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People hate especially since eBike riders fuck with stats on trails on platforms like Strava. They also contribute to path wear since they allow people who hav

by tekla 3y ago

People hate especially since eBike riders fuck with stats on trails on platforms like Strava. They also contribute to path wear since they allow people who have no business being on the tails due to lack of fitness to use them. Also holy shit, the potholes from eBike riders more or less burning out from standing or trying to go up slopes they are unable to. Fuck eBike riders on trails.

floren 3y ago
Also, the "ebikes" that are just electric motorcycles with a couple fig-leaf pedals attached...
Lio 3y ago
I've never ridden an eBike as they don't really appeal to me but I kind of think that everyone has a right to be on the trails regardless of fitness.
- stefan_ 3y ago
  It's a nice idea but not really appropriate to have people jet up trails at 1000W for minutes while having none of the handling skills to go with it. Stuff is designed for human abilities, keep the motorcycles out of it. If the things were limited to something sane like 250W, sure, but with the wild-west in the US it's hopeless.
  - aftbit 3y ago
    This was the "don't ride like a jackwagon" part. My bike has a solid kW output, at least when the battery is full, but I don't zip down the trail at 26 mph all the time. Sure, occasionally I pull a max-speed segment for hoots, but I don't do it anywhere near anyone who might be scared or injured if I mess up. My trail empties out pretty nicely once you're about 5 miles from "downtown" (of the city along the trail where I enter) so it's easy to find long open stretches to hoon around if you want without endangering anyone but yourself and others on your ride. I have just under 1000 miles of riding on this particular ebike, and about 2500 miles total, so I'm definitely not an expert rider, but I have _some_ handling skills. Personally I like the relatively unregulated hardware. I don't need my bike to decide on a safe top speed or power. That's up to me. If I am on the trail around people, I keep it below 15 mph as a rule of thumb. If I'm doing a segment on a road trying to dodge a half-awake car driver, I very much want to be able to pull up to 30 mph fast so I can GTFO from a bad situation. If you don't like jackwagons riding on the trail, regulate that behavior, not their hardware. Just my 2¢, opinions may vary.
    - stefan_ 3y ago
      All road restrictions are modeled around power. Crashes occur reliably when you mix vehicles with disparate power. There is simply no reason electric bikes should have the continuous power of two world class pro cyclists in one. It's nice to appeal to people acting sensibly, but of course that doesn't work - not least because the majority of people riding these don't even realize it is not normal to go up 10% grades at 15mph and more If the story here is we want people to ride that otherwise can't - 250W continuous reliably puts you in the 90th percentile. That is an all out effort for a good half of the population.
thot_experiment 3y ago
I've been biking a lot more recently and I uploaded a ride to Strava and was super disappointed that they don't have leaderboards anymore. What even is the point? Is there an alternative? (I assume not because capitalism in [current year] shakes fist protocols not platforms etc etc)
- cbsks 3y ago
  They restricted leaderboards to premium accounts. Stupid, I know.
PraetorianGourd 3y ago
I am not normally one to cry “ableism!” but seriously. If technology allows more people to enjoy nature and trails, awesome. Nature of all places doesn’t need your gatekeeping.
mock-possum 3y ago
> people who have no business being on the trails due to lack of fitness Yikes. you wanna rephrase that?
- nemosaltat 3y ago
  How does, “people who have no business SCUBA diving a protected reef due to lack of fitness” strike you? As with eBikes, just about anyone could strap on a SCUBA and visit places they otherwise couldn’t (IMO shouldn’t). The fact is, some people are unfit. Whether, physically, or simply lack the ability to be a good steward of public resources. This applies to SCUBA, eBikes, Driving and a bunch of other things. I don’t think that’s objectionable.

by tekla 3y ago

floren 3y ago

Also, the "ebikes" that are just electric motorcycles with a couple fig-leaf pedals attached...

Lio 3y ago

I've never ridden an eBike as they don't really appeal to me but I kind of think that everyone has a right to be on the trails regardless of fitness.

stefan_ 3y ago
It's a nice idea but not really appropriate to have people jet up trails at 1000W for minutes while having none of the handling skills to go with it. Stuff is designed for human abilities, keep the motorcycles out of it. If the things were limited to something sane like 250W, sure, but with the wild-west in the US it's hopeless.
- aftbit 3y ago
  This was the "don't ride like a jackwagon" part. My bike has a solid kW output, at least when the battery is full, but I don't zip down the trail at 26 mph all the time. Sure, occasionally I pull a max-speed segment for hoots, but I don't do it anywhere near anyone who might be scared or injured if I mess up. My trail empties out pretty nicely once you're about 5 miles from "downtown" (of the city along the trail where I enter) so it's easy to find long open stretches to hoon around if you want without endangering anyone but yourself and others on your ride. I have just under 1000 miles of riding on this particular ebike, and about 2500 miles total, so I'm definitely not an expert rider, but I have _some_ handling skills. Personally I like the relatively unregulated hardware. I don't need my bike to decide on a safe top speed or power. That's up to me. If I am on the trail around people, I keep it below 15 mph as a rule of thumb. If I'm doing a segment on a road trying to dodge a half-awake car driver, I very much want to be able to pull up to 30 mph fast so I can GTFO from a bad situation. If you don't like jackwagons riding on the trail, regulate that behavior, not their hardware. Just my 2¢, opinions may vary.
  - stefan_ 3y ago
    All road restrictions are modeled around power. Crashes occur reliably when you mix vehicles with disparate power. There is simply no reason electric bikes should have the continuous power of two world class pro cyclists in one. It's nice to appeal to people acting sensibly, but of course that doesn't work - not least because the majority of people riding these don't even realize it is not normal to go up 10% grades at 15mph and more If the story here is we want people to ride that otherwise can't - 250W continuous reliably puts you in the 90th percentile. That is an all out effort for a good half of the population.

thot_experiment 3y ago

I've been biking a lot more recently and I uploaded a ride to Strava and was super disappointed that they don't have leaderboards anymore. What even is the point? Is there an alternative? (I assume not because capitalism in [current year] shakes fist protocols not platforms etc etc)

cbsks 3y ago
They restricted leaderboards to premium accounts. Stupid, I know.

PraetorianGourd 3y ago

I am not normally one to cry “ableism!” but seriously. If technology allows more people to enjoy nature and trails, awesome. Nature of all places doesn’t need your gatekeeping.

mock-possum 3y ago

> people who have no business being on the trails due to lack of fitness Yikes. you wanna rephrase that?

nemosaltat 3y ago
How does, “people who have no business SCUBA diving a protected reef due to lack of fitness” strike you? As with eBikes, just about anyone could strap on a SCUBA and visit places they otherwise couldn’t (IMO shouldn’t). The fact is, some people are unfit. Whether, physically, or simply lack the ability to be a good steward of public resources. This applies to SCUBA, eBikes, Driving and a bunch of other things. I don’t think that’s objectionable.