People of Mastodon!

I'm researching the growth of ebikes ...

... in cities around the US

I've talked to many people who love them!

But also want to include the perspective of folks who have concerns ...

... i.e. about the speed and weight of ebikes in accidents with pedestrians or other cyclists, and the like

If anyone has thoughts they wanna share, ping me! I'm all ears: [email protected]

Pass this along if you know anyone else with perspective they want to share

#fedibikes

@clive
We ride bicycles on the hike and bike trails. Our concern is that they are fast enough for the sound they make to be no use when they approach (also using the hike and bike trail. They are also fast enough to make the traditional bicyclists warning "On your left {or right} useless)".

@dougiec3

Aha, yeah, good point about sound and warnings

Usually when I say "on your left" on my regular pedal bike, I'm passing at a pretty slow pace

Have you had any accidents or near-accidents with ebike riders?

@clive @dougiec3
Maybe it's just me or because I ride a bicycle like, rather than scooter like, #ebike but I find my average speed has gone from about 18 km/hr on they hybrid to about 20 km/hr on the ebike. My max-speed is about 40 km/hr on either, though the electric assist turns off at 32 km/hr on the ebike.

http://the5thc.blogspot.com/2022/08/norco-scene-vlt-e-bike-for-people-that.html

Norco Scene VLT, The E-bike For People That Hate E-bikes

Definitions first. How do I define e-bike. An electric motor assisted bicycle that can be pedalled easily without the assist turned on and t...

@the5thColumnist @clive @dougiec3 this is similar to my experience. My top speed on a normal bike versus an electric bike would be about the same. My average speed on an electric bike would be faster on average because itโ€™s easier to keep it at speed.

I donโ€™t see weight of e-bikes versus normal bikes as a big issue. The extra weight of an ebike would be smaller than the variation of weight in riders. One rider could be 150 pounds heavier than another.

@scokop @the5thColumnist @dougiec3

Interesting point about the weight differences of riders