For the past few years, there's been a growing trend in cycling - ebikes. For about the same price I'd spend on a regular bike, you can get one with a pedal-assisted throttle. You can even convert your bike with a nice motor. I've seen them everywhere, both on roads and trails. The people who seem to dislike them most are, believe it or not, cyclists. Frankly, I think these purists are snobs.
I like them myself. I can understand why you can get rattled when someone flies by on an ebike without so much as a "How do you do?", but I get passed by a lot of road bikes as well. There's always someone faster.
I particularly like talking to older people on ebikes. Many of them would be doing nothing without them. Yesterday, I cycled a few miles with a retired tractor trailer driver who loved to cycle but then was sidelined with cardiopulmonary issues. He converted his bike and is able to ride regularly and even can pedal.
I asked him what area of the country he likes best. Upstate NY, he answered. I asked him if cops tend to go easy on truckers. He told me most of them are great, except in Ohio.
I'm no cycle purist. I wear a helmet but have no problem with people who prefer not to because most cycling injuries are to the shoulders, arms and clavicle, not the head. But on ebikes, which can hit speeds of 51 mph, I think they're a good idea.
Yes.
ReplyDeleteBernie those bikes passing you are tricycles
ReplyDeleteLol. True.
DeleteI'm looking into an e-trike, a 3 wheeler, because at 75, balance is not guaranteed...
ReplyDeletecyclists are fun targets
ReplyDeleteI used to be a regular cyclist. I didn’t like fishing and I couldn’t afford to be a golfer, so it got me out in the fresh air. I went on bike tour vacations and even did a century ride (100 miles). Then I got older- then I got cancer. I still try to ride around the park but it requires more of an effort. I don’t mind e-bikes. They let folks who otherwise wouldn’t ride get to enjoy a bike. I do always wear a helmet, because it’s the responsible thing to do, and because I know someone who didn’t. He recovered, but it took years. I also wear it because adults need to be a good example for kids. I’m one of those people who still shudders when I see motorcycle riders without helmets and I wonder how PA insurance laws let that happen.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has built various configurations of e bikes and bikes with engines mounted to the frames long before these devices became popular and/or widely available, I will say that they are extremely enjoyable to ride and build. Today, these devices are rapidly growing in popularity as evidenced by the shipments I see on a daily basis come through my Lehigh Valley UPS location.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, an irresponsible rider of such devices can be both annoying and dangerous to pedestrians and motorists alike as these vehicle are small, quick and often silent. Admittedly, I haven't looked at the laws regarding such vehicles in over 20 years, but back when I used them regularly there were limits on the wattage of electric motors and a 49cc cap on 2 cycle engines for anything that would still qualify as a bicycle.
In short, I am a fan of motorized bikes and think they are a great cost effective way to travel short to medium distances...as long as the users can obey the rules of the road and be respectful to other travelers.
Too bad you weren't elected judge....what a loser. Buy your wife one of those bikes so she can escape next time you pound 2 quarts of whiskey
DeleteDo e-bikes bother me?
ReplyDeleteYes. They are not bikes. They are motor vehicles and should be regulated as such.
They drive on both sides of the road; sometimes with traffic and sometimes against; on sidewalks; and through playgrounds. If they even bother to slow up at stoplights and stop signs, they don’t wait in line like other vehicles and instead creep up on the shoulder, increasing the danger to themselves, anyone in a vehicle making a turn, and pedestrians in crosswalks.
Kids who aren’t able to legally get a drivers license and adults with suspended licenses are somehow allowed to drive “bikes” that are able to “hit speeds of 51 mph”, and do so fairly silently.
I’m sure that here in the Valley, there have already been accidents with cars, and it is only a matter of time until a pedestrian or small child is killed by them driving recklessly.
It’s time for elected officials to take them seriously and pass clear laws regulating and licensing them, and for the police to aggressively enforce any laws pertaining to them.
My research 2 decades ago indicates that there are laws in place today governing these devices. My past experience with enforcement was that they were somewhat unfamiliar with these laws, although that is probably changing as these vehicles become more popular. To your point, even after standard bicycle could be ticketed for driving on the wrong side of the road or disrupting traffic so there is no reason riders of bikes would be immune from law enforcement.
DeleteThey don't bother me anymore than the rest of the spandex crowd on the road, but if I lived in a duplex, I wouldn't want my neighbor recharging it inside the house.
ReplyDeleteI was in utter amazement when I was driving down the street and a teen came at me riding only on his back wheel with no control over where he was going. He was with another youngster, on a side road off RT 191. Several months before that I was on rt 22 going towards Easton when a dude in his 20's or 30's came flying by me doing a WHEELEE on his motorbike. I believe these recreational vehicles serve a good purpose but maybe its time they get licensed and require some sort of testing just like a motorcycle. They are awesome machines and I really thought of getting one myself, however, we need to be responsible users of these fun machines.
ReplyDeleteLet me tell you a story. There is a young man who works at Nazareth's WAWA since it first opened, about 2 1/2 years now. He used to come to work, and even on the coldest and wettest of nights, on an ebike. The other day, he proudly showed me his new ride, which was one of those motorbikes. He had saved up over two years for it. He only rides it to and from work and told me he is a very careful rider. He won't go anywhere without a helmet. I wish I had the level of maturity he has when I was his age.
DeleteWaving from Cambridge (UK) AKA “Cycle City” from CB radio days. We rented stepthrough bikes on arrival and have made all trips except for a train ride with them. Cyclists generally obey traffic lights and rules. Drivers are limited to 20 mph in town and are encouraged to park in the suburbs. Drivers are also better (harder exam, cameras everywhere). Riding on wrong side of the road…traffic circles backwards!? An adventure. And yet it felt pretty safe. ALL off-road bike paths are paved.
DeleteLast week was Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Airbnb came with two beater bikes. 51 percent of people travel by bike there. That was more of a challenge - like a minnow entering a school of fish. Again, all daily trips by bike except one to far end of a tram line for pancakes.
Look up integrated wheel locks with chains.
Won’t happen in PA in my lifetime. People looked healthier and happier in UK and NL.
No issues at all but they are a major fire hazard when charging, they may have improved over the years but “thermal overload” is real and has led to multiple structure fires in larger cities
ReplyDeleteBernie, I don't like or dislike them. However, in the hands of the wrong person I believe they can become a hazard. What I'd like to see is a requirement that they can't go faster than say 30 MPH. The other thing that bothers me when I'm riding bike trails is that many bicyclists don't announce their approach from the rear either verbally or with a sound device. These e-bikes can approach at a faster rate of speed and tend to be heavier, so their approach with no alert can be startling.
ReplyDeleteAnother responder's comment about living in a place where your neighbor might be charging one is also a concern given some reported issues with the batteries starting a fire.
They can and do go too fast on trails that have walkers. You cannot hear them approaching from the rear. The riders are often unfamiliar with required stopping distance. They are great for people with physical limitations but need to have maximum speeds lowered. An accident between the rider and possibly an older person could be devastating. Many senior women struggle with osteoporosis and an accident could be deadly.
ReplyDeleteStock market all time high experts wrong Trump Right.
ReplyDeleteBernie writes: because most cycling injuries are to the shoulders, arms and clavicle, not the head."
ReplyDeleteComment: Bernie, you forgot on pearly white addition: the teeth!
I’d like all bikers to have those bells on their handlebars, and use them. I get passed by inches on tow paths by these silent electric speedsters.
ReplyDeleteAmen! The other day on part of the Palmer Trail, I was walking in one direction while coming towards me was a couple with 3 leashed dogs. As we were exactly adjacent to each other, out of nowhere with no notice, some dumbass e-bike rider sped through the tiny space between all of us 2-legged and 4-legged walkers.
ReplyDelete