I know why the Europeans are so slender.

melodious

100 kW
Joined
Aug 26, 2011
Messages
1,156
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East Coast, U.S.A.
Well, set up my "200-250w" q85 on my folding bike. 1st ebike build. At 36v i get 15ish mph on the flats (weeeeeee! :? ) It does help me on the hills though (15-20amps?) as I don't have to pedal as hard now. I'm ok with this setup for now but it does require some effort on my part if I want to feel the need for (ahem) speed! :wink:
 
dnmun said:
they are not addicted to soda pop like americans.

and traditionally food over here used to be less fattening and come in smaller portions. That's changing now, as our fast food and poor diet is catching up with that from the US, with the result that we're getting to be as fat as many Americans............ :wink:

Years ago I was at an airshow in the US where there was a stand selling collapsible chairs, just the same as a couple I have over here. They looked a bigger than the ones I have, so I looked at the label (made in China, IIRC). The label was marked "US market", so I guess they'd made these bigger because of the difference in size between the average American and the average Brit.
 
the European 24v-250w rule is stupid and should be changed. If cyclists get into accidents with basic push-bikes then why not ban bikes with pedals and cranks, and make everyone ride a dandy-horse all over again.
 
^^^

even worse it's 200watts in the uk !



and that reminds me I need to make some labels for my battery/controller/motor ;) ;)
 
Dumped 680W into my new q100 front last night - didn't get above 40 centigrade on the casing outer or plugs when tested with my laser temp gauge!

Could you use an LCD controller gauge at 30 or 50 percent to make it legally compliant, then add more amps when no one is looking?
 
knighty said:
^^^

even worse it's 200watts in the uk !

It's 250W in the UK, the same as the rest of Europe, not 200W, not that it makes much difference.

At the moment it's legal to ride either a non-EU Type Approved 200W ebike with a throttle, OR an EU Type Approved 250W pedelec ebike in the UK. Both are legal, if not particularly exciting.
 
knighty said:
ahh, sorry I only paid attention to bikes with the throttle

To add to the confusion, it's actually legal in the UK to fit a throttle to an EU Type Approved pedelec ebike, too, meaning that a 250W bike with a throttle is OK, too. The law here is a right mess, TBH, given the bizarre mix of EU and UK legislation that applies.
 
Ah yes. I had a 250w motor when i first came here.
I remember that being fun for about a week. Then, MAC motor :mrgreen:
 
You know what's nice about 200-250w? Your still getting some form of physical exercise. Moreover,if your commuting to work, your not busting out in a sweat getting there. It's a nice leisurely pace, not too brisk. And if you feel like pushing it, the geared hub really doesn't hinder your cadence as there's no noticeable drag. Also, you don't have to modify your existing gear ratio. :)

Moving on. I want to say (but not yet proven) that bumping this motor to 48v is fine, even with the stock KU65 controller. Should get an increase from 15's to 20's mph. Now how about 60v and a new 25-35 amp controller? You think that's pushing the limit? I'm not sure the aluminum forks can handle those forces... :idea: :?:
 
So I happened to meet an eastern European woman (And her sister) 18 months ago shortly after they came here. Thin little woman. The one I do continue to see around has gained a reputation for "No fat, no fat." Doesn't seem to be doing the job. Not that she's bulked up seriously, but I just saw her before I came home and was thinking of how she's no longer looking like the wind would blow her away. Give her another couple years.

Forgot where he went, but within the last year someone I know went to one eastern European country and found himself wondering why ALL the women seemed to be built like supermodels. He decided it was the food, which was so bad he didn't eat much either while he was there. (Actually, not the first time I've heard someone say that.) Everyone was riding Vespas, not bicycles. I have the old fashioned pedal electrics, I would say they do nearly all the work, what pedaling I do to get uphill isn't much of a workout, but then neither is truly suitable for trying to pedal uphill. I don't consider it exercise.
 
It's mostly the food, the oils, sugars, and flour, mainly. Americans eat mostly partially hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, and flour bleached to the point of being good for nothing except paste. I don't eat pastries here in the US, in France they are fabulous. It's all in what you put in. It's unreal, go to the store and watch people checkout. I don't think they even drink water anymore. Soda pop by the case, 3 or 4 cases to every cart. It's no wonder they don't exercise, it's hard when there's no oxygen in the blood. Sadly the poisonous diet has made its way across the world, the effects are starting to show. It's definitely the worst here though. All these fad diets only make matters worse. The cure is wholesome food, eliminate all the processed crap.
 
as i understand it, the fructose sugars are worse than sucrose because they do not create the biological satiation response so people consume even more soda pop.

morbidly obese people are so common now. i see people who are 300lbs all the time, even some that look like they are pushing 350-400 occasionally. sometimes an entire family. two double wide parents and double wide children. and they walk so slow that when they are walking side by side, you cannot get around them. it is like having a few cars blocking a 6 lane freeway by covering two lanes each.
 
I agree, I'm pretty sure it's just down to what were once big differences in diet between the US and Europe. Some of that is historic, for example here in the UK we had food rationing until the mid-1950's, as a consequence of the massive debts built up during WWII. This resulted in people living on a fairly basic diet for around 15 years, which sort of established a culture of eating basic home grown food that took time to change. Culture has a lot to do with it, even now in France people prefer to use local ingredients over imported food, and the culture of making meals from what is available locally is still strong, much stronger than it is here in the UK.

Gradually American food is spreading across Europe, though. Unfortunately it's the unhealthier aspect of the US diet that seems to have the greatest influence here, with US influenced (or owned) fast food outlets spreading over the whole country and creating a generation of kids who only eat burgers, chips (French fries in US-speak) and pizza and only drink pop. The result is what has been termed here an outbreak of obesity, as if it were a disease, with a lot of young people being overweight. If I look at the kids coming out of the primary school just up the road from me many tend to be a bit overweight and chubby, with some being definitely obese by the age of 8 or 9. The contrast with the kids in my old school photos from the late 50's and early 60's is stark, where being thin was the norm.
 
Unfortunately most of what is said here is quite accurate. In the US we have an epidemic of diabetes where it is now rising faster than most other diseases. Crap, non-nutritious processed food and a lack of time or will to make changes is what is spearheading this disaster. There are still Farmers Markets and some good foods even at Walmart but you have to shop carefully, read labels and cook with less calorific methods like broiling instead of deep frying.

Companies are already not hiring smokers, could the obese be far behind?
otherDoc
 
dnmun said:
as i understand it, the fructose sugars are worse than sucrose because they do not create the biological satiation response so people consume even more soda pop.

I've also heard a lot of ill effect attributed to this. Some claim its use as a sugar-substitute was some sort of conspiracy, but it was a logical economic decision in the face of rising sugar prices decades ago.

IIRC the "rationing years" in the UK have been identified as making the population unusually healthy at the time. As usual, what's good for you is rarely pleasant ;)
 
i betcha the soda pop makers know that the corn fructose is somehow more addicting than the regular sucrose too. that may have more to do with why they went to it when sugar prices climbed.

amazing that pot is illegal and soda pop is not. what i cannot understand is why they allow people to buy soda pop with food stamps. that is the most annoying thing about soda pop. that the soda pop manufacturers can get to congress and block the efforts of the health service workers to stop this obesity epidemic.
 
Punx0r said:
IIRC the "rationing years" in the UK have been identified as making the population unusually healthy at the time. As usual, what's good for you is rarely pleasant ;)

I believe this is right. From around 1940 until 1955 or thereabouts most foods available tended to be relatively low in saturated fats and high in fibre, plus there was very little in the way of pre-processed food available, most food was pretty much straight from the farm. There were some notable dietary deficiencies, though, that the government tackled with programmes of supplements, mainly aimed at children and pregnant women (there was a lot of government encouragement to breed at the time, to restore the workforce in coming years!). Free milk to all school children was one measure introduced by an act of parliament in 1946 and there were a few less popular free supplements also provided, like cod liver oil and other vitamin supplements. I well remember being forced to take a spoonful of cod liver oil every day as a small child, as, I suspect, will anyone else who was brought up during rationing!
 
Americans are fat because we drive too much.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/06/obesity-and-driving

We need to stop subsidizing petrol and let market forces drive the price to the $8 to $10 per gallon it really is.
 
Took my folder w/ginormous 250W motor @ 36V on a real maiden voyage. One side of town to the other which is over 20ish miles. Mostly flat with some mild hills here and there. On a normal bike, I'd be sweating and my cardio/pulmonary system would be revved up. Never busted a sweat nor did I even come close to being winded. Part of that was because the motor helped me on the hills. If this were actually a daily commute, it wouldn't be bad at all, only because you don't drain a ton of stamina, making it possible to repeat the whole process over the next day. Now, if I can do the same thing while tossing down a few brews along the way, I'd say that's a bit of progress. :lol:
 
We'll my uber 250 watt beast is back in action after a big fail on my handlebar. I was just popping the front over a 1" manhole cover and my handlebar stem broke off. Grinded my knuckles good and a little scabby knee that would impress 10 year olds. That was back in the summer/fall last year, but seems like an eternity.

I rode my non electric surly bike when my folder was MIA, until my Cellman kit came in the mail. Then proceeded to bomb around town at 30 mph in sheer joy of the increase to power. That lasted about 2500 miles before my freewheel cover broke away from the axle bearing lol. Then proceeded to ride my beater pedal bike. Up until today where I got off my lazy ass, and learned to solder wires back on. It looks like a glob of soldering mess but it works and that's all that matters to me. A small first step to the eventual soldering of RC stuff for a future high power build (motoped :?: :lol: ).

I started seriously ebiking about a year now and I've lost probably 10-15 pounds in the process, basically my 185 lbs of midriff has been burned down to 170, which hasn't been this low since high school/pre-beer. So for those that think you aren't getting the same benefits of exercise compared to non-assisted bikes, your sadly mistaken. I ride more often and longer because of the assist and that is the key.
 
You do get lot of excercise with 1000W too, if you have the will, you just go faster.
I don"t get this basic idea behind this, that individual should somehow force himself to pedal by using very low powered bike. It"s ill logic.
It"s about YOU, not about the conditions. If you don"t have the will to excercise, then you are on the wrong path by trying to force your self with low powered bike.
On the other hand, if you have the will, then it does not matter how powerful your bike is. You still pedal hard.
Law can not be based around assumption that all men are lazy. It"s circle logic, man creates the law and then law creates the man.
Not all europeans are slender, but i guess more than in the US. American food is hugely calory-rich.
Europeans eat small meals and often. 600 calories is absolute maximum one should eat during the meal, including the drinks and all.
Normal meal is 400-500 calories. That"s three quarters of a Whopper. No fries, no drink, three quarters.
One full Whopper meal has all the calories that grown man needs in 24 hours.
Whopper with cheese, fries, soda. That"s basicly your energy intake for 24 hours. Thin man does not use much more.
Whopper is still delicious, though. We just got our first BK here.
 
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