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I bought an e-bike recently (at full cost) with the explicit intent of attempting to drive my ICE vehicle less and have loved every minute of owning it. It’s a

I bought an e-bike recently (at full cost) with the explicit intent of attempting to drive my ICE vehicle less and have loved every minute of owning it. It’s a fun thing to ride, gets me a bit more activity (I don’t consider it a workout, but it is more of a workout than driving), and gets me more time outside. I’m turning into an evangelist among my friends, and any sort of subsidy would definitely make that effort easier. If you’re on the fence, give it a go! They’re pretty mature tech these days, with a wide range of available models and price ranges.

Turskarama 3y ago
>I don’t consider it a workout You might be surprised. The amount of exercise you get while "cheating" on an ebike is way more than people think, especially if you don't get one powerful enough to basically classify as a motorbike. I'm Australian, and here the power output is limited to 250 watts which means it's really just an assist rather than the main power plant (which is still the rider). Riding it uses significantly more energy than walking does since I like to go fast, so it's still very much legitimate exercise.
- DeRock 3y ago
  250 watts is significant. That is about what a Tour de France rider will average on a typical stage.
  - Gigachad 3y ago
    Pro cyclists average about 500w and can go much higher over short periods.
    - zeroq 3y ago
      source for thar 500w avg watts in tdf? name and year?
    - richardw 3y ago
      I think 500 is a bit high, especially for an average. Much of the time they’re in a peloton, which will drop the average a lot. Peak can go way higher but it’s for far shorter bursts. “During a normal stage of the Tour de France, pro riders can pump out around 230-250 watts on average, which equates to burning about 900 calories per hour. But on some of the harder stages they can average over 300 watts, or 1,100 calories per hour. Tadej Pogačar has a Functional Threshold Power – an estimate of the power he can sustain for around one hour – of around 415 watts. But for explosive one-hour attacks on big climbs, some Tour riders have been known to exceed an average of 500 watts. And in the final stages of a sprint finish, sprinters can hit maximal efforts of over 1,500 watts.” https://www.alpecincycling.com/en/pro-peloton/from-body-fat-to-power-output-anatomy-of-a-tour-de-france-rider/ https://www.alpecincycling.com/en/pro-peloton/from-body-fat-...
    - operatingthetan 3y ago
      They most certainly do not. Here is Ted King in the 2014 TDF (random stage). Weighted average power: 205 watts. Actual average power: 134 watts. https://www.strava.com/activities/164960157/overview https://www.strava.com/activities/164960157/overview
  - ehnto 3y ago
    Aussie pedal-elec regulations mean they only help you up to 25kmph, over that and you are just pedal power. Which is to say, the full 250watts is only ever used when taking off or going up hills in practice.
    - Turskarama 3y ago
      Even without this though, the end result is usually the rider puts out nearly as much power and just goes faster. An assist won't be as much exercise as no assist, but it's still exercise.
      - dylan604 3y ago
        That’s just not true. Once the max assist speed on an eBike is reached, the motor will stop assisting. So you can barely pedal and use max effort from the assist, but if your meat motor is getting you to 75% max assist speed the motor is only going to push 25%. This notion that the assist will push the meat motor faster is not based in reality.
        Turskarama 3y ago
        Yes, I was talking about the case where there is no max speed limit.
        dylan604 3y ago
        Who sells that legally? Let’s at least keep the conversations honest. If you circumvent things to an illegal situation, that’s on you. For the vast majority of people that won’t, you’re making it out to be something it’s not
        Turskarama 3y ago
        In Australia it's illegal but in many parts of the world it is perfectly legal.
  - simlevesque 3y ago
    They do way more than 250w and on a significantly lighter bike.
    - s0rce 3y ago
      Mostly aerodynamics that matter, the weight is a bit of a factor when climbing.
      - simlevesque 3y ago
        It affects acceleration too.
- anthomtb 3y ago
  I sometimes use a class 1 electric mountain bike (250w, assist only while pedaling) and that is a fantastic workout...provided you are riding 10-15% grades uphill and (for the upper body) going down something similarly steep. A throttle powered class 3 ebike on a flat paved path is going to be a different story. Likely less of a workout than a walk. Much better than a car though, for both the body and the planet. Of course, assuming terrain allows options, one could alter their route to get a better workout. Reducing the assist would be an option too.
  - throw1230 3y ago
    basically you get to choose how hard you want to work out, but at about 250w-500w boost, you will maintain about 130bpm, which will burn 400+ calories per hour. It's a pretty decent work out while still being quite pleasurable. And you get a hill you don't like, you just use max assist and go up without sweating.
- Hamuko 3y ago
  I have a 1000 W ebike and my Apple Watch still shows me averaging about 130 bpm heart rate on a quick grocery run.
  - dylan604 3y ago
    1000W? You must just glide up hills. My cargo bike is 750W, and on some of the hills I still have to stand up and get it to make it up when I’m loaded with cargo. If I’m dead heading it up the hill, it’s a nice comfy sit down.
    - Hamuko 3y ago
      Yeah, it's definitely not a problem going 25 km/h uphill, 25 km/h being what it's electronically limited to because of the law.
    - sleepybrett 3y ago
      mine is 750w too and my fat ass is a challenge on some of the steeper hills around my place in seattle.
- irdc 3y ago
  This has been dubbed ‘the gym of life’: https://youtube.com/watch?v=KPUlgSRn6e0 https://youtube.com/watch?v=KPUlgSRn6e0
- askvictor 3y ago
  I have a 250W ebike as well (and in AU); the effort putting into it is really only token. If you want to go over the 25km/hr legal limit, then it becomes a workout (as the motor cuts out entirely at that point, and you're left pedalling a heavy, inefficient bike)
  - sundvor 3y ago
    The effort required to pedal a 25kmh limited 250w e-bike at 35kmh (or even 30) compared to a carbon road bike at the same speed is ridiculous. I really wish they allowed for a very token level of assist to help counter the extra weight of the system, ideally as a curved reduction down to a minimum of eg 10% of the available assist as speed increases past the assistance speed limit (or even starting at a lower speed, eg 20 kmh, thus gently increasing the pedaling effort from an earlier point). I'm not advocating that they should be as easy, given that the extra weight of the bike makes them harder to stop and less maneuverable, however something in between would be great. Strong riders are more often than not experienced and thus competent riders, making them safer, however ebikes removes this "barrier" altogether - even a complete noob can go very fast, without the competence - therefore I'm all for a revised (analogue trail off) speed limit system in the interest of safety.
    - askvictor 3y ago
      Yeah, agree with every point there. When I find some time I'm planning to reprogram my controller (there's an open source alternative firmware!) to try to do exactly this (not technically legal, but most delivery ebikes in the city have a throttle button and zoom past at 30km/hr+, so I'm in good company :)
- sleepybrett 3y ago
  In the states, at least mine, the limit it's 750 watts. Mine has four steps of pedal assist and a throttle, I only bump it up to level 2 PA when I'm on a long but only somewhat slope-y uphill. Crack out the throttle only for real climbs. It's a heavy bike and in the cargo category (about 60lbs) but I use it for pretty much 100% of my errands. I only take my car out to travel over 45ish minutes away or when I'm going somewhere where i'll be coming home after dark.
shevis 3y ago
I’m interested in buying one but have been a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of brands that have seemingly appeared overnight. Can you recommend any specific companies?
- Gigachad 3y ago
  Look for something with a Bosch or Shimano setup and not some no name ali express brand. Then for the bike side, pick one which has a wide range of non electric bikes too.
  - anthomtb 3y ago
    > pick one which has a wide range of non electric bikes too I was going to suggest any long-established bike brand with a broad product line. Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, etc. A non-cyclist might get sticker shock (an avid cyclist will think, "huh, cheap").
- cowmoo728 3y ago
  I would only buy an e-bike with a premium brand name motor and battery. Bosch, Panasonic, Yamaha, Shimano, Giant. The next thing I would look for is 2 or 4 piston hydraulic disc brakes from SRAM, Shimano, Hope, Magura, Tektro. As long as the bike has those three things sorted it's probably safe. Note that these things don't come cheap, so any e-bike with these parts is likely to start at $3000. For specific bikes I like Priority Current. They're a little vague on the exact parts used because they may swap them out based on availability, but they usually pick real parts instead of cheap replacements.
  - chrismartin 3y ago
    You don't think my Radrunner with mechanical brakes is safe?
    - s0rce 3y ago
      Its safe unless you are riding on very steep long hills. People rode heavy bikes touring before disc brakes existed and didn't die.
peruvian 3y ago
I live in NYC and I think for A to B travel, an e-bike fits the size of the city well. It's not a tiny city by any means but I can often get to/from places quicker on an e-bike than taking the train or a car. If it's nice out, I may prefer it even if it's slower. The problem for me is that riding a bike in the city can be unsafe - often my area is full of double parked cars even late at night and no respect for the bike lane (which to be fair is just painted on).
- anotherhue 3y ago
  > which to be fair is just painted on So just like any other lane a driver is expected to follow. I suggest we stop cutting drivers any slack.
  - meowtimemania 3y ago
    I think GP is trying to say there should be some sort of physical barrier (plastic posts, or potted plants or anything) to prevent the cars from crossing the line. Even we're serious about keeping cars out of bicycle lanes, there should be a physical barrier separating cars from bicycle lanes.
    - ido 3y ago
      I’ll bet if traffic police started giving them tickets incurring fines for cars that park on the bike lanes they will very quickly do less of it.
      - theshrike79 3y ago
        There are multiple TikTok accounts of (I think Canadian) bicycle parkin officers doing just this. They basically just drive on bike lanes and give people fines for parking on it all day. People are just lazy, there might be a parking space just across the street, but they'll still rather park half way on the bike lane and half way on the pavement.
      - TheCoelacanth 3y ago
afavour 3y ago
I bought one a year ago specifically to take my kids to school and it’s been an absolute delight. I get a slight workout, the kids get fresh air (and they love riding on it). I’m convinced everyone would be much happier if school drop offs were 70% bikes rather than 90% cars. But the ride to my kids school has isolated bike lanes for the vast majority of the trip. Most people aren’t so lucky and will (rightly) fear the idea of taking their kids on a bike. It’s such a shame.
- FreshStart 3y ago
  Carban in area circle for time window?
- fhub 3y ago
  I'm at about 90% eBike school dropoffs and pickups. Love it. Especially as I work from home. I started by doing them all at "Turbo" assist. Now down to "Tour" for the most part as my fitness improved. Love the incidental exercise, fresh air, so much easier to stop off somewhere and dropoffs are just nicer. I'm lucky that I live a few blocks from an eBike store and I could afford the impulse buy one day. Very little thought went into it.
- mikepurvis 3y ago
  I'm fortunate to live in a century home neighborhood (Waterloo region, Canada) where the elementary school has a tiny parking lot that is strictly for staff only. A few parents moan about having to park on nearby side streets and walk their kids in, but the net result is overwhelmingly a huge positive— almost everyone walks or bikes to school, and is safer doing so for the fact that there isn't a giant traffic jam in front of it. I often feel that it's a fragile equilibrium though— it wouldn't take much to get the sports field turned into a big parking lot and have everyone immediately defect in the face of it not "feeling safe" any more.
  - jjtheblunt 3y ago
    What is a century home neighborhood?
mikepurvis 3y ago
I got a boosted board years ago, before they went out of business, and I've been a huge fan ever since. It's definitely harder and more dangerous than a bike or scooter, but it's super fun and ultra compact for taking with you into destinations or onto transit vehicles.
- sleepybrett 3y ago
  At one point i was considering one of those monowheel skateboard dealies, but decided that I would die instantly.. and hell they aren't much cheaper than my cargo ebike.
  - throwaheyy 3y ago
    Those one wheel things are very dangerous, if the motor cuts out or overloads it pitches the nose forward and slams you into the ground. A 4 wheel electric board is safer, it turns into a regular board if the electrics die or you can just jump off at low speeds. I use a Wowgo 3X which is about as close to a Boosted as you can still buy today.
  - mikepurvis 3y ago
    I'd had a bee in my bonnet about Boosted ever since their original Kickstarter back in 2014 [1], so I really specifically wanted that one. From a purely vanity perspective, I love the look of a powered longboard— I feel much cooler riding it than I do teetering on an EUC/onewheel, or derping along on a scooter. But certainly there are tradeoffs too; the battery life is shorter, and the tiny wheels make you way, way more vulnerable to road conditions (like loose gravel) that would barely register for any other vehicle. [1]: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/170315130/boosted-boards-the-worlds-lightest-electric-vehicl https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/170315130/boosted-board...
dheera 3y ago
I had an ebike until it got stolen, I got another one, and the 2nd one got thrown out by my property manager, and I had to keep getting new bikes every now and then as my property manager would throw them out (yeah, they do that -- but the savings I get on my rent-controlled apartment with this shitty management compared to other apartments in the area is totally enough to buy a new ebike every 2-3 months -- hey welcome to America). Anyway, as soon as I got an electric car I started using the ebike less and less. I was finding that it occupied an awkward middle ground between convenience and exercise. I now just use my car or my non-electric bike. The problem with ebikes is that when they run out of battery it feels like hauling rocks to pedal them. When you run out of "battery" on a non-electric bike all you need is a bowl of carbs and you're good to go for another 25-50 km. And carbs are much easier to find in the middle of nowhere than publicly-accessible electric outlets.
- s0rce 3y ago
  That seems insane, can you bribe the property manager $200/mo to not throw away your bike? Regarding running out of battery, my ebike is 99% used for my commute and I just charge at home every 3 days I ride. Works perfectly. Shorter trips for food I use my regular bike.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    They might not have a designated place to park it outside, and not enough room to park it inside. If the neighborhood is dangerous, just parking it outside is risking theft. It is harder to steal a car, since you can’t just pick it up and go. It’s the main reason I’m not considering an e-bike right now even though I have an EV. It helps that I can just walk to anything I need to get to on daily basis (eg kid’s school is 7 minutes away by walking).
    - dheera 3y ago
      > and not enough room to park it inside Yeah my property manager keeps telling people to move their bikes inside. I moved my regular bike to my patio, but I refused to move my ebike indoors because I'm not confident about the battery quality and don't like the idea of having 1 kWh of questionable-quality lithium battery inside my apartment in a wooden building. I also used to charge it from the outlets in the parking lot, but the new property manager that came along last year locked those outlets up so now I have to do the more fire-hazard thing of charging it next to the wooden building with a long extension cord. I offered them to pay a reasonable fee for the electricity to use the parking lot outlets, letting them know it was in the interest of fire safety, but they chose the more dangerous option.
sharkweek 3y ago
Upfront transparency here: I'm obsessed with e-biking now, especially on our wagon that I use to tote the kids around. I feel SO bad for the other parents at the park that ask me about my experience because they get a 10 minute rave session from me where I talk about all the benefits we've enjoyed, especially when a simple "we love it!" probably would have been enough. Some of the specifics, including but not limited to: removing 1-5 mile car trips from our lives (we've put over 2k miles on it, about 1k a year), riding to random parks, bakeries, beaches, putting the kids in a great mood getting fresh air when we cruise around the neighborhood with no destination after dinner, etc. They're not only practical for the above, but they honestly make transportation more fun.
sleepybrett 3y ago
picked one up just over a year ago and ride it just about everywhere. Only take the old ice car out of the garage to go see my family who are about an hour away. Groceries, lunch, general errands around my hood.. all ebike. I bought a bit on the cargoie side. Big tires, racks. Thing weighs a ton but even the first notch of pedal assist makes it a dream. You are right, it's not really a workout.. until you run out of battery miles from home (oops), a ~60lbs bike is some inertia to overcome, but I made it without too much trouble.
JeremyNT 3y ago
I'm on the fence about these subsidies, because I worry it's a bit of a zero-sum game versus infrastructure. Wouldn't adding miles of protected bike lanes go further than tax breaks for these devices, and improve the situation for people who already have traditional bicycles as well? If the infra isn't there for safe cycling as a form of transit, you end up subsidizing what become essentially toys which can only be used in places like greenways and parks which are designated for recreation. Whereas if you make the city safer for cycling first, these things could become a major component in a better / safer way to navigate the world. Maybe the idea is that the new e-bike owners then turn around and demand (and are willing to fund) the fixes to make cities actually support these vehicles properly, but it seems like a bit of magical thinking to me.
- lmm 3y ago
  "Protected bike lanes" may make people feel safer but they make very little difference; drivers mostly kill cyclists by driving into them at junctions, not on plain streets. So while some infrastructure changes can help, one of the biggest game-changers for safety is just getting a critical mass of bikes on the roads so that drivers start actually looking for them before turning.

Turskarama 3y ago

>I don’t consider it a workout You might be surprised. The amount of exercise you get while "cheating" on an ebike is way more than people think, especially if you don't get one powerful enough to basically classify as a motorbike. I'm Australian, and here the power output is limited to 250 watts which means it's really just an assist rather than the main power plant (which is still the rider). Riding it uses significantly more energy than walking does since I like to go fast, so it's still very much legitimate exercise.

DeRock 3y ago
250 watts is significant. That is about what a Tour de France rider will average on a typical stage.
- Gigachad 3y ago
  Pro cyclists average about 500w and can go much higher over short periods.
  - zeroq 3y ago
    source for thar 500w avg watts in tdf? name and year?
  - richardw 3y ago
    I think 500 is a bit high, especially for an average. Much of the time they’re in a peloton, which will drop the average a lot. Peak can go way higher but it’s for far shorter bursts. “During a normal stage of the Tour de France, pro riders can pump out around 230-250 watts on average, which equates to burning about 900 calories per hour. But on some of the harder stages they can average over 300 watts, or 1,100 calories per hour. Tadej Pogačar has a Functional Threshold Power – an estimate of the power he can sustain for around one hour – of around 415 watts. But for explosive one-hour attacks on big climbs, some Tour riders have been known to exceed an average of 500 watts. And in the final stages of a sprint finish, sprinters can hit maximal efforts of over 1,500 watts.” https://www.alpecincycling.com/en/pro-peloton/from-body-fat-to-power-output-anatomy-of-a-tour-de-france-rider/ https://www.alpecincycling.com/en/pro-peloton/from-body-fat-...
  - operatingthetan 3y ago
    They most certainly do not. Here is Ted King in the 2014 TDF (random stage). Weighted average power: 205 watts. Actual average power: 134 watts. https://www.strava.com/activities/164960157/overview https://www.strava.com/activities/164960157/overview
- ehnto 3y ago
  Aussie pedal-elec regulations mean they only help you up to 25kmph, over that and you are just pedal power. Which is to say, the full 250watts is only ever used when taking off or going up hills in practice.
  - Turskarama 3y ago
    Even without this though, the end result is usually the rider puts out nearly as much power and just goes faster. An assist won't be as much exercise as no assist, but it's still exercise.
    - dylan604 3y ago
      That’s just not true. Once the max assist speed on an eBike is reached, the motor will stop assisting. So you can barely pedal and use max effort from the assist, but if your meat motor is getting you to 75% max assist speed the motor is only going to push 25%. This notion that the assist will push the meat motor faster is not based in reality.
      - Turskarama 3y ago
        Yes, I was talking about the case where there is no max speed limit.
        dylan604 3y ago
        Who sells that legally? Let’s at least keep the conversations honest. If you circumvent things to an illegal situation, that’s on you. For the vast majority of people that won’t, you’re making it out to be something it’s not
        Turskarama 3y ago
        In Australia it's illegal but in many parts of the world it is perfectly legal.
- simlevesque 3y ago
  They do way more than 250w and on a significantly lighter bike.
  - s0rce 3y ago
    Mostly aerodynamics that matter, the weight is a bit of a factor when climbing.
    - simlevesque 3y ago
      It affects acceleration too.
anthomtb 3y ago
I sometimes use a class 1 electric mountain bike (250w, assist only while pedaling) and that is a fantastic workout...provided you are riding 10-15% grades uphill and (for the upper body) going down something similarly steep. A throttle powered class 3 ebike on a flat paved path is going to be a different story. Likely less of a workout than a walk. Much better than a car though, for both the body and the planet. Of course, assuming terrain allows options, one could alter their route to get a better workout. Reducing the assist would be an option too.
- throw1230 3y ago
  basically you get to choose how hard you want to work out, but at about 250w-500w boost, you will maintain about 130bpm, which will burn 400+ calories per hour. It's a pretty decent work out while still being quite pleasurable. And you get a hill you don't like, you just use max assist and go up without sweating.
Hamuko 3y ago
I have a 1000 W ebike and my Apple Watch still shows me averaging about 130 bpm heart rate on a quick grocery run.
- dylan604 3y ago
  1000W? You must just glide up hills. My cargo bike is 750W, and on some of the hills I still have to stand up and get it to make it up when I’m loaded with cargo. If I’m dead heading it up the hill, it’s a nice comfy sit down.
  - Hamuko 3y ago
    Yeah, it's definitely not a problem going 25 km/h uphill, 25 km/h being what it's electronically limited to because of the law.
  - sleepybrett 3y ago
    mine is 750w too and my fat ass is a challenge on some of the steeper hills around my place in seattle.
irdc 3y ago
This has been dubbed ‘the gym of life’: https://youtube.com/watch?v=KPUlgSRn6e0 https://youtube.com/watch?v=KPUlgSRn6e0
askvictor 3y ago
I have a 250W ebike as well (and in AU); the effort putting into it is really only token. If you want to go over the 25km/hr legal limit, then it becomes a workout (as the motor cuts out entirely at that point, and you're left pedalling a heavy, inefficient bike)
- sundvor 3y ago
  The effort required to pedal a 25kmh limited 250w e-bike at 35kmh (or even 30) compared to a carbon road bike at the same speed is ridiculous. I really wish they allowed for a very token level of assist to help counter the extra weight of the system, ideally as a curved reduction down to a minimum of eg 10% of the available assist as speed increases past the assistance speed limit (or even starting at a lower speed, eg 20 kmh, thus gently increasing the pedaling effort from an earlier point). I'm not advocating that they should be as easy, given that the extra weight of the bike makes them harder to stop and less maneuverable, however something in between would be great. Strong riders are more often than not experienced and thus competent riders, making them safer, however ebikes removes this "barrier" altogether - even a complete noob can go very fast, without the competence - therefore I'm all for a revised (analogue trail off) speed limit system in the interest of safety.
  - askvictor 3y ago
    Yeah, agree with every point there. When I find some time I'm planning to reprogram my controller (there's an open source alternative firmware!) to try to do exactly this (not technically legal, but most delivery ebikes in the city have a throttle button and zoom past at 30km/hr+, so I'm in good company :)
sleepybrett 3y ago
In the states, at least mine, the limit it's 750 watts. Mine has four steps of pedal assist and a throttle, I only bump it up to level 2 PA when I'm on a long but only somewhat slope-y uphill. Crack out the throttle only for real climbs. It's a heavy bike and in the cargo category (about 60lbs) but I use it for pretty much 100% of my errands. I only take my car out to travel over 45ish minutes away or when I'm going somewhere where i'll be coming home after dark.

shevis 3y ago

I’m interested in buying one but have been a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of brands that have seemingly appeared overnight. Can you recommend any specific companies?

Gigachad 3y ago
Look for something with a Bosch or Shimano setup and not some no name ali express brand. Then for the bike side, pick one which has a wide range of non electric bikes too.
- anthomtb 3y ago
  > pick one which has a wide range of non electric bikes too I was going to suggest any long-established bike brand with a broad product line. Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, etc. A non-cyclist might get sticker shock (an avid cyclist will think, "huh, cheap").
cowmoo728 3y ago
I would only buy an e-bike with a premium brand name motor and battery. Bosch, Panasonic, Yamaha, Shimano, Giant. The next thing I would look for is 2 or 4 piston hydraulic disc brakes from SRAM, Shimano, Hope, Magura, Tektro. As long as the bike has those three things sorted it's probably safe. Note that these things don't come cheap, so any e-bike with these parts is likely to start at $3000. For specific bikes I like Priority Current. They're a little vague on the exact parts used because they may swap them out based on availability, but they usually pick real parts instead of cheap replacements.
- chrismartin 3y ago
  You don't think my Radrunner with mechanical brakes is safe?
  - s0rce 3y ago
    Its safe unless you are riding on very steep long hills. People rode heavy bikes touring before disc brakes existed and didn't die.

peruvian 3y ago

I live in NYC and I think for A to B travel, an e-bike fits the size of the city well. It's not a tiny city by any means but I can often get to/from places quicker on an e-bike than taking the train or a car. If it's nice out, I may prefer it even if it's slower. The problem for me is that riding a bike in the city can be unsafe - often my area is full of double parked cars even late at night and no respect for the bike lane (which to be fair is just painted on).

anotherhue 3y ago
> which to be fair is just painted on So just like any other lane a driver is expected to follow. I suggest we stop cutting drivers any slack.
- meowtimemania 3y ago
  I think GP is trying to say there should be some sort of physical barrier (plastic posts, or potted plants or anything) to prevent the cars from crossing the line. Even we're serious about keeping cars out of bicycle lanes, there should be a physical barrier separating cars from bicycle lanes.
  - ido 3y ago
    I’ll bet if traffic police started giving them tickets incurring fines for cars that park on the bike lanes they will very quickly do less of it.
    - theshrike79 3y ago
      There are multiple TikTok accounts of (I think Canadian) bicycle parkin officers doing just this. They basically just drive on bike lanes and give people fines for parking on it all day. People are just lazy, there might be a parking space just across the street, but they'll still rather park half way on the bike lane and half way on the pavement.
    - TheCoelacanth 3y ago

afavour 3y ago

I bought one a year ago specifically to take my kids to school and it’s been an absolute delight. I get a slight workout, the kids get fresh air (and they love riding on it). I’m convinced everyone would be much happier if school drop offs were 70% bikes rather than 90% cars. But the ride to my kids school has isolated bike lanes for the vast majority of the trip. Most people aren’t so lucky and will (rightly) fear the idea of taking their kids on a bike. It’s such a shame.

FreshStart 3y ago
Carban in area circle for time window?
fhub 3y ago
I'm at about 90% eBike school dropoffs and pickups. Love it. Especially as I work from home. I started by doing them all at "Turbo" assist. Now down to "Tour" for the most part as my fitness improved. Love the incidental exercise, fresh air, so much easier to stop off somewhere and dropoffs are just nicer. I'm lucky that I live a few blocks from an eBike store and I could afford the impulse buy one day. Very little thought went into it.
mikepurvis 3y ago
I'm fortunate to live in a century home neighborhood (Waterloo region, Canada) where the elementary school has a tiny parking lot that is strictly for staff only. A few parents moan about having to park on nearby side streets and walk their kids in, but the net result is overwhelmingly a huge positive— almost everyone walks or bikes to school, and is safer doing so for the fact that there isn't a giant traffic jam in front of it. I often feel that it's a fragile equilibrium though— it wouldn't take much to get the sports field turned into a big parking lot and have everyone immediately defect in the face of it not "feeling safe" any more.
- jjtheblunt 3y ago
  What is a century home neighborhood?

mikepurvis 3y ago

I got a boosted board years ago, before they went out of business, and I've been a huge fan ever since. It's definitely harder and more dangerous than a bike or scooter, but it's super fun and ultra compact for taking with you into destinations or onto transit vehicles.

sleepybrett 3y ago
At one point i was considering one of those monowheel skateboard dealies, but decided that I would die instantly.. and hell they aren't much cheaper than my cargo ebike.
- throwaheyy 3y ago
  Those one wheel things are very dangerous, if the motor cuts out or overloads it pitches the nose forward and slams you into the ground. A 4 wheel electric board is safer, it turns into a regular board if the electrics die or you can just jump off at low speeds. I use a Wowgo 3X which is about as close to a Boosted as you can still buy today.
- mikepurvis 3y ago
  I'd had a bee in my bonnet about Boosted ever since their original Kickstarter back in 2014 [1], so I really specifically wanted that one. From a purely vanity perspective, I love the look of a powered longboard— I feel much cooler riding it than I do teetering on an EUC/onewheel, or derping along on a scooter. But certainly there are tradeoffs too; the battery life is shorter, and the tiny wheels make you way, way more vulnerable to road conditions (like loose gravel) that would barely register for any other vehicle. [1]: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/170315130/boosted-boards-the-worlds-lightest-electric-vehicl https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/170315130/boosted-board...

dheera 3y ago

I had an ebike until it got stolen, I got another one, and the 2nd one got thrown out by my property manager, and I had to keep getting new bikes every now and then as my property manager would throw them out (yeah, they do that -- but the savings I get on my rent-controlled apartment with this shitty management compared to other apartments in the area is totally enough to buy a new ebike every 2-3 months -- hey welcome to America). Anyway, as soon as I got an electric car I started using the ebike less and less. I was finding that it occupied an awkward middle ground between convenience and exercise. I now just use my car or my non-electric bike. The problem with ebikes is that when they run out of battery it feels like hauling rocks to pedal them. When you run out of "battery" on a non-electric bike all you need is a bowl of carbs and you're good to go for another 25-50 km. And carbs are much easier to find in the middle of nowhere than publicly-accessible electric outlets.

s0rce 3y ago
That seems insane, can you bribe the property manager $200/mo to not throw away your bike? Regarding running out of battery, my ebike is 99% used for my commute and I just charge at home every 3 days I ride. Works perfectly. Shorter trips for food I use my regular bike.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  They might not have a designated place to park it outside, and not enough room to park it inside. If the neighborhood is dangerous, just parking it outside is risking theft. It is harder to steal a car, since you can’t just pick it up and go. It’s the main reason I’m not considering an e-bike right now even though I have an EV. It helps that I can just walk to anything I need to get to on daily basis (eg kid’s school is 7 minutes away by walking).
  - dheera 3y ago
    > and not enough room to park it inside Yeah my property manager keeps telling people to move their bikes inside. I moved my regular bike to my patio, but I refused to move my ebike indoors because I'm not confident about the battery quality and don't like the idea of having 1 kWh of questionable-quality lithium battery inside my apartment in a wooden building. I also used to charge it from the outlets in the parking lot, but the new property manager that came along last year locked those outlets up so now I have to do the more fire-hazard thing of charging it next to the wooden building with a long extension cord. I offered them to pay a reasonable fee for the electricity to use the parking lot outlets, letting them know it was in the interest of fire safety, but they chose the more dangerous option.

sharkweek 3y ago

Upfront transparency here: I'm obsessed with e-biking now, especially on our wagon that I use to tote the kids around. I feel SO bad for the other parents at the park that ask me about my experience because they get a 10 minute rave session from me where I talk about all the benefits we've enjoyed, especially when a simple "we love it!" probably would have been enough. Some of the specifics, including but not limited to: removing 1-5 mile car trips from our lives (we've put over 2k miles on it, about 1k a year), riding to random parks, bakeries, beaches, putting the kids in a great mood getting fresh air when we cruise around the neighborhood with no destination after dinner, etc. They're not only practical for the above, but they honestly make transportation more fun.

sleepybrett 3y ago

picked one up just over a year ago and ride it just about everywhere. Only take the old ice car out of the garage to go see my family who are about an hour away. Groceries, lunch, general errands around my hood.. all ebike. I bought a bit on the cargoie side. Big tires, racks. Thing weighs a ton but even the first notch of pedal assist makes it a dream. You are right, it's not really a workout.. until you run out of battery miles from home (oops), a ~60lbs bike is some inertia to overcome, but I made it without too much trouble.

JeremyNT 3y ago

I'm on the fence about these subsidies, because I worry it's a bit of a zero-sum game versus infrastructure. Wouldn't adding miles of protected bike lanes go further than tax breaks for these devices, and improve the situation for people who already have traditional bicycles as well? If the infra isn't there for safe cycling as a form of transit, you end up subsidizing what become essentially toys which can only be used in places like greenways and parks which are designated for recreation. Whereas if you make the city safer for cycling first, these things could become a major component in a better / safer way to navigate the world. Maybe the idea is that the new e-bike owners then turn around and demand (and are willing to fund) the fixes to make cities actually support these vehicles properly, but it seems like a bit of magical thinking to me.

lmm 3y ago
"Protected bike lanes" may make people feel safer but they make very little difference; drivers mostly kill cyclists by driving into them at junctions, not on plain streets. So while some infrastructure changes can help, one of the biggest game-changers for safety is just getting a critical mass of bikes on the roads so that drivers start actually looking for them before turning.