cerewa said:
How do you go up and down gutters/kerbs on all these recumbenty thingys?
The same way you go up and down gutters/curbs in a porsche - you don't.
I ride an upright bike but it has no suspension and I try to avoid taking bumps, up or down, of more than 1 inch (or 3 inches if i'm going really slowly). I ride in the road like I would on a motorcycle or car.
Then you may as well drive a car or ride a motorcycle.
Half the point of an e-bike being a pushbike is you can:
- ride on footpaths
- sneak around red lights
- ride on bike paths
- ride on the wrong side of the road
- ride through foot lanes, etc with barriers for vehicles
- bash over median strips at 30kmh to cross roads wherever you need
- closed roads
- footy ovals
- ANYWHERE
And it's pretty unlikely the cops will do you. The whole point of a bike is to AVOID the traffic, not mix with it.
My ride to work is 15km. My drive to work is 20km, because I can take SHORTCUTS.
If I was going to stick to the same legal route as my car, I'd get a Vectrix maxi scooter or something. A bicycle is about freedom. Without a robust bike (preferably dual suspension) you lose that freedom -the freedom to go where it's safest and quickest for you.