Bikes would be even more popular if we had decent infrastructure to accommodate them in the US. It's almost like gambling with your life to ride around here with narrow dilapidated sidewalks and bike lanes wedged in between lanes where giant F150s and SUVs roam.
Same here in small town California. From constant flats to dodging giant trucks you put your life on the line every time you hop on your bike.
I am extremely lucky to live a block away from the South Bay bike trail. I can take that thing to the trolley and not see cars. Between the trolley and my E-bike, I basically only use my EV if I'm picking up a friend.
Bicycles dont belong on sidewalks. You're more visible on the road. Its safer.
you are going to get people killed
Statistics show less people die when cyclists ride on roads. That's one reason its illegal in many places for cyclists to ride on sidewalks
Really depends on the road. Try biking on the road in Texas or Florida.
Ive cycled from Key West to Jacksonville. Its safer in the road. Wear a yellow or orange vest.
It makes perfect sense, AND if micro-mobility includes human powered vehicles, and walking then we can reduce oil demand even more. We're building a culture of micro-mobility, and that's awesome.
Damn right! This is where induced demand comes in: better sidewalks and dedicated bike/scooter lanes will make this happen even faster.
Unfortunately where I live small electric scooters qualify as a motorcycle but also can't be registered making them de facto illegal for transportation. The laws haven't quite caught up everywhere.
where is that?
Not sure about where the commenter you replied to is from but that is the case here in the UK.
It's very frustrating that the UK government can't catch up with the many other countries.
What about electric push bike?
The USA needs some electric tuk tuks
Good! Let me get the money to get one and I will gladly join the numbers.
Btw, how is market share of small electrics in south asian states, India? That's where it matters.
Why would it matter more there? I think it matters more for the world's biggest historical polluters, namely US and China.
Because most of fine particles in those countries is, because everyone and their mother drives around in small mopeds with bad filters.
Car does not matter much in climate crisis, transport (mostly water and air) and cement burning play a bigger role. But they do make the air unhealthy where people live.
Sounds like bullshit. In the EU, 60% of all transport emissions are cars. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20190313STO31218/co2-emissions-from-cars-facts-and-figures-infographics
Where'd you get the idea that cars do not matter much?
Of global emissions, not only transport. And wasn't this a headline years ago, that cities like Delhi have such bad air because everyone mopeds there? Yes, car bad, but moped worse.
Transport, construction, and animal factory farms
An ebike is a great vehicle. $1000 is a sweet spot to get 30mph, good acceleration, build quality, and $700-$800 is the new $1000. Fat tires get more torque, even if a heavier wheel, and let you have more comfort, and trail/snow/sand crossing capability. $2000 can get 40mph, or pull a trailer, or have bigger cargo/child seat capabilities.
Electric vehicles in general benefit immensely from being light. A smaller/cheaper battery is lighter and gets more range if overall vehicle is light too. Pedaling is a much bigger boost on lighter bike. BYD's seagull ($11k) is a very small/light car that could be built in the west/sold for $15k. It's practical enough to be a great car value.
Where ebikes need improvement is for commercial and touring purposes, having public charging and for ebikes charging at 1000-1500w is a huge 100-200km range per hour. The other major improvement for both ebikes and EVs would be power assisted trailers with regen braking, and regulation that permits and standardizes them. These can be range extending if pulled empty, or power themselves to not reduce range when loaded, and provide electric power at destination. Solar on trailers also means when not in use having emergency power at parked location.
When an ebike costs less than 6 months of car insurance, or 12 months of public transit pass, easy to park/charge/store, and can get around the city as fast as a car, its simply the best vehicle option. Where EVs can shine more is when V2G offers enough profit potential to pay for the car and part of the insurance.
god i wish we allowed ebikes to go above 25km/h
The article’s premise is not really backed up by the content. A more accurate title would be ‘Electric Bikes Gaining Popularity In China,’ which isn’t really a surprise. China’s investing heavily in renewables.
But what’s the west doing? The US is trying to ban/tariff imports of Chinese renewables tech. On top of that, our cities are intentionally planned for cars, and largely unsafe for bike riders.
Getting pretty sick of western outlets shitting on China constantly, but every time they do something great that we all benefit from, the news pretends it’s a global achievement even as western leaders do everything in their power to halt progress and appease the oil lobby.
Electric Vehicles are a key part of our tomorrow and how we get there. If we can get all the fossil fuel vehicles off our roads, out of our seas and out of our skies, we'll have a much better environment. This community is where we discuss the various different vehicles and news stories regarding electric transportation.
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