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E bikes really are the best form of travel. The only issue is how do you get rid of that ridiculous looking grin on your face. You just had a huge rush, got a

E bikes really are the best form of travel. The only issue is how do you get rid of that ridiculous looking grin on your face. You just had a huge rush, got a bit of exercise, paid nothing for parking, eight pennies for 'gas', and beat all your co-workers who were stuck in traffic. The grin is real and not a good look professionally at the office when commuting. Thanks ebikes.ca, endless sphere forums and Sheldon Brown. True spirit of the internet.

LoganDark 3y ago
> The only issue is how do you get rid of that ridiculous looking grin on your face. You just had a huge rush, got a bit of exercise, paid nothing for parking, eight pennies for 'gas', and beat all your co-workers who were stuck in traffic. The grin is real and not a good look professionally at the office when commuting. This is the most hilarious non-satire comment I've read in a while. The grin is indeed an issue
- swader999 3y ago
  Thanks, I don't have the tech chops most of you have so I try to help out in odd places wherever I can.
  - PartiallyTyped 3y ago
    I haven’t experienced it first hand, but I had one as I read your comment :D
- SmellTheGlove 3y ago
  Ive been enjoying RTO because most of my commute is via the Elliott Bay Trail in Seattle. It really does put me in a different mood for the day.
  - sleepybrett 3y ago
    I'm in ballard and my company has an office downtown. Two weeks back I needed to go in for a day as my home internet was down and decided to take my cargo ebike (it's been lovely out). I'm not sure I'd want to commute on a cargo bike every day, but it was a great ride, both ways, along the ship canal trail. (Little detour on the way home down to figurehead brewing to hit up the midnite ramen truck for dinner)
    - SmellTheGlove 3y ago
      The little detours make ebike commuting fun! Out of curiosity did you cross the canal at the Ballard Bridge or somewhere else? I haven’t crossed that bridge yet because I really don’t want to ride on 15th.
      - operatingthetan 3y ago
        It's not a good bridge to cross because the walk/bike part of it is dangerously narrow. Either take the Fremont bridge or use the Ballard Locks (which requires walking).
      - sleepybrett 3y ago
        I take the ballard bridge and it's one of the shittier parts of the commute, I'm considering swapping to the fremont route. I don't really ride on 15th. I live in old ballard so I just swing down though russel/tallman and onto 17th and then just take the the ballard way sidewalk to the ballard bridge entrance. The pedestrian path on either side is rideable as long as there is no-one else around, you may be reduced to walking your bike though. So yeah I'd avoid 15th proper and just take a side street down to ballard ave. That said the ramen truck would be quite a detour if I took the fremont bridge as it's in interbay near fishermen's terminal.
tjoff 3y ago
The problem of thieves is such a downer though. Against all kinds of bikes, really takes both the joy and the utility out of it. Same with owning a scooter and similar vehicles. And even if you have good and safe parking at home and at the office (great!), which will cover the vast majority of trips it still limits the usefulness of a vehicle to be so tied up. Yes, there are solutions/mitigations/compromises. But expensive and heavy locks suck and the ever present thought in your head planning a good parking spot etc. kills the joy of it.
- analog31 3y ago
  Murphy's law for bicycles: All bikes weigh 35 pounds, because the lighter the bike, the heavier the lock needed to secure it.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - jerlam 3y ago
    This rule doesn't work for ebikes that can weigh 70 pounds unloaded.
  - wl 3y ago
    If you’re riding a bike you’ve actually weighed, the bike should be in your sight or locked up at home. If you’re leaving it locked up in public, that should be a different, far less valuable bike.
    - analog31 3y ago
      Oddly enough I'm the rare exception. I weighed my bike (21 pounds, hardly a lightweight), but it's thrown together from old parts, and hopefully not a theft magnet. But also, I'm conscious of the actual level of bike theft in my locale, and am not particularly worried about it. I can always park it next to a nicer bike with a less secure lock.
- wpietri 3y ago
  I feel that one for sure. I live in San Francisco and was a dedicated cyclist. I had 6 bikes stolen in my first years here. But I was stubborn, got cannier, and kept the 7th long enough for it to look scruffy. Which let me keep it for years. But then it got stolen while locked up behind a 12-foot fence and something went out of me. I just gave up. I still make occasional trips on the Lyft bikes, which are fine. And I've been thinking about getting another bike. But especially with e-bikes, which are much more expensive and therefore much better theft targets, I just can't sign myself up for years of fretting about theft.
js2 3y ago
> E bikes really are the best form of travel Whether an E bike is the best form of travel is going to depend on a lot of factors. It's certainly less flexible than a car. For one person who doesn't need to carry a lot and who lives somewhere that has dedicated bike lanes or can at least safely share the road with cars and where the weather is neither much too cold nor much too hot and there aren't daily thunderstorms, sure. I don't mean this to be critical of E bikes or biking in general. I wish the built environment (in the U.S.) were more supportive of biking. Things like the weather are what they are, but the lack of dedicated bike lanes are a choice we made in the U.S. It can be especially bad in the suburbs and rural areas. Personally (U.S east coast, mid-atlantic), I could reasonably use an E bike for a limited set of my trips in the spring and fall except the roads near me are hostile to bikes and there are no sidewalks in many cases. In the summer (July - Sep), an E bike isn't suitable due to heat, humidity, and on a lot of days severe thunderstorms.
- lostNFound 3y ago
  Surprised no comment in this thread mentioned speed actually, apart from cargo space of course. In my area traffic is completely quiet. In a car you can go 120km/h in the highways fine, and even almost that in some specific non highway streets. I always want to get one until I remember: 1. I WFH and “university FH”. Both are >100km from my house for when I rarely need to go. 2. My gym is 15km away and I barely get there in time in my car at the aforementioned speeds. There are no closer ones. 3. My non-e-bike is just my weekend workout (which I love) but if using for workout, e-bike doesn’t make much sense. 4. The only other use case for my car is getting groceries for my entire family or other cargo heavy things.
  - DANmode 3y ago
    > if using for workout, e-bike doesn’t make much sense. If you have time, or don't have time, but still want variety in your route/scenery, there's no better option.
  - atahanacar 3y ago
    [dead]
analog31 3y ago
A problem with the ridiculous grin is that people somehow assume riding a bike is purely a source of personal gratification or irrational indulgence at the expense of others. Like being cheerful while you're working. Or working from home.
- lostlogin 3y ago
  How does riding a bike come at the expense of others?
  - analog31 3y ago
    There's a widespread perception that we get in the way of traffic, take frivolous risks, and demand infrastructure changes to be made on our behalf.
  - atahanacar 3y ago
    Because "This road is blocked because of that one cyclist, definitely not because of thousands of cars each carrying only a single person." or "If that bike lane wasn't there there would be no traffic. Just one more lane bro"
rcpt 3y ago
> how do you get rid of that ridiculous looking grin on your face Getting buzzed by an SUV or honked at a stoplight works for me
- n40487171 3y ago
  I feel like a paintball gun on a shoulder strap might help to discourage that behavior from motorists
  - rcpt 3y ago
    Real gun https://www.reddit.com/r/cycling/comments/ofrr0f/armed_cyclist_shoots_driver_police_declined_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/cycling/comments/ofrr0f/armed_cycli...
    - rsynnott 3y ago
      Huh. I mean, fair enough, I suppose, but also, wtf.
  - swader999 3y ago
    The air zound, world's loudest bike horn, is another non-lethal solution.
- DANmode 3y ago
  I've been riding my ebike in public, aggressively, for over 1000 miles. Where are you located, and what behavior of yours do you suspect these people are taking such issue that they're threatening you with their vehicles? Just being a cyclist?
- r00fus 3y ago
  #1 purchase for bike owners traveling near cars: Garmin Varia. Cheaper ones exist, but this one a) pulses at drivers to let them know you exist and b) informs you on your head unit that car(s) exist(s). It's not a panacea but it'll turn a bad situation (inattentive driver) into a better one.
sandworm101 3y ago
The smile of a totally able-bodied person living in a temperate climate heading to a job that doesnt require them to haul much more than thier own bodyweight to work. Not everyone can physically ride a bike. Not everyone lives in sunny california. Not everyone has the luxury of a single-location office job a few miles from home. Workmen drive pickup trucks for reasons. There was so much smoke at my work on thursday (forest fires) that those who biked in were hitching rides home because physical activity outside was to be curtailed due to air quality.
- desas 3y ago
  Not everyone can drive a car either. No-one is making the point that there has to be one method of transport to rule them all.
pjmlp 3y ago
I get the same with a motorbike.
shrimpx 3y ago
I'm eyeing an e-bike but part of me is afraid that I won't exercise as much and get lazy. Currently I bike often and get a pretty good daily workout as I climb into town.
- acdha 3y ago
  I have found the opposite to be true: it removes excuses not to cycle, and going faster means we ride longer. We’ve gone long enough without starting our car that I had to jump it a couple of time.
  - shrimpx 3y ago
    Thanks!
    - acdha 3y ago
      One other thought: if you’ve ever been annoyed by cargo capacity, flats, etc. e-assist is a great leveler. I stopped worrying about the weight of my lock, heavy duty tires, etc. because I have an e-cargo bike with a kid on it, which is liberating compared to sweating grams on a road bike. (Not that a good road bike isn’t fun but it’s way less practical)
      - shrimpx 3y ago
        Thanks that is useful. Indeed I worry about cargo weight and sometimes avoid to take things I'd otherwise rather have with me.
        Chilko 3y ago
        I lived up the top of a big hill which used to be grueling climb on my old non-electric bike. Now with the e-bike, I have the choice of taking it slow and not having to put in much effort, or I put in lots of effort but I'll be going twice as fast compared to my old bike and can carry a load of groceries in my panniers. Essentially, it becomes a choice whether or not you want to use it as workout.
constantcrying 3y ago
There is nothing worse than using a bike in a dense city. I love cycling, but the moment you are confronted with high concentrations of pedestrians and cars it quickly gets unbearable and unreasonably dangerous. Not to mention that it is impossible for some people, 1:30 with a train, 45 minutes with a car and about 3 hours with a bike, makes thr choice rather obvious.
- baxuz 3y ago
  See, the problem you have is a large concentration of cars.
  - constantcrying 3y ago
    And pedestrians, who are easily as reckless and uncaring.
    - batiudrami 3y ago
      They don’t kill me if they’re reckless or careless, though.
- sharkweek 3y ago
  Alternative take: I LOVE riding in a dense city. It’s exhilarating and gives me the wildest rush akin to downhill skiing on mountain biking, it puts me in a flow state requiring extreme focus. No doubt it can be dangerous and no matter how honed my instincts are with regard to predicting how cars and pedestrians are going to act there’s always unpredictable risk, so I understand not loving that. In another life I wish I had done a few years as a bike courier, I would have loved it.
  - constantcrying 3y ago
    A life or death obstacle course is absolutely not something I want to experience every day while going to work. And I am pretty sure that the same thing goes for most other people.
- 3y ago

LoganDark 3y ago

> The only issue is how do you get rid of that ridiculous looking grin on your face. You just had a huge rush, got a bit of exercise, paid nothing for parking, eight pennies for 'gas', and beat all your co-workers who were stuck in traffic. The grin is real and not a good look professionally at the office when commuting. This is the most hilarious non-satire comment I've read in a while. The grin is indeed an issue

swader999 3y ago
Thanks, I don't have the tech chops most of you have so I try to help out in odd places wherever I can.
- PartiallyTyped 3y ago
  I haven’t experienced it first hand, but I had one as I read your comment :D
SmellTheGlove 3y ago
Ive been enjoying RTO because most of my commute is via the Elliott Bay Trail in Seattle. It really does put me in a different mood for the day.
- sleepybrett 3y ago
  I'm in ballard and my company has an office downtown. Two weeks back I needed to go in for a day as my home internet was down and decided to take my cargo ebike (it's been lovely out). I'm not sure I'd want to commute on a cargo bike every day, but it was a great ride, both ways, along the ship canal trail. (Little detour on the way home down to figurehead brewing to hit up the midnite ramen truck for dinner)
  - SmellTheGlove 3y ago
    The little detours make ebike commuting fun! Out of curiosity did you cross the canal at the Ballard Bridge or somewhere else? I haven’t crossed that bridge yet because I really don’t want to ride on 15th.
    - operatingthetan 3y ago
      It's not a good bridge to cross because the walk/bike part of it is dangerously narrow. Either take the Fremont bridge or use the Ballard Locks (which requires walking).
    - sleepybrett 3y ago
      I take the ballard bridge and it's one of the shittier parts of the commute, I'm considering swapping to the fremont route. I don't really ride on 15th. I live in old ballard so I just swing down though russel/tallman and onto 17th and then just take the the ballard way sidewalk to the ballard bridge entrance. The pedestrian path on either side is rideable as long as there is no-one else around, you may be reduced to walking your bike though. So yeah I'd avoid 15th proper and just take a side street down to ballard ave. That said the ramen truck would be quite a detour if I took the fremont bridge as it's in interbay near fishermen's terminal.

tjoff 3y ago

The problem of thieves is such a downer though. Against all kinds of bikes, really takes both the joy and the utility out of it. Same with owning a scooter and similar vehicles. And even if you have good and safe parking at home and at the office (great!), which will cover the vast majority of trips it still limits the usefulness of a vehicle to be so tied up. Yes, there are solutions/mitigations/compromises. But expensive and heavy locks suck and the ever present thought in your head planning a good parking spot etc. kills the joy of it.

analog31 3y ago
Murphy's law for bicycles: All bikes weigh 35 pounds, because the lighter the bike, the heavier the lock needed to secure it.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- jerlam 3y ago
  This rule doesn't work for ebikes that can weigh 70 pounds unloaded.
- wl 3y ago
  If you’re riding a bike you’ve actually weighed, the bike should be in your sight or locked up at home. If you’re leaving it locked up in public, that should be a different, far less valuable bike.
  - analog31 3y ago
    Oddly enough I'm the rare exception. I weighed my bike (21 pounds, hardly a lightweight), but it's thrown together from old parts, and hopefully not a theft magnet. But also, I'm conscious of the actual level of bike theft in my locale, and am not particularly worried about it. I can always park it next to a nicer bike with a less secure lock.
wpietri 3y ago
I feel that one for sure. I live in San Francisco and was a dedicated cyclist. I had 6 bikes stolen in my first years here. But I was stubborn, got cannier, and kept the 7th long enough for it to look scruffy. Which let me keep it for years. But then it got stolen while locked up behind a 12-foot fence and something went out of me. I just gave up. I still make occasional trips on the Lyft bikes, which are fine. And I've been thinking about getting another bike. But especially with e-bikes, which are much more expensive and therefore much better theft targets, I just can't sign myself up for years of fretting about theft.

js2 3y ago

> E bikes really are the best form of travel Whether an E bike is the best form of travel is going to depend on a lot of factors. It's certainly less flexible than a car. For one person who doesn't need to carry a lot and who lives somewhere that has dedicated bike lanes or can at least safely share the road with cars and where the weather is neither much too cold nor much too hot and there aren't daily thunderstorms, sure. I don't mean this to be critical of E bikes or biking in general. I wish the built environment (in the U.S.) were more supportive of biking. Things like the weather are what they are, but the lack of dedicated bike lanes are a choice we made in the U.S. It can be especially bad in the suburbs and rural areas. Personally (U.S east coast, mid-atlantic), I could reasonably use an E bike for a limited set of my trips in the spring and fall except the roads near me are hostile to bikes and there are no sidewalks in many cases. In the summer (July - Sep), an E bike isn't suitable due to heat, humidity, and on a lot of days severe thunderstorms.

lostNFound 3y ago
Surprised no comment in this thread mentioned speed actually, apart from cargo space of course. In my area traffic is completely quiet. In a car you can go 120km/h in the highways fine, and even almost that in some specific non highway streets. I always want to get one until I remember: 1. I WFH and “university FH”. Both are >100km from my house for when I rarely need to go. 2. My gym is 15km away and I barely get there in time in my car at the aforementioned speeds. There are no closer ones. 3. My non-e-bike is just my weekend workout (which I love) but if using for workout, e-bike doesn’t make much sense. 4. The only other use case for my car is getting groceries for my entire family or other cargo heavy things.
- DANmode 3y ago
  > if using for workout, e-bike doesn’t make much sense. If you have time, or don't have time, but still want variety in your route/scenery, there's no better option.
- atahanacar 3y ago
  [dead]

analog31 3y ago

A problem with the ridiculous grin is that people somehow assume riding a bike is purely a source of personal gratification or irrational indulgence at the expense of others. Like being cheerful while you're working. Or working from home.

lostlogin 3y ago
How does riding a bike come at the expense of others?
- analog31 3y ago
  There's a widespread perception that we get in the way of traffic, take frivolous risks, and demand infrastructure changes to be made on our behalf.
- atahanacar 3y ago
  Because "This road is blocked because of that one cyclist, definitely not because of thousands of cars each carrying only a single person." or "If that bike lane wasn't there there would be no traffic. Just one more lane bro"

rcpt 3y ago

> how do you get rid of that ridiculous looking grin on your face Getting buzzed by an SUV or honked at a stoplight works for me

n40487171 3y ago
I feel like a paintball gun on a shoulder strap might help to discourage that behavior from motorists
- rcpt 3y ago
  Real gun https://www.reddit.com/r/cycling/comments/ofrr0f/armed_cyclist_shoots_driver_police_declined_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/cycling/comments/ofrr0f/armed_cycli...
  - rsynnott 3y ago
    Huh. I mean, fair enough, I suppose, but also, wtf.
- swader999 3y ago
  The air zound, world's loudest bike horn, is another non-lethal solution.
DANmode 3y ago
I've been riding my ebike in public, aggressively, for over 1000 miles. Where are you located, and what behavior of yours do you suspect these people are taking such issue that they're threatening you with their vehicles? Just being a cyclist?
r00fus 3y ago
#1 purchase for bike owners traveling near cars: Garmin Varia. Cheaper ones exist, but this one a) pulses at drivers to let them know you exist and b) informs you on your head unit that car(s) exist(s). It's not a panacea but it'll turn a bad situation (inattentive driver) into a better one.

sandworm101 3y ago

The smile of a totally able-bodied person living in a temperate climate heading to a job that doesnt require them to haul much more than thier own bodyweight to work. Not everyone can physically ride a bike. Not everyone lives in sunny california. Not everyone has the luxury of a single-location office job a few miles from home. Workmen drive pickup trucks for reasons. There was so much smoke at my work on thursday (forest fires) that those who biked in were hitching rides home because physical activity outside was to be curtailed due to air quality.

desas 3y ago
Not everyone can drive a car either. No-one is making the point that there has to be one method of transport to rule them all.

pjmlp 3y ago

I get the same with a motorbike.

shrimpx 3y ago

I'm eyeing an e-bike but part of me is afraid that I won't exercise as much and get lazy. Currently I bike often and get a pretty good daily workout as I climb into town.

acdha 3y ago
I have found the opposite to be true: it removes excuses not to cycle, and going faster means we ride longer. We’ve gone long enough without starting our car that I had to jump it a couple of time.
- shrimpx 3y ago
  Thanks!
  - acdha 3y ago
    One other thought: if you’ve ever been annoyed by cargo capacity, flats, etc. e-assist is a great leveler. I stopped worrying about the weight of my lock, heavy duty tires, etc. because I have an e-cargo bike with a kid on it, which is liberating compared to sweating grams on a road bike. (Not that a good road bike isn’t fun but it’s way less practical)
    - shrimpx 3y ago
      Thanks that is useful. Indeed I worry about cargo weight and sometimes avoid to take things I'd otherwise rather have with me.
      - Chilko 3y ago
        I lived up the top of a big hill which used to be grueling climb on my old non-electric bike. Now with the e-bike, I have the choice of taking it slow and not having to put in much effort, or I put in lots of effort but I'll be going twice as fast compared to my old bike and can carry a load of groceries in my panniers. Essentially, it becomes a choice whether or not you want to use it as workout.

constantcrying 3y ago

There is nothing worse than using a bike in a dense city. I love cycling, but the moment you are confronted with high concentrations of pedestrians and cars it quickly gets unbearable and unreasonably dangerous. Not to mention that it is impossible for some people, 1:30 with a train, 45 minutes with a car and about 3 hours with a bike, makes thr choice rather obvious.

baxuz 3y ago
See, the problem you have is a large concentration of cars.
- constantcrying 3y ago
  And pedestrians, who are easily as reckless and uncaring.
  - batiudrami 3y ago
    They don’t kill me if they’re reckless or careless, though.
sharkweek 3y ago
Alternative take: I LOVE riding in a dense city. It’s exhilarating and gives me the wildest rush akin to downhill skiing on mountain biking, it puts me in a flow state requiring extreme focus. No doubt it can be dangerous and no matter how honed my instincts are with regard to predicting how cars and pedestrians are going to act there’s always unpredictable risk, so I understand not loving that. In another life I wish I had done a few years as a bike courier, I would have loved it.
- constantcrying 3y ago
  A life or death obstacle course is absolutely not something I want to experience every day while going to work. And I am pretty sure that the same thing goes for most other people.
3y ago