David Zipper

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

#ebikes #bikes #journalism

Aug 4, 2023 at 2:01pmWeb
Show threadTheOneSwitAug 4, 2023

@davidzipper how much teens are dying from cars and how much from gunviolence?

Maybe regulating the bigger problems first would help a lot.

Show threadJürgen HubertAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper Well, the NYT _is_ a conservative newspaper, so that should not be surprising.
Show threadMack ReedAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper Like I needed another reason to loathe the NYT.
Show threadRoss SchulmanAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper "Adults in cars keep killing kids on bikes. Should we abolish cars?"
Show threadKatykayayAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper Along the lines of #WaPost, which is running a whole series on the environmental downside of electric cars, i.e. the rapacious mining of rare metals, as if this means we should just keep on burning petroleum?
Show threadAmanda BeeAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper I don't love the hate but honestly I'm grateful for a few articles I can send to my own teen to explain, for the millionth time, why he cannot have an ebike for the 1 mile ride to school (total elevation gain: 95 feet). I feel strongly that kids should ride bikes and that we can and should make streets safe enough that kids biking for transportation is a no-brainer.
Show threadTed TodorovAug 4, 2023

@davidzipper The constant moral panic articles in the NY Times are a disgrace, but what is your first suggestion — lets have a fight between e-bikes and EVs…

ICE vehicles are the enemy here, along with bad journalism. I’d also bet vastly more EV drivers are also bikers than ICE drivers

Show threadnigelsezyarrAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper It's really weird that three of the articles are specifically about teenagers. Do they ride e-bikes more than adults?
Show threadAlan TwigzAug 4, 2023
@nigelsezyarr @davidzipper No, but they have parents, parents have fears, fear drives attention
Show threadKevin BAug 4, 2023

@davidzipper I like the last one. As though no one who bought a car whose mfr went under was screwed.

Nope, only bikes. And let's not talk about "right to repair" either.

Show threadAnthonyAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper People don’t gear up on e-bikes like they do for motorcycles when they really should. These articles reinforce a human problem rather than a problem with e-bike technology itself.
Show threadAcetophelesAug 5, 2023

@givemeanthony @davidzipper depends on the e-bike but at least with UK laws they most definitely can't go faster than a regular bicycle and these are only pedal assisted. UK e-bikes are limited to 15mph and throttles are illegal.
People don't wear protective gear with bicycles either.

It is a law for reflectors and lights to be on at night the same as America, accidents happen all the same. The laws are behind on e-bike, I do think there should be a lesson for laws and safety like a CBT course

Show threadMJ MuseAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper NYT must like big oil?
Show threadChu 朱Aug 4, 2023

@davidzipper

The NYT should be considered a #FossilFuel shill, not serious news anymore.

#MediaBias
#ClimateCrisis

Show threadJohn RobinsonAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper There’s e-bikes and e-bikes. In UK to be unlicensed they are restricted to 15.5mph. Anything else =motorcycle =licence, insurance etc.😀
Show threadnatriumchlorideAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper practicing safety measures in traffic is still a good idea though. Applies to both e bikes and regular bikes. Riding one can be a risk to your own self if you're not careful, imo it's not wrong to spread awareness about that
Show threadCoachMarkAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper e-bikes and e-scooters definitely need more regulation centered on them.

I'm not against e-bikes - I think they have a purpose for commuting and for assistance for those who may need it or want it. However, they can also be dangerous and harmful (fires etc) to ppl and the environment/public mixed use trails (especially off road e-mtbs).
Show threadwimAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper this is just interesting reporting though. The articles even mention some of your points. I don’t really get why they should be compelled to put out a bunch of cheerleading articles for balance or whatever.
Show threadCharming MalcontentAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper
Fuq the NY Times: irrelevant right-wing rag!
Show threadGlennAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper These stories all question whether e-bikes should be regulated for children*. *That doesn't seem anti-e-bike, merely sane.
Show threadAlan TwigzAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper The 'think of the children' hand wringing is extremely dumb but the last one does look like it might touch on right to repair, app-locked and DRM'd features, and other stuff that needs to be addressed if the e bike economy is to be sustainable. We don't need autoenshittification with pedals.
Show threadLivAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper And to think that I used to view the New York Times as a reputable source...
Show threadJen Davies SchneiderAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper and they’re so fun to ride
Show threadhansceesAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper @lisamelton Ebike are fantastic. Me and my wife have driven hundreds of miles less with our car because of them. Not only on workdays but also going for a walk a little further away. Of course we are located in the Netherlands.
Usually people being negative are doing all traveling by car
Show threadNed YeungAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper Plus the majority of the problems we have with automobiles is not what they are powered by, but the space they take up and all the problems they cause with traffic, infrastructure, and safety (this part is touched on with point 2), based on that. We have destroyed our cities in order to enable the entitlement of everybody owning a personal car, and have pushed everybody else out. EVs solve none of these problems, they only help with pollution, which they don't do well (ala point 1).
Show threadNegative12DollarBillAug 4, 2023

@davidzipper Compare and contrast:

https://www.curbed.com/2023/07/citi-bikes-electric-bikes-lyft-broken-maintenance-batteries.html

Show threadJasmine LiskaAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper People need to send feedback to the editorial team (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/homepage/contact-newsroom.html) and writing letters to the editor (https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014925288-How-to-Submit-a-Letter-to-the-Editor) to correct these biases. Otherwise, they're just going to continue publishing this nonsense.
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The New York Times
Show threadFrayJayAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper
Show threadJencel PanicAug 4, 2023
@davidzipper And also these articles against remote work.This is starting to look tendentious
Show threadOrcAug 5, 2023

@davidzipper

They're branching out from their trademark transphobic nonsense in a quest to attract the WSJ opinion page crowd.

Show threadNicole ParsonsAug 5, 2023

@davidzipper

Malign influence campaigns don't come for free.
https://electrek.co/2017/06/27/koch-brothers-electric-cars-fossil-fuels/

https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/04/26/koch-brothers-and-dark-money-gang-up-on-nashville-transit-referendum

Guess who owns the New York Post?

https://nypost.com/2022/01/16/mopeds-crowding-bike-pedestrian-lane-on-queensboro-bridge/

And the Daily Mail?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12358515/E-bike-battery-blew-killed-mother-four-minutes-started-charging-experts-warn-six-fires-week-caused-batteries-e-scooters-bikes-explode-TERRIFYING-force.html

Scaremongering to keep consumers hooked on toxic planet-frying oil.

Koch brothers launch new misinformation campaign against electric cars

Koch brothers launch misinformation campaign against EVs

Electrek
Show threadMemphisDaPlaya 🎲🎲Aug 5, 2023

@davidzipper

I'm currently shopping for an e-bike.

Show threadPaul CantrellAug 5, 2023

@davidzipper @dgoldsmith

Imagine if the NYT covered gas-powered cars the same way. Just imagine.

Show threadgrob (teeth era) 🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️Aug 5, 2023
@davidzipper put any person on a high quality ebike and they'll never look again at such an article. Even not taking into account all the objective benefits, they are just an amazing piece of tech that has a sublime user experience. They simply feel great.
Show threadKai Aug 5, 2023
@davidzipper I got the feeling there is an effort against biking in general but I can't prove it
Show threadzach :verified:Aug 5, 2023
@davidzipper NYT should just say "Teens should wear helmets when riding bikes."
But also, having a maximum top speed of a bike would be nice. I've seen some zoom around
Show threadJonathan HorowitzAug 6, 2023

@davidzipper E-bikes and electric scooters would be fantastic if we required people using them to get licenses to use them, much like we do with motorcycles.

But in places where there is good infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians, right now there are a ton of people out there who are zipping around and nearly running over pedestrians and regular bike users.

Show threadNamanAug 8, 2023
@davidzipper @anildash Yeah this is all about framing. Cars are killing children on bicycles might be a better headline.