I’m cycle pilled and fully electric. I’ve got wind in my hair and bugs in my teeth. I’ve got places to be and sweat stains in my pits. I’m moisturized, unbothered, in my (protected!) bike lane, and flourishing. I can’t fully ditch my car yet for intermittent long distance commute reasons, BUT, I think I will be able to when I switch projects next year. Capitalism is a fuck, death to AmeriKKKa, may crude oil go to $1000 a gallon!
E-bikes are great.
I think the way the average non-cyclist engages with them is problematic, though. First question I always get asked by “normies” (non-cyclists) is “how fast does it go?”. The second question is always “how far can it go on a single charge?” These two questions indicate how utterly missing the point of ebikes most people are. Which, I think, is why you see so many of those e-motos around with 1000W motors and huge double batteries. I think those things are annoying and unsafe.
But I have to bite my tongue about it, because:
this is car brain in two types in the sense that most drivers have an entirely fucked up view of trip time with a strenous relationship to reality at best and also that one vehicle needs to do everything. Sure I’ve never needed to do a cannonball run, but what if i did?
These freaks are so alienated from nature they think they get in the car and the world moves the ‘destination’ to them. They resent non-hermetically sealed and non air conditioned spaces as an affront to man’s place at the center of the universe. I beg of them to touch grass.
This comment made me remember riding through the park with a pack of rabbits running alongside me, which happened last week. Car drivers will never experience the joy of moving through nature. Nature, to them, is always a place you must drive to rather than the abundant everything around us.
the weather here sucks shit 10 months of the year. whole town needs to be torn down and rebuilt in a person-friendly layout.
God that’s the pits. I’ll add it to my list of grievances against car brained society. I got myself a nice class 2-3 fat tire because I really wanted something that could handle snow and ice. I’m serious about using this in all 4 seasons. But the motor is just 750 watts and maxes out at 28 mph with pedal assist, and honestly? That sounds too fast to me anyway. I’d only really want to do that on a long distance paved trail or something where I have exceptional vision conditions.
Everything in the city I’m in is less than 5 miles away from where I live, and MOST of the streets have decent bike lanes, some are even protected. I just want to get around town and get my body moving more regularly. No need for one of those teenager death machines that are basically just electric motorcycles.
The 28mph is handy when I need to hop on a 25mph street with no bike accommodations to make a connection.
Oh that totally makes sense. Less time spent in a car lane the better. Glad I have the option then!
I have probably the same bike and need it to do 40 miles every day to get to work so I don’t think the range question is really all that bad
Why are these bad questions? I just wanna know if I can physically.handle a commute to work on one. I realize that it depends somewhat in how much I pedal, but I’m not an athlete, and I know I won’t commit if I’m completely exhausted and sweaty every day at work. Whatever these other higher purposes all the snobs in the replies are about, I’m trying to find something that works for my life. Is it car brained to try and work out the practical considerations of daily travel?
The top speed of an ebike usually has nothing to do with how much effort you yourself put in. This is especially true above 20mph.
Yeah, I get the how fast does it go or how fast does it accelerate first-thing too. The distance thing is hard to answer because it’s more about speed and how much physical effort put into it for me. If I keep it 18-22 Km/h I can e-bike all day.
I think allowing throttle on bikes for anyone without a legitimate accessibility need was a huge mistake. Pedal assist is already so fucking easy but now people expect to be able to just sit there and accelerate with their thumb and they all have that mentality of faster = better.