WHY do You Ride?

[Sheriff Jon]

I assume that most of us are here on the Sphere because of an interst in Electric Vehicles. Whether it be store bought E-bikes, home made E-bikes, 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers, 4 wheelers, sit-down scooters, stand up scooters, E-motorcycles, electric cars or electric skateboards.

Some may use their E-rides for a daily commute, but I think for most of us it is more about the journey than it is about the destination. We enjoy tinkering and making an idea work, and the fact that ET is environmentally and socially responsible is a bonus.

I don't have a daily commute, but I do ride whenever I can and look for any excuse to get on the scooter rather than use the car. I use it to run any errand within range and even have a small trailer that I use to go grocery shopping with. I ride mostly alone but particularly enjoy group rides and look for any opportunity to meet and ride with new like minded enthusiasts.

I have often said that scootering is like having sex. You 'can' do it alone, but it is a lot more enjoyable if you have a partner, and the more the merrier. :lol:

 

[Link]

+1 to tinker. I won't even break even on time spent on it vs. time riding until well over 1,000 miles.

 

[StudEbiker]

For me it is about being outside a little each day especially when the weather is nice. I used to ride all day long during the summers when I was in high school in rural Texas. I still rode quite a bit through college after moving to the urban and much less forgiving Houston. Moving to Houston caused me to switch from road bikes to mountain bikes. Now that I live in Oregon (and pushing 40) there are these obstacles I never had to deal with in Texas (namely hills :wink: ) it is such a challenge to get out and ride it just took much of the fun out of it. Too much like work! Thus I became interested in Ebikes. John makes a good point to about being a tinkerer by nature and I think an electric bicycle is such an efficient form of transport I love the idea of it. I have to say to that I'm coming up on completing my first week of ebiking and I enjoy it so much. Even more than I thought I would. It has brought the fun back to cycling for me. The social/environmental aspects didn't have much (actually no)impact on me to ebike, but I do like the idea of having some insurance against gas prices skyrocketing again which I am certain will happen again sooner than any of us want them to. MY2¢FWIW

 

[Zoot Katz]

I ride because cars are coffins.
Next question.

 

[biohazardman]

I ride to commute and like others love to be outdoors. Used to ride allot of miles when I was young and healthy. Missed it as of late, now old and beat up, so the e-bike solution is a great thing. Yup lots o-hills in Oregon, Portland specifically, so 48V or above is the way to go. It's kind of hard to dodge all the coffins on the road though. Gots to be on the lookout for the evil ones. I, like most around here, am also helplessly addicted to this e-bike thing not that I would have it any other way.



Duane

 

[theyerb]

I got into ebikes for sheer FUN. It is amazing how much a ride out in the countryside can melt away the stress- and you don't have to peddle your ass off to enjoy the scenery...

 

[John in CR]

All of the above are nice side benefits, but I ride primarily because I hate wasting time in traffic, and my e-bikes typically enable me to get from A to B in 1/3 the time that it takes in a car for around town errands, because traffic here is so miserable.

John

 

[Link]

Alright, I'm on break at work, and it's nice and cool in this here air-conditioned break room. It hit 107°F outside today. SO glad I didn't have to pedal.

 

[deronmoped]

Here is my list of reasons.

1) Cheap, every time I get on my bike, I save a few dollars in gas, wear and tear on my cars.

2) Cheap, it's a great way to stay healthy, beats the hell out of a doctor bill in the mail.

3) Cheap, I hate to pay for parking, or finding it for that mater.

4) Cheap, the more money the bike saves me, the less I have to work to earn a living.

5) Did I mention Cheap? No registration, insurance, smog, DMV visits...

Well it is fun too.

Deron.

 

[dogman dan]

Cheap commute :lol: :lol: :lol: Or at least that was the idea at first. If you only count the surviving equipment, I am going to start riding for free in about 1000 more miles. It would have been cheaper, but I started out with brushed stuff, and melted some motors.

Along the way my health has really improved, and now when I take a car or truck to carry lumber and cement to work I feel worse later in the day, and the next day. With the ebike helping so much, I find it takes about 10 miles to start to feel the benefit. In other words 30 minuites of continuous increased heart rate and breathing.

 

[Sid]

I ride because I enjoy the fresh air and it's cheap. I'm getting a motor because I'm tired of walking into class or work all sweaty.

 

[michaelplogue]

I haven't gotten behind the wheel of a car for almost a decade now - by choice, not because of a suspended license like many. I've just grown to dislike cars and what they have become in today's society. They are a huge waste of resources (both in their manufacture and daily usage), have become too much of a 'want-to-have' instead of a 'need-to-have' item of possession, are eating away at our environment, killing people on a daily basis, etc..... I could go on all day.

I find that having a PEV is a very good compromise that enables me to commute longer distances, rather than just walking. And since I work in an office environment in a suit most days, showing up all sweaty from riding a traditional bike is undesirable - by me and my co-workers.

But, I also like to tinker. I'm constantly learning new things as I go, and am always looking for improvements. So, my EV addiction (EVdiction?) has led me to build incrementally larger/faster electric conveyances. Despite having several different EV's of various sizes and capabilities, since I don't own a car I'm still financially way ahead of the curve. The associated costs - had I had owned a car to do the same amount of travel I've done on EV's - would still have far outstripped anything I've spent on this little hobby over the years.

Plus, it's freakin' fun to ride these bad-boys around! :wink:

.

 

[Zoot Katz]

They are a huge waste of resources (both in their manufacture and daily usage), have become too much of a 'want-to-have' instead of a 'need-to-have' item of possession, are eating away at our environment, killing people on a daily basis, etc..... I could go on all day.

The "news" story that most grossed me out was a grieving father recounting to the reporter that his dead teenage daughter, murdered at work in a burger joint, ". . . .had just made a down payment on her Chevy Vega. She was so proud of that car."

Plus, it's freakin' fun to ride these bad-boys around! :wink:

Treading the 750W to 1000W grey area (X5304 @ 48V & 48A) in this rather loose jurisditiction, I know my bike is an outlaw for one simple fact that the brake lever doesn't kill the throttle.
My mandated, but not "approved", helmet talisman keeps the pigs at bay so the question has never come up.

 

[recumbent]

Pure enjoyment is the first reason, and you get some exercise, plus you meet some cool people you normally wouldn't meet.

Most of my shopping is done with my bike in the summer months. Very practical machines.

 

[recumpence]

Even a crazy high end E-bike is far cheaper than a basic car. Heck, you can get really insane with an E-bike and still pay about what you would for a decent IC scooter.

High tech goodies with a purpose.

I disagee that cars are coffins. Try having a head-on collision on your bike and see how you fare.............

I do not want an arguement here, I do agree that too many people worship their cars as status symbols and use them for pure recreation far too often. But, this is all relative as far as safety is concerned.

Matt

 

[Zoot Katz]

I disagee that cars are coffins. Try having a head-on collision on your bike and see how you fare.............

It's a plush lined and padded sealed box. What would you call it?
I call cars coffins because by closing yourself inside one you're cutting yourself off from life.

 

[deronmoped]

Even a crazy high end E-bike is far cheaper than a basic car. Heck, you can get really insane with an E-bike and still pay about what you would for a decent IC scooter.

High tech goodies with a purpose.

I disagee that cars are coffins. Try having a head-on collision on your bike and see how you fare.............

I do not want an arguement here, I do agree that too many people worship their cars as status symbols and use them for pure recreation far too often. But, this is all relative as far as safety is concerned.

Matt

Cars are a wonderful invention, I can not imagine living without one. Here is a example of living without one.

"Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete"

"Honey, are you out of your mind, now you want the walkway to be bricks instead of concrete"!

Deron.

 

[recumbent]

I call cars coffins because by closing yourself inside one you're cutting yourself off from life.

Actually, The complete opposite is true, when friends phone for example, to go to a party in the next town, you make a day trip with shopping and a musium visit, educational, and fun for hours.

Middle of winter take your date for nice dinner, the possibilities are endless in your nice warm car, but with a bike it's... well, limited.

I've always had cars since i was a teen, explored many places with them, music, airconditioned, thousands of very enriching times. They are not as bad as you say, just too many of them, and I've never lived in a city, so traveling is often a sponanious outing.

More choices make for a more enriching life.

 

[swbluto]

To save money, engage in a hobby that's practical and allows exploration of electronics, to prepare for the future of transportation(Maybe), have fun and just enjoy the surroundings. I'll agree that bikes can't serve as many purposes as a car, but there are many purposes that a car is used for that a bike could easily serve. As a side benefit, I'm also a bit healthier, which is certainly welcoming. I also like that I "know" how everything works which I couldn't say the same about my car, so I'm no longer dependent on outside mechanics to fix problems as I have the ability to do that myself. So, in a sense, it's also encouraged much more 'self reliance' instead of being dependent on the mercy of the oil kingdom and other economic infrastructure developed around cars that consumers depend on.

 

[Zoot Katz]

I call cars coffins because by closing yourself inside one you're cutting yourself off from life.

Actually, The complete opposite is true, when friends phone for example, to go to a party in the next town, you make a day trip with shopping and a musium visit, educational, and fun for hours.

I barely remember blasting between Kelowna and Revelstoke with carloads of friends, skulled on you-name-it, tunes blaring but my preferred ride was the Norton. Sometimes in a group of other Nortons. Sometimes solo.
Rocks, wind and weather are more real on a motorcycle. You can smell the streams you cross.

Middle of winter take your date for nice dinner, the possibilities are endless in your nice warm car, but with a bike it's... well, limited.

Most of my relationships that have lasted longer than a good cigar somehow involved bicycles or motorcycles.
My first automobile was a Jaguar Mk VI Salon. At eighteen I really had a thing for the taller girls.

I've always had cars since i was a teen, explored many places with them, music, airconditioned, thousands of very enriching times. They are not as bad as you say, just too many of them, and I've never lived in a city, so traveling is often a sponanious outing.

First thing I did was take the aftermarket radio out of the Jaguar. The next car, a Volvo PV544 1800S, didn't have one. What I remember as being best about those cars was the sex involved when the car broke down somewhere. Living in this city as a born-again-bicyclist many of my friends are old enough to be my adult grandchildren. They often invite me along for rides and to parties supreme. The bicycle bridged the generation gap. I comfortably talk to active cyclists older than my dead dad would be.

More choices make for a more enriching life.

More choices to me means not having to dump $600 dollars into a brake job this month and another three hundred into the exhaust system two months later. Plus insurance, hope it doesn't get towed, you don't get ticketed, the thing's not vandalised or stolen. . . and if you're making payments on it, hope you don't lose your income. If your income is dependent on your vehicle, you're hooped.
Had I loved cars instead of life I'd probably have ended up a golfer instead of a bicyclist.
Yeah, that's rich.

I just couldn't let all that go without a rebuttal.

 

[Zoot Katz]

Cars are a wonderful invention, I can not imagine living without one. Here is a example of living without one.

"Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete" "Honey, I going to the Home Depot to get a bag of concrete"

"Honey, are you out of your mind, now you want the walkway to be bricks instead of concrete"!

Deron.

fukit, get an Xtracycle and buy two bags so it's easier to carry or else use a trailer. You've presumably already got the batteries, controller and motor.
Got brakes and you're good to go.