that let people leave the bike anywhere I've never heard someone demonize ebikes.