What's the REAL Way to Promote the Electric Bike Culture?

This Chinese company has a cute little site. So of course they stole all the pictures. Me no intellectual property thief. Me Chinese.

http://www.ebannelectricbicycle.com/blog/tag/electric-bike-manufacturer/

Promote ebike culture? How does anyone promote their own culture? When I think of culture promotion, I think of gay pride parades or something like that.

Ebike parade?

They have the international naked bike ride, why not a naked ebike ride?

Think the Chinese would steal THAT, too?

(Did you look at the link?)

Definitely not using me as the poster child for ebike culture is a good way to start. I would just be a perfect example for the naysayers of fat lazy Americans that are now so lazy that they can't even pedal their bikes lol. They'd carry around large banners and posters with a huge image of me on an ebike while chanting, "TAKE THE MOTORS OFF, TAKE THE MOTORS OFF", lol.

You can talk to people all you want, but there already programmed. Don't expect any original thought. The only way to override there mental condition is to actually show them. However, most won't try a bike when offered, as they don't want to stray from the safe position of agreeing with the masses. With people here in the uk so resistant to change, any add campaign just invites talk of how people don't want to do it. Car users want there cars. Cyclist like to cycle. People thinking if the planet won't have the batteries. It is all set in stone.

If I wanted to push in to the market, I would want to offer conversions for peoples existing bikes. That is how to get existing cyclists involved. A few hundred quid to make what they have better. Replacing there currant bike would be just silly money. The only people getting on these £500 creations are not serious cyclists, there newbies. To get them onboard you would need a loan cycle to leave with company's that support the cycle to work scheme(our gov helps out financially). Something the staff can have a play on, So a particular set of individuals can talk it through based on real world facts learned from actually using an e-bike, rather than the facts they learn from the media.
To step this up to the next level would involve sending people out during peak traffic times. Like these blokes that wear billboards. If someone sat in a jam is watching cyclists fly past with little effort every day, they can't help but notice. It's a time there sat there bored with little to do but the radio. The radio station that you soon target with there free loan bike.

They are set in there ways. They think they know it all without even having seen one. Many a LBS have the same attitude. Our job is not to educate them, they already have an opinion. Our job is to prove them wrong. Something we won't do by talking. Somebody else will talk them back round. We are the minority. We must move from talk to action if we want to make our point.

Ration gasoline. With a 5 gallon a week maximum, lots of people would like electric bikes.

Otherwise, we're just kooks. In china they don't like electric bikes, they settle for one till they can get a car.

dogman said:

Ration gasoline. With a 5 gallon a week maximum, lots of people would like electric bikes.

Otherwise, we're just kooks. In china they don't like electric bikes, they settle for one till they can get a car.

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And/or remove all gas price subsidization. Did you know in Venezuela, they pay 18 CENTS per gallon of gasoline?

Start young, parents show the way of two wheeled transport and safety. I despise helmet laws but fully agree with helmet (and sturdy clothing) use. If only parents would set examples - ride and dress properly, the next generation would be better able to process the thinking skills for surviving swift, heavy traffic.

Pedal bike, eBike, motorcycle, etc? Acceptance and adoption actually has very little to do with form of propulsion, IMO. It's the culture of upbringing that will teach our children well.

For example, I love dirt biking familes. They start at an early age, teach/learn the machines and some safe operation. Many of those children take up street riding when they get older and are that much better for it.

Trouble is, 'can't fix stupid and modern society is pretty damn stupid for the most part....

I guess nobody is looking at the link. I was talking about how plastic it was in general, then the lack of a coherent message in particular. And the guess that these were all pics they just found online not only because noone was Chinese but especially because of that one shot you'd all recognize.

Ok you made me look. :lol:

Other that a handful of kooks like myself, nobody is going to switch to an electric bike in my town. Unless you can't buy gas.

Ah, that old photo! Deathbike feaured diectly below the happy family. Demonstrates depth and range, I suppose?

bowlofsalad said:

Promote ebike culture? How does anyone promote their own culture? When I think of culture promotion, I think of gay pride parades or something like that.

Ebike parade?

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I think of that stuff as advocacy, really. And the gay community only needs advocacy because it's a subculture, not a culture per se. If it were a culture, we'd all accept it and take it for granted without thinking about it. English speakers are a culture. Car drivers are a culture at this point.

E-bikes aren't even a subculture; they are just a hobby or specialty interest. Folks who feel they have to claim cultural status for their hobby are trying way too hard.

Chalo said:

bowlofsalad said:

Promote ebike culture? How does anyone promote their own culture? When I think of culture promotion, I think of gay pride parades or something like that.

Ebike parade?

Click to expand...

I think of that stuff as advocacy, really. And the gay community only needs advocacy because it's a subculture, not a culture per se. If it were a culture, we'd all accept it and take it for granted without thinking about it. English speakers are a culture. Car drivers are a culture at this point.

E-bikes aren't even a subculture; they are just a hobby or specialty interest. Folks who feel they have to claim cultural status for their hobby are trying way too hard.

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While I can certainly agree that some ideas can be pushed much too far than they are worth, I don't think ebikes would fall into that category. Maybe for some ebikes are toys or hobbies, for others ebikes are a primary mode of transportation, and that is a pretty serious matter, certainly as important as a car is to a driver. The reason why advocacy, promotion and things of that nature would be good relates to safety. A lot of drivers think that the road is for cars, anything else is in their way. Sharing the road is a big deal. This wouldn't just benefit ebike riders.

Something touched upon earlier, I would love to see something like an ebike used as a primary mode of transportation for a period of time before someone is able to get a license. It would really ground someone in the reality of the dangers and responsibility involved in driving a car. To ride a mile in another mans saddle.

bowlofsalad said:

I would love to see something like an ebike used as a primary mode of transportation for a period of time before someone is able to get a license. It would really ground someone in the reality of the dangers and responsibility involved in driving a car. To ride a mile in another mans saddle.

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I've thought that many times, but with out the "e" before "bike".

I think graduated licensing, where periods of time spent operating smaller, less powerful vehicles qualify you for progressively larger and more powerful ones, is also a good idea. It would be tough to dispel the cult of status accompanying a big vehicle under that system, though. Maybe it could work in combination with a registration fee formula in which the measured horsepower of the vehicle is used as an exponent.

I don't see the point in promoting it.

Mopeds are pretty much the same thing and probably don't have a significantly higher impact on the environment than electric bikes that run on coal-fired electricity.

People (especially Americans) love cars. I love cars.

For me Ebikes are about fun.

Well at 20 wh/mi my e-bent according to the EPA is getting the equivalent of 1685 mpg if it were gas powered. That makes a moped look sick at about 150 mpg or so.

Perhaps a sign on your ebike that states it's electric and give the equivalent mpg?

My e-bent is unusual enough looking, particularly with the trailer behind it I use for shopping, that *everyone* looks at it, kids wave to me, I wave back and smile.

Since I made my own battery pack from recycled laptop 18650 cells and got rid of the big aluminum folding bike battery I had on there before it's pretty stealthy, it would take a sharp eye to tell mine is electric now, the only real giveaway is the controller is exposed and most people don't have a clue about that.

If people see others about doing actual shopping/commuting and so forth on an ebike and get an idea of the efficiency involved it can only be good for the hobby/culture/whatever.

Calling it a culture is giving people something to reject. People don't like change. Most like there insular cabin and local radio. Getting on a bike really is a culture shock.

Perhaps people that generally use public transport are more likely to get on there bike. That would actually gain them some privacy and flexibility, and even a bit more time in bed.

Start with not calling it an "electric bike culture".

If we really wanted to promote ebikes, let people ride them. College students and teens seem like the most open to the idea, though anyone who is on vacation. It can't be adequately explained, only experienced.

Another good way is using the mpg equivalency. If each of us made a point to stop at at least 1 or 2 gas stations to check our tire pressure every day sporting a big sign on each side of the bike stating our mpg.

Get rid of the ridiculous mandatory helmet laws and promote all cycling as the safe form of transportation that it is instead of incredibly dangerous as it's been promoted the past couple of decades. You don't see most riding horses wearing helmets unless they are doing it for sport, and horseback riding isn't perceived as dangerous, but it's far more dangerous than cycling. The perception of danger sold to the general public has a huge impact on willingness to even consider it.

There needs to be a repeat of what made mopeds popular back in the late 1970's.

Gas stations without gas, odd/even days and relativity high priced gas.

Plus, less restrictions, like when mopeds first arrived on the scene. No helmet, 30 MPH and 2 HP.

A electric bike nowadays is not much better then a regular bike. Well maybe for climbing hills. With the 20 MPH cut off, these young kids go faster then legal E-Bikes.

What we need is a captive audience. What we need is to wow-them into disbelief that ebikes are powerful and nimble and affordable alternatives.

Easy promotion where I live:

• There's a big whopping hill between where I hang my hat and where I don it.
• The freeway goes up that hill, and right beside it is a two-lane bike trail.
• At the base of the hill is a busy intersection: Traffic is waiting to get on the freeway, and bikes wait to take the path; they are separated by a concrete barrier and chain-linked fence. Easy to observe each other.
• Traffic entering the freeway during rush hour have to sit in the metered queue waiting for their green light.

It is the perfect setup for me on my 2WD ebike as I race past both traffic and cyclists, and I can climb that hill as fast as cars with my lightweight little beast pulling about 3 hp (at least for the first 30 mph). It's a kick!

At the end of the day, heading down that hill is a gas! Figure 25% of the time the light is still green for me when I reach it - otherwise I'm sitting waiting... and this allows cyclists to catch up at the bottom where we talk and sell the concept.

Still, I've only see three other ebikes in my neck of the woods. That might change if one of the bike shops started selling ebike conversions.

Like the wind, KF

I like to look at cars/SUVs going by and see who really would prefer an ebike. Nobody seems to fit the bill.

I think the way ebikes will be adopted is by giving people something which clearly improves their life, and paves the way for ebike/bike acceptence. It is hard to say that a run of the mill ebike will do this.

For me the way to move forward is with people running businesses. Lots of people are underemployed and part time employment is only going to increase. I hope people will deal with this by creating lots of small business...face to face businesses. Buy my vegetables, or these really cool lights I fabricated at the maker space, or whatever. The small credit card swipers, etc., more spaces in cities for this slow traffic/interactions, things are primed for this to work.

That is where I want to see ebikes make their initial mark. Power assist on some of these food carts, specialty ice cream, coffee, people perfecting their craft, not making huge sums of money necessarily, but really gaining lots of good things.

Electrification gives the ability to get rid of the business address. Real improvement. Set the stage on campus/farmers markets, and then have someone zoom by showing the other possibilities, deal sealed.

License all vehicles by the pound.

salty9 said:

License all vehicles by the pound.

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With the first 100 pounds free, of course.

Better yet, license by the horsepower, with the first two horsepower free. $1 per HP up to 10HP, $2 per HP between 10 and 20, $4 per HP between 20 and 40, $8 per HP between 40 and 80, and on up with the per-hp cost doubling as power doubles.

Your 10hp cart or bike would cost you $8 to register. If you just have to have a 160hp car, you'd pay $1708 per year, so there would something in it for the rest of us. And a 640hp supercar? That'll be $27308. Good thing you can afford it.

A 1001HP Bugatti Veyron would cost $73516 per year to register. (As it should, in my opinion.) You wanna show off your riches, you're gonna fund some cycling and ped infrastructure. Thanks.

A system like this would give the correct incentive: to achieve performance by means other than adding more power and weight and consuming more energy. The focus would be on doing more with a limited power budget, rather than consuming more energy with a given equipment budget.

Chalo said:

salty9 said:

License all vehicles by the pound.

Click to expand...

With the first 100 pounds free, of course.

Better yet, license by the horsepower, with the first two horsepower free. $1 per HP up to 10HP, $2 per HP between 10 and 20, $4 per HP between 20 and 40, $8 per HP between 40 and 80, and on up with the per-hp cost doubling as power doubles.

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Paying for the privilege promotes the idea. In the same vein, any maintenance programs could be sold by the power rating too, and if used successfully, could add value to the whole ownership scenario, you know, having a helping hand available when needed, pre-paid, esp. if it means "tomorrow the bike could be back in service"

I have always felt the best way to promote your culture is to be happy and successful. I think that has a bigger long term influence on people than organized activism. That being said, I would very much enjoy an annual parade for electric vehicles. Monthly cruz events for electric powered vehicles would be fun too (like the car guys do).