E-bikes are arguably worse than electric cars

JackFlorey

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Cars don't seem like an efficient use of resources to me.
Not for most of their uses. But for some things (hauling kids 20 miles, carrying 400 lbs of stuff) they can be a better option than a bike or a truck.
 

raylo32

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I know it is legal in Cali to lane split, but that has always seemed awfully dangerous to me. We don't get to try that here in MD which may be a good thing. Drivers are crazy and aggro enough already without us motorcyclists tweaking them further.

Same here. Only thing that gets me to work faster is my motorcycle, since I can lane split through all the traffic. I figure the bike lane on my ebike is safer, though. Cars...well, I roll by hundreds of them stuck in bumper to bumper traffic at the bridge I go over every weekday. 😁 Cars don't seem like an efficient use of resources to me.
 

rafalg

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It is very, very unsafe to ride a bike in the USA
I think the same after driving few thousand miles in the US. Unsafe even when you're in a car. Lots of cars, pretty high speeds even in dense highways and no concern about other drivers. Didn't have any accident but many dangerous situations caused by other drivers not giving a shit.
 

Chalo

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The real problem, the reason we’re going to see a plateau in ebike adoption, is that Americans are psychopaths.

Confirmed. At least the car-driving ones (which is almost everybody).

Fatal car accidents in general are trailing bike deaths with a 9% leap. I have felt that traffic hasn’t been the same since COVID, and the data is backing that up. It is very, very unsafe to ride a bike in the USA. Crazy, aggro drivers, and no separated bike infrastructure.

Those are factors for sure, but another phenomenon I've noticed on my area is that after the George Floyd/BLM protests, the police stopped enforcing the law. They stuck with their racial profiling, brutality, impunity, and corruption; but they quit doing law enforcement. The only motorists I've seen pulled over for the last few years were pulled over by state troopers (and of course the selected drivers were all black or brown).

The driver compliance we see now (at least where I am) isn't lawful, but only what drivers agree to, to protect their own cars/selves.

Where I am, the wait time for a driving test is 5 months, at least it was the last time I checked a couple weeks ago. So it's not just drivers who are failing to come through on their obligations.
 

Mongo

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Here's some e-bike hatred from "fellow" analog cyclists - feel free to join in on the fray:


The level of stereotyping and fecal matter flinging is appalling and, dare I write it, downright entertaining. Apparently:
  • we e-bikers always flaunt the laws
  • we e-bikers haven't earned it (the pain)
  • we e-bikers are all cheaters (well ... ok ... how about when errand running or grocery shopping?)
  • we e-bikers have no respect for fellow bikers, trail pedestrians, etc.
  • we e-bikers should be licensed
  • retail bicycle shops that carry e-bikes should be shunned
Yep - some of us e-bikers flaunt, as do some analog riders. Good thing we're both universally hated by car drivers!
 
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raylo32

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Frederick, MD USA
This. I attended a homeowners meeting here last year where they had a local county police sgt make a presentation. Then questions... like why don't you enforce the school zone speed limit on the main road in the 'hood where people drive 45-50 in a 25mph zone all day. The answer seemed to be a combination of we don't have the manpower and we don't care. Too many donuts to eat, I suppose.

Those are factors for sure, but another phenomenon I've noticed on my area is that after the George Floyd/BLM protests, the police stopped enforcing the law. They stuck with their racial profiling, brutality, impunity, and corruption; but they quit doing law enforcement. The only motorists I've seen pulled over for the last few years were pulled over by state troopers (and of course the selected drivers were all black or brown).
 

nervagon

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Nov 18, 2020
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Here's some e-bike hatred from "fellow" analog cyclists - feel free to join in on the fray:


The level of stereotyping and fecal matter flinging is appalling and, dare I write it, downright entertaining. Apparently:
  • we e-bikers always flaunt the laws
  • we e-bikers haven't earned it (the pain)
  • we e-bikers are all cheaters (well ... ok ... how about when errand running or grocery shopping?)
  • we e-bikers have no respect for fellow bikers, trail pedestrians, etc.
  • we e-bikers should be licensed
  • retail bicycle shops that carry e-bikes should be shunned
Yep - some of us e-bikers flaunt, as do some analog riders. Good thing we're both universally hated by car drivers!
The lycra-clad roadies have always been gate keepers. It almost goes beyond sport, and into fetish territory. They obsess over their appearance, their little power ranger fit, and their $20K carbon road bike. It can be part fetish, part religion, and very territorial. But this has always been the case. This is not new.

What is more concerning is big social media influencers/pundits and politicians steering public opinion against bikes:

Matt Walsh: "I will vote for the first presidential candidate who promises a federal ban on cyclists."

Mitt Romney: “Removing automobile lanes to put in bike lanes is, in my opinion, the height of stupidity, it means more cars backing up, creating more emissions.”

And Romney also says:
"So we do things here that are very expensive and disruptive to our economy, they don’t change what’s happening globally. We have to do things that have global impact. So research and technology, and a price on carbon, are the are the things that would make a difference."
"So we can talk about all these other things we’re doing and getting more batteries for cars and so forth. But the reason these things don’t make a big difference is because the U.S. is not the big contributor to emissions in the world. China is, and Brazil, and India, and Indonesia—and all the growth is going to come from them."

American cities are ripping out their bike lanes to make more room for cars:






Whatever glimmer of hope there was for a better world is gone. This is why ebike adoption has already peaked, and there is so much excess inventory. If it isn't safe to ride where people live and work, people won't ride. Also, bike theft must be treated the same as car theft!

@Mongo But yes, it is quite tragic that hatred for ebikes comes from all directions when it is the only form of personal transportation that could have realistically reduced carbon levels. AND not all that hatred is organic! Anti-bike rhetoric is well funded!
 

rafalg

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warsaw
Well, any number of lanes is not enough for cars, it's been proven that adding more lanes just brings in more traffic :) And if you've given them an extra lane and then want to take it away then no wonder there's a revolt and hatred towards all these clueless, arrogant, self absorbed, ridiculous, woke, leftist, not masculine enough, cyclists. It's because of them that America is not what it used to be.
 

taiwwa

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Jul 30, 2023
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Pittsburgh
I’m kind of meh about bike lanes myself because they are generally underutilized. I’ve read that the better use is for bike/pedestrian areas, basically make the sidewalks bicycle friendly.
 

nicobie

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Aug 7, 2008
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Central Coast CA, USA
Here's some e-bike hatred from "fellow" analog cyclists - feel free to join in on the fray:


The level of stereotyping and fecal matter flinging is appalling and, dare I write it, downright entertaining. Apparently:

  • we e-bikers are all cheaters
I love it when I get called a cheater by a guy riding the latest model CF bike. I always ask them why they aren't on a cast iron unicycle? Dillweeds.
 

nervagon

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Nov 18, 2020
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I love it when I get called a cheater by a guy riding the latest model CF bike. I always ask them why they aren't on a cast iron unicycle? Dillweeds.
Am I cheating when I ride my ebike to the gym instead of driving a car?

When a roadie yells cheater at you, the implication is that you have entered an athletic competition against them. That is of course absurd. I can't make sense of those people.
 

Hillhater

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Sydney ..(Hilly part !) .. Australia/ Down under !
If you live in places where driving a car for hours to reach a hospital is necessary, likely, you're in the very minority.
Sure, imay be a minority but how close to a hospital would you need to be if you sprained your ankle or similar ?… still going to ride that bike to the ER ?.….and what if is your child that has a sudden injury or sickness, how do you get them to the ER ?
( FYI, there is a real crisis in most places with Paramedic and Ambulance delays )
… then there is how to get the kids to those weekend sports sessions, or even to school in the mornings , a weeks shopping for a family from the supermarket 5 miles away ?
..Gonn’a need a bigger ebike !…….and a 30 hr day !
Do not assume everyone has the same life situation as your own .
 

None

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Sure, imay be a minority but how close to a hospital would you need to be if you sprained your ankle or similar ?… still going to ride that bike to the ER ?.….and what if is your child that has a sudden injury or sickness, how do you get them to the ER ?
( FYI, there is a real crisis in most places with Paramedic and Ambulance delays )
… then there is how to get the kids to those weekend sports sessions, or even to school in the mornings , a weeks shopping for a family from the supermarket 5 miles away ?
..Gonn’a need a bigger ebike !…….and a 30 hr day !
Do not assume everyone has the same life situation as your own .

I didn't assume everyone has the same life situation, I clearly stated: vast majority of human population reside in cities & metro areas, please read more carefully.
Since majority of population reside in large cities & metro areas, ambulance and fire engines are close by that when you get injured and require assistance, just call 911 and get a dispatch or even an ambulance helicopter.
Most cities, ambulance can get you to a hospital within 20-30 minutes or less.
 

Chalo

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I didn't assume everyone has the same life situation, I clearly stated: vast majority of human population reside in cities & metro areas, please read more carefully.

HH will use straw man, hokey sources, shifting goalposts, and whatever other thing to push his weird agenda. Good thing he's in a small-and-getting-smaller minority when it comes to his denialist and pollutionist views.
 

nicobie

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Central Coast CA, USA
HH will use straw man, hokey sources, shifting goalposts, and whatever other thing to push his weird agenda. Good thing he's in a small-and-getting-smaller minority when it comes to his denialist and pollutionist views.
Sad to say but you are most likely wrong and we are most likely fuc'd because of it.
 

rafalg

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warsaw
Come on people, are e-bikers totalitarian or what? I think it's a privilege to be able to go by bike everywhere and get rid of a car without suffering. Same thing as with the salary - unfortunately not everyone can earn above average. Such cruel world.
 
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( FYI, there is a real crisis in most places with Paramedic and Ambulance delays )
This would be due to cars. Not to bicycles. Removing cars will improve many other aspects as well as this.
 

MadRhino

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Montreal QC Canada
Pumkins and Oranges.

Ebikes are toys. We ride for the fun and lifestyle. If we commute with our bike, it is for more fun, cheaper cost, shorter travel…

Batteries can last, or burned by stupidity, or abused for performance. Depends the chemistry, size, management…
On the bike I replace them around 300 cycles, then someone else rides them another 2 seasons. (High C-rate RC lipo).
On the scooter, the battery is 4 yrs old and hadn’t lost much capacity. (21700 LG cells)
On the stand-up scooter, I think they’re gonna last a decade. 😁
 

Hillhater

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This would be due to cars. Not to bicycles. Removing cars will improve many other aspects as well as this.
Err ?, NO …
ambulance and Paramedic delays are the result of resource shortages ( skilled people and equipment) combined with hospital intake and ER limitations . ( you must have heard of ambulance “ramping”, and patients waiting on gurneys in ambulance’s and hospital corridors ?)
im sure some cities have traffic conjestion, but for the 75% of the population who live in suburban and regeonal areas, that is not a significant issue .
Infact i can still park unmetered directly outside my nearest hospital ER dept, (20 km away) most times of the day ….
But on the other hand , i personally have been delayed 2 days in one hospital waiting for simple patient transfer ambulance to take me to a specialist facility (lack of available ambulances )
 
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