4 ms·

What's wrong with, you know, a regular bicycle? Everyone says people need to get more exercise, and many people spend hours at the gym when they could just com

by amalcon 18y ago

What's wrong with, you know, a regular bicycle? Everyone says people need to get more exercise, and many people spend hours at the gym when they could just combine their workout and commute. OK, so it's not so great to show up to work smelly. More and more workplaces are offering showers and such, and many gyms offer cheaper "shower-only" memberships. The main problems with a regular bicycle (cargo/passenger capacity and exposure to weather) are just as present on electrics.

teej 18y ago
Biking seems a lot more dangerous here (Baltimore) than in Palo Alto where it was more culturally acceptable.
- amalcon 18y ago
  Oh, don't get me wrong: it's pretty dangerous here (Boston) as well. I probably should have included "dangerous" in my list of things an electric doesn't actually help with, though. Most of the danger comes from motorists simply not being accustomed to watching for bicycles. That's the big benefit of the bicycle lanes (all over in Cambridge) as I see them: the fact that there's a lane reminds motorists that someone might be cycling down it.
- yan 18y ago
  You're in Baltimore too? Cool! I always thought I lived in a vacuum of hackery activity. edit: To stay on topic, I bike to work sometimes and know of a few great bike trails around Baltimore if you're interested. As far as commuting in the city goes, yeah, you're S.O.L.
  - kiddo 18y ago
    Baltimore has a master plan for bike lanes: http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/planning/bikeplan.php http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/planning/bikeplan.p... And Baltimore has a bicycle club: http://www.baltobikeclub.org/ http://www.baltobikeclub.org/ The club is probably an advocate for the bike lanes. Lend your support and I'm sure you'll get your better commuting conditions.
AndrewO 18y ago
I see what you're saying and agree that it doesn't fix everything, but this quote from the article sums it up for me: > The ease with which you can slip in and out of traffic, without breaking into a sweat... And there is no battle of wills between pedestrian and cyclist. It is no sweat to restart, so the temptation to zip through a red traffic light, menacing people as you do so, is removed... There are no more scary moments when, as a cyclist, you struggle to gain the necessary speed to cope in busy traffic. Stopping & starting, dealing with cars & pedestrians all while having to think about conserving your momentum so you don't end up having to balance or dismount with slowed/stopped traffic... these are all things I don't trust myself to do in DC traffic after having just woken up or a long day of work. I applaud those who can, but it's a major impediment for a lot of people (at least in US cities).
- amalcon 18y ago
  If that sort of thing is a big deal to you, then an electric makes sense, certainly. I bought a bicycle last year, counting on the fact that my commute could mostly consist of a single, long bike path, and quickly discovered that these things didn't matter as much as I expected them to, but to each his own. If you do get an electric, though, I'd suggest you try doing it with the pedals once in a while -- it's actually fairly enjoyable.
  - deleted 18y ago
    [deleted]
frankus 18y ago
I ride a ChargerBike to work on nice days. It's a pedelec-style, in that it measures your torque input and matches (or multiplies) it with electric power, so there's no throttle (the article is talking about a twist-throttle system). I probably wouldn't have chosen it except that repossessed it from my dad after he never rode it and I didn't want to add a bunch of road/commuting bits to my mountain bike. I originally gave it to him because I was able to get it for cost as an employee at the outfit that made the electronics (AeroVironment). The advantage of an ebike is basically that it lets you get somewhere faster than you could on a regular bike with the same effort, while retaining all of the advantages in terms of parking and portability. It costs more than the heavy bike it's built on, but is faster than a comparably-priced lightweight bike. The electricity is basically rounding error on my monthly bill, and it's free when I charge at work. And while I'm a big believer in the sort of utilitarian fitness you describe, on well-to-wheels basis an ebiker is arguably more efficient than a conventional cyclist eating a typical western diet.
dougp 18y ago
The problem with bicycles in Northern Va is that the season is too short it is either burning hot and you will die of heat stroke or freezing cold and your fingers and ears get frost bite. I had much more luck walking (2.5 miles) to the metro station and then to work then riding a bike that same distance and it felt much safer. At least with electrics the heat stroke part is fixed.
- joeyo 18y ago
  The problem of cold fingers and ears is solvable for more or less any reasonable climate-- certainly for northern Virgina. There are really excellent bike gloves and hats that can be worn under a bike helmet. Having a good pair of socks is also important. Jackets are less of a problem than you would think because they only really have to break the wind-- the act of cycling keeping you warm-- until the temperatures get well below freezing. The larger problems with winter bike commuting are dangerous road conditions. Ice and slush on the road are bad enough to contend with if you have four wheels, but they can be quite tricky when you have only two. And to further compound the problem is the fact that the bike lanes and side streets that a cyclist prefers tend to be less frequently salted and cleared.
- jrockway 18y ago
  burning hot and you will die of heat stroke You have to remember that when you are riding a bicycle, you are sweating and a lot of air is moving over your body. The result is that you stay pretty cool, even when it's very hot out. (It's also important to wear wicking and breathable clothes. You are not going to be very comfortable in a cotton T-shirt.)
- gommm 18y ago
  I used to ride a bicycle to work during Kyoto's summers (very hot and humid weather) and frankly I find it much more bearable than walking in this weather... The air while riding helps cool off...
lacker 18y ago
I don't want to bike to and from work every day. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to be exhausted when I start working, or to exercise right when I leave work. The electric bike gives you the option either to exercise or to be lazy.
ZeroGravitas 18y ago
Whoah there! I bike to work every day on a normal bike and love it but let's not be exclusive just because it's not something we need or want. I want more secure bike parking, more bike lanes, more bike tracks, more workplaces with shower facilities etc. etc. I don't really mind if some of those extra bikes that will be required to push for these things have electric assist. For me personally I'm not going to rule out using one in the future. I'm so used to biking to work that it is now a non-negotiable factor for me in my employment choices. The existence of electric assist bikes could expand the number of places I can reach with a reasonable commute. And that's not even counting getting old and feeble or having a steep gradient or undulating hills between home and work. Options are good, and maybe I'm naive but I believe there's more chance of getting folk onto standard bikes if they can dip their toe in with electric assist models until the get confident or fit enough to commit to going without.

by amalcon 18y ago

teej 18y ago

Biking seems a lot more dangerous here (Baltimore) than in Palo Alto where it was more culturally acceptable.

amalcon 18y ago
Oh, don't get me wrong: it's pretty dangerous here (Boston) as well. I probably should have included "dangerous" in my list of things an electric doesn't actually help with, though. Most of the danger comes from motorists simply not being accustomed to watching for bicycles. That's the big benefit of the bicycle lanes (all over in Cambridge) as I see them: the fact that there's a lane reminds motorists that someone might be cycling down it.
yan 18y ago
You're in Baltimore too? Cool! I always thought I lived in a vacuum of hackery activity. edit: To stay on topic, I bike to work sometimes and know of a few great bike trails around Baltimore if you're interested. As far as commuting in the city goes, yeah, you're S.O.L.
- kiddo 18y ago
  Baltimore has a master plan for bike lanes: http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/planning/bikeplan.php http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/planning/bikeplan.p... And Baltimore has a bicycle club: http://www.baltobikeclub.org/ http://www.baltobikeclub.org/ The club is probably an advocate for the bike lanes. Lend your support and I'm sure you'll get your better commuting conditions.

AndrewO 18y ago

I see what you're saying and agree that it doesn't fix everything, but this quote from the article sums it up for me: > The ease with which you can slip in and out of traffic, without breaking into a sweat... And there is no battle of wills between pedestrian and cyclist. It is no sweat to restart, so the temptation to zip through a red traffic light, menacing people as you do so, is removed... There are no more scary moments when, as a cyclist, you struggle to gain the necessary speed to cope in busy traffic. Stopping & starting, dealing with cars & pedestrians all while having to think about conserving your momentum so you don't end up having to balance or dismount with slowed/stopped traffic... these are all things I don't trust myself to do in DC traffic after having just woken up or a long day of work. I applaud those who can, but it's a major impediment for a lot of people (at least in US cities).

amalcon 18y ago
If that sort of thing is a big deal to you, then an electric makes sense, certainly. I bought a bicycle last year, counting on the fact that my commute could mostly consist of a single, long bike path, and quickly discovered that these things didn't matter as much as I expected them to, but to each his own. If you do get an electric, though, I'd suggest you try doing it with the pedals once in a while -- it's actually fairly enjoyable.
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]

frankus 18y ago

I ride a ChargerBike to work on nice days. It's a pedelec-style, in that it measures your torque input and matches (or multiplies) it with electric power, so there's no throttle (the article is talking about a twist-throttle system). I probably wouldn't have chosen it except that repossessed it from my dad after he never rode it and I didn't want to add a bunch of road/commuting bits to my mountain bike. I originally gave it to him because I was able to get it for cost as an employee at the outfit that made the electronics (AeroVironment). The advantage of an ebike is basically that it lets you get somewhere faster than you could on a regular bike with the same effort, while retaining all of the advantages in terms of parking and portability. It costs more than the heavy bike it's built on, but is faster than a comparably-priced lightweight bike. The electricity is basically rounding error on my monthly bill, and it's free when I charge at work. And while I'm a big believer in the sort of utilitarian fitness you describe, on well-to-wheels basis an ebiker is arguably more efficient than a conventional cyclist eating a typical western diet.

dougp 18y ago

The problem with bicycles in Northern Va is that the season is too short it is either burning hot and you will die of heat stroke or freezing cold and your fingers and ears get frost bite. I had much more luck walking (2.5 miles) to the metro station and then to work then riding a bike that same distance and it felt much safer. At least with electrics the heat stroke part is fixed.

joeyo 18y ago
The problem of cold fingers and ears is solvable for more or less any reasonable climate-- certainly for northern Virgina. There are really excellent bike gloves and hats that can be worn under a bike helmet. Having a good pair of socks is also important. Jackets are less of a problem than you would think because they only really have to break the wind-- the act of cycling keeping you warm-- until the temperatures get well below freezing. The larger problems with winter bike commuting are dangerous road conditions. Ice and slush on the road are bad enough to contend with if you have four wheels, but they can be quite tricky when you have only two. And to further compound the problem is the fact that the bike lanes and side streets that a cyclist prefers tend to be less frequently salted and cleared.
jrockway 18y ago
burning hot and you will die of heat stroke You have to remember that when you are riding a bicycle, you are sweating and a lot of air is moving over your body. The result is that you stay pretty cool, even when it's very hot out. (It's also important to wear wicking and breathable clothes. You are not going to be very comfortable in a cotton T-shirt.)
gommm 18y ago
I used to ride a bicycle to work during Kyoto's summers (very hot and humid weather) and frankly I find it much more bearable than walking in this weather... The air while riding helps cool off...

lacker 18y ago

I don't want to bike to and from work every day. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood to be exhausted when I start working, or to exercise right when I leave work. The electric bike gives you the option either to exercise or to be lazy.

ZeroGravitas 18y ago

Whoah there! I bike to work every day on a normal bike and love it but let's not be exclusive just because it's not something we need or want. I want more secure bike parking, more bike lanes, more bike tracks, more workplaces with shower facilities etc. etc. I don't really mind if some of those extra bikes that will be required to push for these things have electric assist. For me personally I'm not going to rule out using one in the future. I'm so used to biking to work that it is now a non-negotiable factor for me in my employment choices. The existence of electric assist bikes could expand the number of places I can reach with a reasonable commute. And that's not even counting getting old and feeble or having a steep gradient or undulating hills between home and work. Options are good, and maybe I'm naive but I believe there's more chance of getting folk onto standard bikes if they can dip their toe in with electric assist models until the get confident or fit enough to commit to going without.