Only the poor want ebikes

[Chalo]

Car driving is like slavery-- in that it's grossly harmful to everyone and dehumanizing, and also in that​ most people know it's wrong, but because it's ubiquitous and encouraged, they do it anyway.

That is as ridiculous as it is offensive.

You keep praising your master, then. History will judge you and those like you.

 

[kingjamez]

Car driving is like slavery-- in that it's grossly harmful to everyone and dehumanizing, and also in that​ most people know it's wrong, but because it's ubiquitous and encouraged, they do it anyway.

That is as ridiculous as it is offensive.

You keep praising your master, then. History will judge you and those like you.

Doubling down? Wow.

I see your comment as one very much like comparing "insert hated person here" to Hitler. It cheapens the evil that Hitler was. You are cheapening the evil that Slavery was in the same manner.

To even insinuate that me driving around in my Nissan Leaf, or even my buddy in his F350 King Cab, is "dehumanizing" in comparison to Slavery? What? That is just sick.

-Jim

 

[Chalo]

Driving cars has eaten away at the fabric of society to a degree that slavery never could. It's turned more people into monsters, converted more places into unlivable hellholes in which people must live anyway, and estranged people more sharply from each other.

 

[flat tire]

Your crusade against cars and combustion doesn't belong here. Take it to PM.

 

[LockH]

Only the poor want these bikes (not their electric version, of course. Too expensive.)

Swarovski Crystal and 24k Gold Plated Bike Is The World's Most Expensive:
https://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.ca/2009/02/swarovski-crystal-and-24k-gold-plated.html

:wink:

 

[MadRhino]

No problem with plants eating CO2, the problem is that when there is too much CO2 in the air, the oceans are eating it too. Acidification of the oceans is the major environment threat. The sea life has begun to be affected already, and it will not take much more CO2 to start a chain reaction that will kill more than half of life on earth. If you don't believe it, lower the PH of your home aquarium progressively, and see what happens.

CO2 levels were 7 times higher during the jurassic period than currently, and aquatic life was doing just fine then. One thing you're forgetting is that sure, there's more CO2 in the water, but there's also more water on earth after the glaciers melt, so it balances out. Also, with more CO2 and higher temperatures, comes more rainfall and more CO2 for plantlife, so there's more abundant plantlife taking up the CO2.

So, if I understand you right, we will disapear like dinosaurs and replaced with plants.

 

[tiny_n_terrible]

So, if I understand you right, we will disapear like dinosaurs and replaced with plants. [/quote]

I welcome our plant overlords.

 

[Sunder]

CO2 levels were 7 times higher during the jurassic period than currently, and aquatic life was doing just fine then. One thing you're forgetting is that sure, there's more CO2 in the water, but there's also more water on earth after the glaciers melt, so it balances out. Also, with more CO2 and higher temperatures, comes more rainfall and more CO2 for plantlife, so there's more abundant plantlife taking up the CO2.

If you're trying to say that the ecosystem is self balancing, I think you're a little misguided. 7 times current Co2 would be about 400ppm x 7 = 2800ppm. This is from an old textbook (you can tell by their definition of normal!):

250-350ppm Normal background concentration in outdoor ambient air
350-1,000ppm Concentrations typical of occupied indoor spaces with good air exchange
1,000-2,000ppm Complaints of drowsiness and poor air.
2,000-5,000 ppm Headaches, sleepiness and stagnant, stale, stuffy air. Poor concentration, loss of attention, increased heart rate and slight nausea may also be present.
5,000 Workplace exposure limit (as 8-hour TWA) in most jurisdictions.
>40,000 ppm Exposure may lead to serious oxygen deprivation resulting in permanent brain damage, coma, even death.

So according to that table, 7 times the current level of Co2 would mean "fresh air" will cause us headaches, sleepiness, poor concentration, loss of attention, increased heart rate, and nausea. Air near cities and in buildings would be worst.

And for it to be self balancing, plants would need to consume 7 times more CO2 - but that video posted earlier showed that plants were a few percent to almost twice as big.

I'm not 100% sure if that's what you're arguing, but if it is, then it doesn't seem like an argument that holds water.

 

[TheBeastie]

Car driving is like slavery-- in that it's grossly harmful to everyone and dehumanizing, and also in that most people know it's wrong, but because it's ubiquitous and encouraged, they do it anyway.

That is as ridiculous as it is offensive.

You keep praising your master, then. History will judge you and those like you.

Doubling down? Wow.

I see your comment as one very much like comparing "insert hated person here" to Hitler. It cheapens the evil that Hitler was. You are cheapening the evil that Slavery was in the same manner.

To even insinuate that me driving around in my Nissan Leaf, or even my buddy in his F350 King Cab, is "dehumanizing" in comparison to Slavery? What? That is just sick.

-Jim

I been realizing lately how much the human mind is mostly unable or unwilling to see things the way they really are and rather like to support a political bias or just see things to feel good about themselves.
In Australia I been watching on facebook how much folks loved the announcement of mega-sized lithium battery packs via the left side of the government for stable electricty from the grid but when the federal conservative side of the government announced a pumped-hydro battery (most folks on Facebook at least) hated it.

When I have argued about the hard real world peer-reviewed statistics of solar farms built in the desert with folks (such as a 16km2 solar farm which only gives out 104MW of power during winter months: 77,949MWh / 744_hours_in_December = 104MW average output. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Sunlight_Solar_Farm#Statistics ) vs a 5000MW nuclear or gas-fired power plant they don't care if it is truly viable or not.
I found they really don't care what the truth was and will viciously support it over anything else and I mean anything as in "its solar farms or prepare to be killed.. " mentality.
I worked out eventually that these folks didn't care at all about being green and it was in some way "about them" and could be mostly be grouped into 2 reasons.
1) It was purely about supporting their particular political party, these are folks that are unknowingly political illogical nutjobs (most of us), just like our politician's folks will ride this stuff like a jet-ski for more political power all the way to the very end.
2) They had some kind of financial investment in the green energy and couldn't give a crap if it worked or not as long as they got their money back plus gains via force from the government or via taxes/tariffs on people.

The power of bias sets in, when Amnesty announced that up to 40,000 African kids in the DRC are digging away in mines for cobalt for lithium battery packs no one cares. I can see folks don't give a crap with conviction because of all the little details (like statistics) of our world give this truth away quite easily.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/01/Child-labour-behind-smart-phone-and-electric-car-batteries/
http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-01-25/wa-cobalt-project-poised-for-slice-of-battery-storage-pie/8187296
Looking at mere basic comparisons of the world via statistical views.
Amnesty were the only ones to release a video about 40,000 African kids digging for cobalt in mines and after more then 1 whole year of it being online for the world to see it only got 82,000 views, even if its a video view for a few seconds it counted.. no one even wants to take a short peek at it..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x4ASxHIrEA
Picked at random but for a relatively unknown company to announce they are working on a flying lithium powered jet it gets over 1 million views per week. Its only been online for 2 weeks (compared to over a year) and its got over 2million views. Any kind of junk video can get a million plus views in a year or so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohig71bwRUE

While it's not my business, I thought about the idea to make people care about the Amnesty video is to use the power of hate and guilt. As in you could make a video of a young blonde 10 year old boy flying a quadcopter with a big smile on his face having fun then cut to shots of some 10 year old African kid digging cobalt for the battery product that made it possible. Or shots other rich white westerners using any modern Lithium cell powered product.

It would get more views this way but it would also be powered the power of hate, by politics and of those who hate to see young western world children enjoying themselves. A video like that world go straight to the top of the list of pro-ISIS propaganda forums. The power of bias is amazing.

 

[Compoundbike]

Im not super wealthy but i own a honda type-r which i drive hard.. Also previously owned Motorcycles, but riding a electric bike has a feeling that no other vehicle can give. Specially you can go to places where you cant go with the other vehicles..


Gesendet von iPhone mit Tapatalk

 

[wineboyrider]

I am a poor winemaker that built a small army of ebikes to have transportation so I didn't have to pay exorbitant amounts of money for insurance and gas after losing my license to DWI. I rode exclusively ebikes for over a year and it probably broke even on my budget. I still ride ebikes, because now I know how to do it without breaking my bank account. I only have one insured car and it costs me $20 a month in insurance and it gets 40mpg. My driving record is as clean as a whistle now for over 5 years. I rode ebikes as a way to become more humble for my DWI sin in a four wheeled death machine. Even today I ride my ebikes in a small town where everybody knows me and makes me feel like a rebel with a brain, because they know I can afford a more expensive car. I would rather use my money to enjoy other activities with my kids on the weekends. But, this hobby has and will stick with me.

 

[2Blimitless]

Hmmmm I dont think im poor, but im not rich... im kinda in the middle

I think what attracted me to this wonderful world, it that it would allow me to make something with my own two hands. Being a urbanite, I see my whole world around me coming pre-made...

In fact, we have to travel for a good 30-40 mins by car just to see something which looks vaguely like greenery and open fresh air.

My plan is to build something myself, with my own hands/wits and to explore beyond what is at my front door, explore places.

 

[billvon]

CO2 levels were 7 times higher during the jurassic period than currently, and aquatic life was doing just fine then.

Sure. Life adapts. The coral reefs and everything that depends on them die, and new species (like sea urchins) will take over.

One thing you're forgetting is that sure, there's more CO2 in the water, but there's also more water on earth after the glaciers melt, so it balances out.

Nope. CO2 concentrations will still increase. We are putting far more CO2 into the air (about 10 gigatons a year) as can be absorbed by newly melted ice (127 gigatons a year, which can absorb .05 gigatons of CO2 a year at current concentrations.)

Also, with more CO2 and higher temperatures, comes more rainfall and more CO2 for plantlife, so there's more abundant plantlife taking up the CO2.

If that were true, CO2 concentrations would be dropping. They're not. Increased CO2 results in higher average temperatures - which results in stronger rainfalls (since hot air holds more water) and more severe droughts (since high temps dry out soils more rapidly.)

 

[SlowCo]

Welcome 2Blimitless to the Endless Sphere. You found the right place to gather all the info you need and will receive help when needed to build what you want.

For anyone riding an ebike and wanting to check how rich or poor you are compared to the rest of the world (compensated for price levels) look here: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/get-involved/how-rich-am-i/

 

[billvon]

Driving cars has eaten away at the fabric of society to a degree that slavery never could.

But how do you solve it? Riding bikes can result in more road deaths, and that's just like Hitler killing the Jews. Do you really want to be like Hitler?

 

[dustNbone]

Driving cars has eaten away at the fabric of society to a degree that slavery never could.

But how do you solve it? Riding bikes can result in more road deaths, and that's just like Hitler killing the Jews. Do you really want to be like Hitler?

That makes total sense. Those are almost exactly the same thing.

 

[billvon]

Driving cars has eaten away at the fabric of society to a degree that slavery never could.

But how do you solve it? Riding bikes can result in more road deaths, and that's just like Hitler killing the Jews. Do you really want to be like Hitler?

That makes total sense. Those are almost exactly the same thing.

Yep. Bicycle advocates are just like Hitler. At least they're not as bad as driving, which is _worse_ than slavery.

What other Friday hyperbole can we toss out there, since this is the most important topic ever on the Internet?

 

[LockH]

Ladies (and Gentle Men...) Hehe... Please "settle down"?

There are now emerging LOTS of "spendy" electric bikes... and lots of folks like "film stars" and others with "fat wallets" that are seen riding "nice" electric bikes.

When ES-user "flat tire" started this thread, one might think he had NO IDEA watts-watt in the "ebike world".

Leonardo DiCaprio must be "poor":

Reminds me. Speaking of the ebike-addicted, wondering how Richard Branson is doing on his Necker Island:

Poor guy...

 

[flat tire]

This thread is about who's likely to notice your bike on the street. I'm not poor and neither is anyone I know who actually has a badass ebike. Don't take the thread title too literally.

 

[LockH]

People in decent, or expensive cars? Please. NOT A CHANCE.

Hehe...

On reading a bit of history of the iron horse, it wasn't the "poor" that "bought in" at first... but the "wealthy". (Then along came folks like Henry Ford...):
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=8099

 

[qwerkus]

On reading a bit of history of the iron horse, it wasn't the "poor" that "bought in" at first... but the "wealthy". (Then along came folks like Henry Ford...):
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=8099

Strange assumption from op. Dunno about the USA, but in europe, ebikes are VERY expensive. Sure, you can get some cheap oem front / rear hub motors bikes, but they are usually underpowered, ill equiped, and they don't last long, which leads to second hand markets beeing flooded by frustrated cheapo ebike owner trying to recover their losses.

It seems to me that like every other technical progress in history, ebikes started as a luxury good only affordable by the richest. Yet I have to agree with OP: it's actually the poorest that need it the most! Perhaps we should distribute quality ebikes as a form of social welfare...

This is actually the main reason why I plan to offer free ebike conversion lessons, to teach those who need it that with a well maintained chinese hub motor, they beat any porsche out there in morning the commute hell.

 

[LockH]

"... ebikes are VERY expensive"... Hehe... And gasoline is "cheap" to buy. :wink:

`Round here (Toronto in Canada), one can purchase new a "power-assisted cycle" from stores (with a thing "good credit rating") where monthly loan payments are about HALF the cost of a monthly pass for pubic transit. Meanwhile, pubic transit spends BILLIONS on "light rail transit" vehicles and infrastructure... and electric subways... and personnel to operate and maintain.

(Sorry `bout any typo errors.)

PS.. Hehe

 

[skyungjae]

Correlation isn't causation. Maybe these people in beaters have more time to ride than those in nice cars? :lol:

 

[Apex]

So far, I've had a few homeless people and a bunch people driving $500 cars ask me about my ebike, and one guy in a nice car. Granted, it's a homebuilt franken-bike. So here in urban Indianapolis, yes, the poor are far more interested in my gas and electric bikes.
You know what sucks? When I'm on a gas bike and people ask me how much to build, I can say "about 200 bucks and a cheap donor bike." Which suprised people, and they consider building one. When I'm on the electric I have to say, " about one thousand dollars for anything that is roadworthy". And nobody, nobody is even remotely interested after that statement.

 

[swbluto]

estranged people more sharply from each other.

That's what I don't like about cars. They tend to keep people from socializing with random people, both by removing the possibility of walking across them in real life, and also by tending to produce great distances between people. It's interesting the kind of encounters I've had just by coming across random pedestrians, all from interesting conversations to girls chasing me, things that don't really happen with car-based societies while driving.