E-Bikes! Not easier, just farther and faster

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > E-Bikes! Not easier, just farther and faster

mystes: May 31, 2006

Safety Dance posted:

The Henry Hudson Trail looks like a lot of fun! There's a ferry from Manhattan that could drop me off in Atlantic Heights. I might have to do that when it gets a little cooler this fall.

I don't know if it's really worth trying to get to from New York, but the Henry Hudson Trail is really nice if you're in northeastern New Jersey because the northwest side end of the trail is fairly easy to get to (by car that is, since unfortunately it's basically impossible to get around there by bike) and you can bike all the way to the beaches at Sandy Hook.

mystes fucked around with this message at 15:14 on Jul 19, 2020

# ¿ Jul 19, 2020 15:07

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 17, 2024 16:29

mystes: May 31, 2006

I just ordered a radexpand 5... time to join the ebike revolution I guess.

# ¿ Apr 6, 2022 20:02

mystes: May 31, 2006

My RadExpand arrived. Ebikes are cool and being able to use the throttle from stopped at intersections is quite nice.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2022 23:43

mystes: May 31, 2006

It's a bit silly but it works fine

# ¿ Apr 21, 2022 23:43

mystes: May 31, 2006

evil_bunnY posted:

Whatever gets you ridin' is all good

Of course now lectric just announced the xp premium which is a similar folding design, similarly priced, is mid drive, and they're giving an extra battery to people who preorder... Oh well.

I kind of want a second battery already for more range but the rad power ones are extremely expensive and it's of course a pita to use a both a rad power one and a generic one

# ¿ Apr 26, 2022 03:42

mystes: May 31, 2006

It's presumably single speed but the page says this which seems pretty shady:

# ¿ May 20, 2022 20:47

mystes: May 31, 2006

mobby_6kl posted:

I'm starting to think it's just poorly written copy by someone with no clue about wha the actual product is

I think this is potentially a bad sign for something like ebikes because it suggests that 1) they're just reselling them with no idea what they're doing and/or 2) they're just copying and pasting because nobody at the company actually speaks English, neither of which is good for an expensive product where you might need support if there's a problem.

# ¿ May 21, 2022 18:24

mystes: May 31, 2006

Academician Nomad posted:

More city bike share should have ebikes, it's ideal since those are always big heavy clunky bikes to start with and the e-assist fixes that. I wish my city did.

I think most places are still swapping out batteries manually but dock-based bike share systems are also perfect for ebikes if they can just work out the details of how to connect the docks to electricity and charge the bikes automatically when they're docked.

# ¿ Jun 4, 2022 21:32

mystes: May 31, 2006

A guy in a sports car just pulled up beside me and said "that looks awesome" so I think I might have caused an ebike sale.

# ¿ Jun 15, 2022 01:14

mystes: May 31, 2006

Cugel the Clever posted:

Happy Father's Day weekend.
https://twitter.com/tjmule/status/1530305752140611584?t=26WjSezyEiWzb43lZIScfg&s=19

Lmao

# ¿ Jun 18, 2022 16:28

mystes: May 31, 2006

As someone with a crappy bike with a hub motor, no cadence sensor, and junky components so I typically just use the throttle to start from a full stop making shifting before stopping more or less irrelevant all I can say is lol imagine worrying about that on an ebike

mystes fucked around with this message at 13:08 on Jun 20, 2022

# ¿ Jun 20, 2022 13:02

mystes: May 31, 2006

If you you were passing pedestrians at 20mph on a MUP you would already be an rear end in a top hat so assuming you're not I'm not sure the extra capability really makes a difference if you aren't using it on the path?

OTOH a lot of non-ebike owners seem to feel differently.

mystes fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Jun 20, 2022

# ¿ Jun 20, 2022 16:20

mystes: May 31, 2006

Literally Lewis Hamilton posted:

Yeah, if someone is riding an ebike capable of 50mph at normal speeds on a MUP and not being a dick I�ve got no problem with it. The worst riders I�ve seen are the TT guys who baffling decide that the MUP is the place to ride, on the aerobars and everything.

The people going at absurd speeds on MUPs also seem to have this obnoxious attitude that they should be allowed to since they're super skilled cyclists (whereas of course ebike riders should not be allowed to).

Like yeah if you're riding that much you probably have better bike handling skills than someone who just started riding an ebike and didn't bike a lot before that but that still doesn't make it safe to ride a bike at 20+mph on a crowded MUP.

# ¿ Jun 20, 2022 16:25

mystes: May 31, 2006

acidx posted:

Sounds like bafang is making an automatic 3 speed internally geared hub that's designed for their ebike motors.

https://electrek.co/2022/06/21/bafang-three-speed-hub-electric-bike/

I haven't seen anything about cost or what dropout sizes they will fit, but it sounds like a really cool idea. If I blow up my sturmey archer hub I might replace it with one.

Huh, it's interesting that they're confident enough to be planning on marketing it for normal bikes as well. It's cool that there's going to be more competition in the igh space

# ¿ Jul 3, 2022 11:54

mystes: May 31, 2006

While I was on a bike ride today one pedestrian asked me about my bike and said they liked the style and then another person on a normal bike told me very excitedly that they had already ordered a Rad Power bike and it was supposed to be delivered on Wednesday but the delivery had unfortunately been delayed.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2022 02:02

mystes: May 31, 2006

Justa Dandelion posted:

Idk poo poo about biking or e-bikes but we moved to a house that's a block away from one of those drop bike stations and now I e-bike everywhere for like $30/mo. I'd consider getting my own bike but it sounds like they're pretty expensive and I live up a hill so not having electric assist sounds like a nightmare for my flabby rear end.

I guess what I'm saying is e-bikes rule.

Securing ebikes at your destination is definitely a problem so if you have access with a bikeshare system with ebikes for $30/mo it makes a ton of sense to just use that.

# ¿ Aug 1, 2022 17:15

mystes: May 31, 2006

Aperture Priority posted:

Hello thread! I�ve been out of the bicycle game for a long time and would like to start riding to work instead of driving. My commute has gone from ~40 miles each way to 7 miles round trip. Getting TO work isn�t an issue, but getting home when I�ll be tired and it�s hot has me worried. The other issue is that it�s all downhill on my way there but it�s something like a 500� elevation gain coming home. I�m in decent shape but definitely not able to ride a traditional bike up those hills. Would an E bike be a good option for me?

Yes especially if there's a secure place to store the bike

# ¿ Aug 19, 2022 19:29

mystes: May 31, 2006

The author is just dumb and completely unable to grasp the idea of the bike as a utilitarian form of transportation as opposed to exercise or some sort of weird lifestyle status symbol

Like

quote:

Perhaps my e-bike ambivalence comes in part from the bike�s strange social status. An e-bike isn�t cheap�the least expensive ones are about $1,000, and they go up to $5,000 or more. But the symbolic value one receives in exchange is minimal. Spending five large on a conventional bike would get you a status symbol�you�d come off as a cyclist for sure

quote:

Counterintuitively, because the e-bike is easier to ride than a normal bike, I feel less inclined to adopt it as a regular practice, let alone a whole commuting identity. All the downsides of biking still remain, without the satisfaction of persisting in the face of adversity.

That last quote makes it sound like they might be opposed to safe cycling infrastructure; after all once biking is safe like in the Netherlands biking is a boring thing everyone does rather than a cool thing special hardcore bike people do

The Atlantic is good at publishing stuff like this that's almost like a caricature of what conservatives might imagine liberals think

mystes fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Aug 31, 2022

# ¿ Aug 31, 2022 20:03

mystes: May 31, 2006

Fitzy Fitz posted:

I mean, no poo poo he doesn't see all the benefits if he's only riding around NYC. It's flat and dense there. The main reasons I've looked into e-bikes are that it's hilly as gently caress here and everything's inconveniently far for a normal bike.

he's literally saying that he doesn't like ebikes because they would make biking be less exercise and feel too easy, so attributing this reasoning to this piece seems massively overly generous

He probably also hates single speed bikes and cruisers and every bike that's not the kind of bike he's riding too

mystes fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Aug 31, 2022

# ¿ Aug 31, 2022 20:50

mystes: May 31, 2006

Fitzy Fitz posted:

It just stood out to me as something that he totally omitted in the paragraph about how e-bikes don't fix any of the problems with biking. The entire piece reads like he went out of his way to only consider his personal experience and avoid any of the literature or conversations about the topic. And then, what do you know...

https://twitter.com/ibogost/status/1565043167354822660?s=20&t=ofwPqwV4hDVh86G4cN3gpw

Lol he just invented mopeds

# ¿ Aug 31, 2022 21:17

mystes: May 31, 2006

webcams for christ posted:

less pollution with narrower, higher pressure tires.

Oh gently caress off

Once you're worrying about the negligible difference in particulates between fat tires and normal tires you should probably just stop biking

# ¿ Sep 1, 2022 13:32

mystes: May 31, 2006

webcams for christ posted:

the wise man bowed his head solemnly and spoke: "theres actually zero difference between good & better things. you imbecile. you loving moron"

You're in the ebike thread. Normal bikes are presumably more environmentally friendly than ebikes, so if you take this argument to its logical conclusion, and go for "better" rather than "good" you shouldn't be riding an ebike, you should be riding a road bike with high pressure 23mm tires to minimize waste, or maybe walking with shoes that don't have rubber soles. Also, I hope you aren't doing any recreational riding (which is going to create far more unnecessary particle emissions than simply switching from thin tires to fat tires) and aren't making up any extra calories you're burning biking by eating additional meat.

I guess you also shouldn't ride cargo bikes because they're heavier which will result in more wear. You also shouldn't ever ride a bike with a suspension; presumably this is also causing more tire wear (and particle emissions) when you're on roads, plus think of all that extra power you're using which, on an ebike, may be coming from fossil fuels!

My point is: a tiny difference in particle emissions between fat tires and thin tires on bikes is simply not a significant factor that anyone should make any decisions based on.

What you're really trying to say is "I don't like fat tires and I'm a snob so I'm trying to come up with dumb reasons why fat tires are 'wrong'" so, I don't know, maybe just remember that there are tons of people riding normal bikes who feel the exact same way about all ebikes.

mystes fucked around with this message at 14:05 on Sep 1, 2022

# ¿ Sep 1, 2022 13:57

mystes: May 31, 2006

webcams for christ posted:

oh my god how dare someone suggest that some things are better than others, which they previously admitted was a crank opinion

time to have a meltdown and piss my pants

You don't need to get mad just because I'm pointing out that "fat tires are bad because of particle emissions" is insanely dumb take. You can still dislike fat tires, you just don't need to claim it's for environmental reasons .

mystes fucked around with this message at 14:09 on Sep 1, 2022

# ¿ Sep 1, 2022 14:06

mystes: May 31, 2006

webcams for christ posted:

I guess you just don't take pollution seriously. that's fine. climate change can't be solved by individual action anyway, so you do you!

Just think how much you could reduce your carbon emissions by not posting

# ¿ Sep 1, 2022 14:21

mystes: May 31, 2006

evil_bunnY posted:

I love that people are getting on bikes but radpowers will never not look like weird americana versions of a bike. It's like "I want bottom-priced SUV, but make it a bike"

I give this a B+ as an attempt at elitist bike gatekeeping

# ¿ Sep 8, 2022 16:40

mystes: May 31, 2006

webcams for christ posted:

sorry roasting suburbanites who drive overpriced pickups that they don't need isn't gatekeeping cars any more than roasting other forms overbuilt transportation

No I think evil_bunnY likes suvs and fat bikes, just not ebikes with fat tires, probably because they aren't expensive enough

evil_bunnY posted:

Fat bikes are like rubicons. They're a great 3rd bike.

mystes fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Sep 8, 2022

# ¿ Sep 8, 2022 17:49

mystes: May 31, 2006

kimbo305 posted:

Class 3s are legal on the US, afaik.

I think it depends on the state. For example, they seem to be expressly forbidden in New York.

In Massachusetts there is no specific provision for class 3 ebikes in the relevant laws, so it's not totally clear, but that may mean that they're illegal or need registration as mopeds or something technically.

Also IIRC the way class 3 is actually defined they probably can't actually have throttles at all so must "class 3" ebikes aren't actually class 3 at all and are probably illegal everywhere (people are deliberately misinterpreting it as allowing higher speeds on a bike with a throttle as long as the throttle cuts out and you can only use pedal assist at those speeds).

mystes fucked around with this message at 14:32 on Oct 11, 2022

# ¿ Oct 11, 2022 14:25

mystes: May 31, 2006

How about an e-cargo fixie with no brakes instead?

# ¿ Oct 30, 2022 23:27

mystes: May 31, 2006

kimbo305 posted:

REI is doing 10% off on their ebikes:
1700 https://www.rei.com/product/190640/co-op-cycles-generation-e12-electric-bike
1350 https://www.rei.com/product/189967/co-op-cycles-generation-e11-electric-bike

Note how the more expensive one is the one with a rigid fork. Though the spec seems pretty much the same besides battery size and the front rack.

I think these prices make them better choices than a lot of the cheap tier. The brakes are gonna be better than many in the same price range, and you'll have more support through REI than some direct brands.

I think the support alone makes REI a much better choice than any of the comparable ones

# ¿ Mar 17, 2023 22:09

mystes: May 31, 2006

They didn't even say to remove the tire and tube first

# ¿ Mar 20, 2023 03:33

mystes: May 31, 2006

evil_bunnY posted:

One review I saw specifically mentioned there weren't.

lol that specialized can't figure out how to correctly put buckets on a bike

# ¿ Apr 25, 2023 14:13

mystes: May 31, 2006

halokiller posted:

The big companies like Bosch, Brose, Shimano, etc don't allow throttles on their motors.

What seriously?

# ¿ May 16, 2023 13:15

mystes: May 31, 2006

Gangringo posted:

Unfortunately I can't chop my dog in half and evenly distribute her into panniers.

# ¿ Jun 7, 2023 17:40

mystes: May 31, 2006

Bucky Fullminster posted:

Sure, but it's the principle. One is avoidable, and one isn't. One is "included" in the cost of the event, one is an unnecessary add-on.

e - "The ocean is full of plastic, me tossing this wrapper out of my window is negligible in comparison, so I'm gonna do it"

it's a nonsensical argument that leads nowhere except Problemtown, population everyone.

e2 - and before we draw a comparison between this and e-bike usage at home, plugging into the grid at the wall to ride hills in the city is different to transporting diesel to the desert and running a generator to ride around a party on completely flat ground

In my experience, burning man is actually quite avoidable

# ¿ Jun 8, 2023 09:43

mystes: May 31, 2006

G-III posted:

I'm having difficulties selling off my radcity 5 plus to make room in my garage for the nevo4. I would have thought a reduced cost slightly used decent brand ebike would have gotten more hits 😞

How reduced cost?

Think about it this way: would you rather pay $2000 for a new ebike or pay a couple hundred dollars less for one where it's impossible to determine what kind of condition the battery is in and potentially no warranty

# ¿ Jun 12, 2023 20:34

mystes: May 31, 2006

Probably not worth spending a ton of time thinking about but if you use one of the outlet timer things you can just set it for the low end of how much time you think it needs

# ¿ Jun 20, 2023 17:16

mystes: May 31, 2006

As someone with a rad bike i literally only bought it because they seemed to have actual support/service at the time, which was unfortunately right before they apparently started to implode in slow motion, and now they clearly don't so I wouldn't recommend them to anyone

If you're paying $1500+ for an ebike I still think that being able to get it serviced is more important than the specs though

mystes fucked around with this message at 03:46 on Jul 11, 2023

# ¿ Jul 11, 2023 03:42

mystes: May 31, 2006

Nessus posted:

Uhh... I was able to get a replacement tube at my local bike store I guess, but I forget which model I have. It has fat tires but they may be normal fat tires. If they're really making GBS threads the bed then I guess I'll use this thing until it breaks down and then pray God, I suppose

I wasn't talking about the tires or tubes (I guess someone else was after my post but I have a radexpand which I think uses standard tires/tubes), but like if the electric parts stop working

It's been fine so far, but it seems like if there's a problem it's hard to get service from rad now so I'll probably have to figure it out myself and I didn't really want to have to learn how all the ebike-specific stuff works

I have no real complaints with the actual design because it's fine for the types of situations/places where I'm using the ebike

The brakes may not be the best and it was my first bike with disc brakes but I'm getting a mountain bike so I'll presumably have to actually learn how to adjust disc brakes now anyway :shrug:

mystes fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Jul 11, 2023

# ¿ Jul 11, 2023 20:31

mystes: May 31, 2006

kimbo305 posted:

If your mountain bike is decent, it'll have hydro brakes, which are certainly worth learning to service, but it wouldn't have much crossover with low tier cable calipers on a Rad. Swapping the Rad's brakes for some TRP Hy/Rds or Yokozuna Ultimos would do wonders, but it'd be a gamble throwing good money after bad.

It does have hydro brakes (I bought a pretty cheap one but I figured it was at least spending the money over whatever the literal cheapest bike possible was to have hydro brakes) so oh well

# ¿ Jul 11, 2023 20:45

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 17, 2024 16:29

mystes: May 31, 2006

stephenthinkpad posted:

I actually ordered a folding bicycle helmet from UK and had it shipped to US.

Apparently it didn't have the US bike helmet certification.

Do bike helmets sold on amazon that aren't from normal bike helmet brands have us bike helmet certification either?

# ¿ Jul 13, 2023 00:03

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > E-Bikes! Not easier, just farther and faster

«‹›2 »