people are like: "Bikes are nice if you have time, I have to drive my kid to school."
taking my kid to school on #eBikes + #CargoBikes = 8min round-trip 😎
@CurtAdams we would need to legalize that for the first five grades though, at least in Oregon, children under 10 cannot be "unattended". See also child helmet law that makes it illegal to ride a bike
@flub I'm talking German bike lanes here. So, when in doubt, too narrow, not well maintained. And speed diff inner city would be less on the road where cars go max. 55ish, on avg often less then 40. Average non-e-bike is below 20.
Sure, better bike lanes would be ideal. But that'll take years/decades longer than allowing 35km/h e-bikes.
@fabian Nevertheless, if you say they can't use bike lanes you just encourage more car use because people don't feel safe. I'm fine with giving people the choice to choose the bike lane or not though (also should be so for normal bikes).
Also, you don't have to do 35km/h. I also adopt my cycling speed to the circumstances just like I do with my car driving speed.
I recommended this bike a while ago, the Cannondale Compact Neo. I take it back; reliability has been awful. Currently on my way back to the shop with it and then I’ll donate it. #EBikes#Cannondale#BikeTooter
@fbaum@marcprecipice@amd dang, my radrunner was (edit) $2030 (with a front basket and passenger bars, edit btw you can get cable-actuated hydraulic brakes for under $100) with mechanical brakes and that was less than a year ago. The rei at least has a trigger shifter with its 7-speed "megarange [i.e. that last step's a doozy]" freewheel (who has the 11-52 8, 9, or 10sp cassettes though? also IDK why hub motors with no torque arms)
Besides that UPS lost half of the checks their drivers requested and is now trying to bill me for 50% of the $320 charges and fees, get a load of these customs tariffs wtf spokes, rim, mounting rail and why is trump's #eBikes tariff still with us?
also the motors were priced at $215 and $375 from ebikes.ca, but ordered as part of 2 kits, so the 483 x 25% = $120 was both of them together but based on the cost from china? What a confusing mess.
Kudos to the EU Parliament for their ruling on replaceable batteries. Great news for consumers and the environment... and their ruling will not only cover smart phones, #eBikes too will have to follow this new regulation.
In 6 days, the NY Times has run 4 articles about e-bikes -- all negative.
A few other stories the paper might consider:
🔹 E-bikes pollute far less than even electric cars
🔹 Compared to autos, e-bikes pose minimal risk to other people
🔹 Unlike cars, e-bikes provide exercise
People For Bikes, the main bicycle industry lobbying group, is trying really hard to keep ebike repair tools and manuals out of the hands of independent repair shops through carveouts for ebikes from right to repair laws on the grounds of battery safety.
This is very similar to the tactics used by car companies to keep car owners locked to dealerships for repairs.
Yes, batteries can be dangerous. But what's even more dangerous is that people will improperly dispose of broken bikes when they don't have access to the documentation and diagnostic tools manufacturers make, but only license to official shops.
Besides the battery thing is a big red herring. The stuff they're holding back isn't battery repair tools, it's documentation of everything else like controllers and throttles and sensors. They would rather brick your bike than let you have control over it. #RightToRepair#Ebikes#FelonyContemptofBusinessModel
Probably dumb but thought it might be a thing. Got a standard, small, two-wheel trailer and wondered whether it could actually stabilize my ride. Maybeweigh it down some or modify it somehow? I’m talking for slippery conditions.
In the last 6 days the NY Times has run 4 articles about e-bikes -- all of them negative.
A few other stories the paper might consider:
🔹 E-bikes pollute far less than even electric cars
🔹 Compared to autos, e-bikes pose minimal risk to other people
🔹 Unlike cars, e-bikes provide exercise
@davidzipper An e-bike can be as fast as a car in city traffic, while using less gas and being far easier to park. And allowing for more vehicles in traffic. Cities would be nuts to not consider them.
If NYT wants to clutch pearls about kids vs #eBikes, it should be about switches and auto-off settings to keep them from activating when toddlers want to play with the cranks or levers and stuff. And also ban cars.
#WorkZoneWTF#BarburBlvd + the 2nd and 3rd time passing this same bus since the bottom of the hill. We really need our #transportation agencies to do better for people on #eBikes, but what is it going to take? Is that a memo from the governor/mayor and they'll start actually caring, or we just delete ODOT/PBOT and start fresh with safety-by-design as an operations culture? #ClimateEmergency vs institutional delay excuses etc 🙄 but all I see is stalling and a #Portland for #Cars1stAlwaysOnly.
The moral panic about #eBikes needs to result in mandatory helmet laws for all car occupants, especially #EVs
(yet another NYT article about people getting hit with cars, and blaming anything but cars)
There has been a deluge of articles in the last couple weeks about the danger of #eBikes and California's push to require licensing to ride them.
As a bike rider it's never surprising to see the media and drivers blame riders for their own deaths, no matter how egregious the driver error was. And some of the cited examples are quite egregious.
But this push for education and licensing made me wonder:
How effective is Driver's Ed at improving road safety?
