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> Remember the revolutionary, seemingly inevitable tech that was poised to rewrite how humans thought about transportation? The incredible amounts of hype, the
by haiku2077 1y ago
> Remember the revolutionary, seemingly inevitable tech that was poised to rewrite how humans thought about transportation? The incredible amounts of hype, the secretive meetings disclosing the device, etc.? That turned out to be the self-balancing scooter known as a Segway?
Counterpoint: That's how I feel about ebikes and escooters right now.
Over the weekend, I needed to go to my parent's place for brunch. I put on my motorcycle gear, grabbed my motorcycle keys, went to my garage, and as I was about to pull out my BMW motorcycle (MSRP ~$17k), looked at my Ariel ebike (MSRP ~$2k) and decided to ride it instead. For short trips they're a game changing mode of transport.
- withinboredom 1y agoEven for longer trips if your city has the infrastructure. I moved to the Netherlands a few years ago, that infrastructure makes all the difference.
- andsoitis 1y agoFlatness helps
- haiku2077 1y agoMy parents live on a street steeper than San Francisco (we live along the base of a mountain range), my ebike eats that hill for lunch
- Qwertious 1y agoEbikes really help on hills. As nice as ebikes on flat land are, they improve hills so much more.
- pickledoyster 1y agoInfrastructure helps more. I live in a hilly city and break a mild sweat pedaling up a hill to get home from work (no complaints, it's good cardio). e-scooters and bikes - slowly - get up the hills too, but it's a major difference (especially for scooters) doing this up on an old bumpy sidewalk vs an asphalt bike path
- eddythompson80 1y agoFlatness helps more.
- rightbyte 1y agoIn flat landscapes the e in ebike is superfluous.
- walthamstow 1y agoIt's not superfluous at all. It's been 30C+ in flat London for weeks and my ebike means I arrive at work unflustered and in my normal clothes. There are plenty of other benefits than easier hills.
- rightbyte 1y agoYe I might have been trying a bit too much to be a bit cocky.
- haiku2077 1y agoOnly if your goal is to transport yourself. I use my ebike for groceries, typically I'll have the motor in the lowest power setting on the way to the store, then coming back with cargo I'll have the motor turned up. I can bring back heavy bulk items that would have been painful with a pedal bike.