Massive prejudice against ebikes

[John in CR]

Thanks for the input, at least I know I can come here and not feel like an alien

Oh, you're still an alien, you're just our kind of alien.

 

[V_Mark]

You will always have a need for a full sized vehicle, unless you're always planning on living in a 10 mile radius for the rest of your life and want to have a "moving week" instead of a "moving day" when the time comes.

I don't post here too often, but I wanted to point out that there are plenty of car-free people out there that don't have the need for a full-sized vehicle. One just have to be in an area where it is practical. Five years ago, my wife and I moved to Chicago. Within 6 months we got rid of my car. Hers was gone before the first year was over.

I take my ebike pretty much everywhere within a 20-mile radius. My commute is 5-miles in a straight-line, or 6-miles along Lake Michigan. The lakeshore trail is always filled many cyclists, and about once or twice a month I'll come across someone else with an electric bike (usually an A2B or chinese scooter type). I get so many weird looks and scowls from the lycra riders as I pass them, but I also occasionally get inquiries about the bike so it evens out. The LBS stores here are another story. I had one employee actually lecture me about how my frame and fork weren't meant to have a motor, like I was unaware of the fact.

I will occasionally take the subway or bus, and I Amtrak it anytime I need to visit my family, but very rarely (like two or three times a year) do I find myself in an actual car.

 

[vanilla ice]

would they prefer to see me instead bearing down on their Lycra clad ass with a 5000 pound SUV

By their actions obviously they would prefer the SUV.. they seriously would. They have no issue with that.

That insightful about that "new norm" angst. The comparisons are stretching it tho.. Ebikes will spread until they are commonplace. Maybe it will take a freakin long time, but they will. The haters have realized this and it intensifies the hate. You are no longer a silly curiosity to them, you are a threat.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

But those Lycras just are not thinking it thru;

Since I am physically unable at my age to carry 50 pounds of groceries up my 7% grade on a human only powered bike, would they prefer to see me instead bearing down on their Lycra clad ass with a 5000 pound SUV,
or me on an ebike?

I would say they just aren't really thinking about it at all, mainly going with a knee-jerk reaction and it "feels" wrong to them.

Oh, and when they do get run over by a 5000 lb SUV, just make sure to tell them it's ok because they HAD A BIKE RACK on top, so it shouldn't bother them! :lol:

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

You will always have a need for a full sized vehicle, unless you're always planning on living in a 10 mile radius for the rest of your life and want to have a "moving week" instead of a "moving day" when the time comes.

I don't post here too often, but I wanted to point out that there are plenty of car-free people out there that don't have the need for a full-sized vehicle. One just have to be in an area where it is practical. Five years ago, my wife and I moved to Chicago. Within 6 months we got rid of my car. Hers was gone before the first year was over.

I take my ebike pretty much everywhere within a 20-mile radius. My commute is 5-miles in a straight-line, or 6-miles along Lake Michigan. The lakeshore trail is always filled many cyclists, and about once or twice a month I'll come across someone else with an electric bike (usually an A2B or chinese scooter type). I get so many weird looks and scowls from the lycra riders as I pass them, but I also occasionally get inquiries about the bike so it evens out. The LBS stores here are another story. I had one employee actually lecture me about how my frame and fork weren't meant to have a motor, like I was unaware of the fact.

I will occasionally take the subway or bus, and I Amtrak it anytime I need to visit my family, but very rarely (like two or three times a year) do I find myself in an actual car.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking a car free life-style, quite the opposite, but I'm just saying if that was taken to the extreme, i.e. no U-Haul trucks when you need to move, trying to take things home on a bike trailer that really don't fit (there was some guy moving from his old apt. to a new one with just his bicycle trailer to haul stuff) was all I mean.

I don't currently own a car, but for example there would have been no practical way for me to get the three 4 x 8 ft sheets of coro-plast that I recently bought to build the fairing for my E-Bike home with just a bicycle.

I think it's great to have whole communities that work with just bicycles for transportation, and yes, I could put together a 4 wheeled "quasi-car" with some hub motors and such to have hauled this stuff home, but again, for some things, a car is still the practical choice. Just my $ 0.02

 

[veloman]

http://www.bikesatwork.com/

They do some crazy stuff there, without any electric power (I'm pretty sure). I moved a 60lb tv with my ebike last month. I'm looking into getting an extra-cycle at some point. Also check out Portland Pedal Power.



I'm still looking for a community where there is an optimal balance of modern technology, without the pollution and negative side affects of such products (I'd like to not be essentially forced to buy from China). Of course it will be centered around the bike. I can't seem to find that. Not in America.

 

[dogman dan]

Nothing wrong with owning everything you need. I own a one ton truck, and once a month or so really need it. I often drive a car to work, bike on the rack, and leave it there all week. So I can run to the hardware store and get something only weighing 500 pounds or so, paint, cement, tar, etc. I don't have to drive the car back and forth every day that way. But when the weather is nice, and all I need is to haul my butt and tonights dinner, it's the ebike.

Driving the bike to a place to ride, guilty. The singletrack trails in the mountains are just a tad too far to ride to em for me. But I did build 8 miles of trail within walking distance of my house last winter, so mostly I ride there. Those trails will last as long as the housing slump does. Quite awhile I think.

 

[USAEBIKECO]

Most people I come across think electric bikes are cool. I occasionally get a "that's cheating" comment. I just say its not cheating its "smart commuting". They usually shut up after that when they realize im right. Then they get this "why am i not riding an electric bike?" look. Most cyclists are amazed at how fast im going with no sound.

I believe regular bike are our allies. There are times where ill shut off the electricity and just pedal like a regular bike for a work out. I just did the critical mass in Chicago where there were thousands of cyclists and I counted 4 ebikes including myself. Everyone was really cool about the electric bike I was riding. Some of the event organizers turned away some gas powered bicycles. So they didnt get to do the ride. I was glad for that because gas bicycles suck. They are loud, heavy, pollute, unreliable, and they use gas and oil.

So I really dont see a prejudice against electric bikes here in Chicago

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

The haters have realized this and it intensifies the hate. You are no longer a silly curiosity to them, you are a threat.

that's what i firmly believe, it's the only thing that can explain why i get such an extreme unsolicited response at times.
like i'll ask them 'what's it to ya buddy? enjoy what ya got, i am".

i think the resentment originates upon the realization that after spending all that money shaving grams, significantly shortening their lifespan thru the use of steroids, not to mention all that time lost to training.
that all their dedication & hard work don't amount to more than a few hundred watts that any decrepit/fat shlub on a bike costing a third to half as much as theirs can drop them eating plasmadust.
their universe is in danger of collapsing around them as we invade their exclusive space.
we're taking away their sense of what makes them special, what makes them better than mere mortals.

i think the silence of electrix must be a twist of the knife too.
with a gasser they can still rationalize that at least it's obvious to any & all bystanders who's 'cheating' & not a fair contest so they don't feel as emasculated.

 

[Lessss]

there would have been no practical way for me to get the three 4 x 8 ft sheets of coro-plast that I recently bought to build the fairing for my E-Bike home with just a bicycle.

 

[Lessss]

Taunt: Hey! That's Cheating!
Reply: Hey! You're a retarded!

Taunt: Hey! That's Cheating!
Reply: Hey! Your father's sister is your MOM!


Taunt: Hey! That's Cheating!
Reply: ____________________

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

there would have been no practical way for me to get the three 4 x 8 ft sheets of coro-plast that I recently bought to build the fairing for my E-Bike home with just a bicycle.

You couldn't have taken that trailer with the plywood on the path that I would normally take on my bike, too narrow, and if on the road I would be taking up an entire lane of traffic, but that is kewl!

I'm not saying it isn't possible, but for me, really not practical.

Do they have any pics of them taking something horrendously heavy like a piano on a trailer? I know we have crazy pics like that from over-seas, but I'd like to see something in our neck of the woods. 8)

 

[veloman]

The haters have realized this and it intensifies the hate. You are no longer a silly curiosity to them, you are a threat.

that's what i firmly believe, it's the only thing that can explain why i get such an extreme unsolicited response at times.
like i'll ask them 'what's it to ya buddy? enjoy what ya got, i am".

i think the resentment originates upon the realization that after spending all that money shaving grams, significantly shortening their lifespan thru the use of steroids, not to mention all that time lost to training.
that all their dedication & hard work don't amount to more than a few hundred watts that any decrepit/fat shlub on a bike costing a third to half as much as theirs can drop them eating plasmadust.
their universe is in danger of collapsing around them as we invade their exclusive space.
we're taking away their sense of what makes them special, what makes them better than mere mortals.

i think the silence of electrix must be a twist of the knife too.
with a gasser they can still rationalize that at least it's obvious to any & all bystanders who's 'cheating' & not a fair contest so they don't feel as emasculated.

I respectfully disagree here. I AM one of the lycra roadies as well. I LOVE pushing myself physically. The thing is, I can see the difference between utility and sport. Ebike - utility/fun, road bike - sport/fun/impressing the girls riding in their bf's mustang. I don't take any drugs, and never knew any riders who did. We all do it for the fun competition, to see what performance level we can get to. Moving yourself fast is the best feeling in the world. While I do like ebiking a lot, the comfort of cruising up hills at good speed and barely any effort - I absolutely LOVE LOVE the feeling of blasting myself from 10-30mph in 4 seconds, under my own power. I will never be able to explain this to any of you who have no felt it.

This has nothing to do with comparing the performance of an ebike vs a cyclist. There is no point in comparing human power to machine power (unless your leg power is winner :lol: :lol: )

I can't speak for all lycra spandex roadies, but I myself, feel no threat, ego-shock, world-collapsing feelings when I'm passed by a motor-biker. (only happened once maybe?) But maybe you are right, maybe some of the cyclists do have that problem...

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

I did once see a guy with a bike and a trailer with impossibly small wheels on HUGE 6 x 10 trailer hauling scrap metal to recycle, but I have to say, with out a doubt this guy was a tweaker, most likely meth, and I'm not saying that was the ONLY way he hauled 800lbs of scrap metal with a Magna and total ghetto trailer, but it still wouldn't have been practical for the average person, not to mention this guy was a little more "motivated" to get the job done than I would have been. :wink: :lol: :lol:

 

[Lessss]

insane load

 

[Evoforce]

I need to put car seats on a couple of those long trailers hitched together and give e-bike tours!

 

[jdcburg]

How do you stop a load like that, or steer around a kid or lil ol' lady in a crosswalk? Some newsworthy innocent getting injured or killed by an ebiker hauling a load like that or doing 50 in a school zone (or both) will have predictable results - jd

 

[V_Mark]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking a car free life-style, quite the opposite, but I'm just saying if that was taken to the extreme, i.e. no U-Haul trucks when you need to move, trying to take things home on a bike trailer that really don't fit (there was some guy moving from his old apt. to a new one with just his bicycle trailer to haul stuff) was all I mean.

I don't currently own a car, but for example there would have been no practical way for me to get the three 4 x 8 ft sheets of coro-plast that I recently bought to build the fairing for my E-Bike home with just a bicycle.

I think it's great to have whole communities that work with just bicycles for transportation, and yes, I could put together a 4 wheeled "quasi-car" with some hub motors and such to have hauled this stuff home, but again, for some things, a car is still the practical choice. Just my $ 0.02

Yeah I understand how difficult it would be to move large, heavy objects. I think a great model would be one where the majority of the community owns bikes or ebikes, and there are still a few cars/trucks around for the really cumbersome loads. Maybe a car-share program like zipcar or something similar, or the places that sell the heavy things would have trucks. Last year I had to do some drywall at my place, and ended up paying the store to deliver it. It would be great if those people who's only justification for owning a car is to haul materials every once in a while would share or have the places deliver.

I used to tour around the U.S. nationally playing and working with bands, and that's one area where I had always thought that a gas-powered van or bus was always needed. However, recently I read an article about a folk group that did a small regional tour by bicycle. There's hope for us yet!

BTW, everyone should check out this bike-move!

[youtube]fq3oSyvXLiY[/youtube]

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

insane load

I did some reading on this site last night, and one thing that you may have noticed about all these heavy loads being pulled are on level ground. Throw in even a 4% hill and I doubt any of these loads will be taken anywhere under human power alone, and can you imagine going down hill with a 1,000 lbs+ and trying to stop?!

I live where even a short trip into town means tackling at least one 4%+ hill, so this wouldn't be practical for 90% of the places I have lived, however, I wouldn't mind a bit living somewhere that bicycles are more common than cars.

I have thought a lot about the car share option, I like that idea, I just hope it will be available where I want to live again soon (Missoula Montana). I like the idea of sharing the cost of owning and operating a car.

The funny thing about getting things delivered is I realized too late that I could have had the coro-plast delivered for free! I was told early on that they delivered, but not that it was free, so I had to drive really slow to keep the wind from trying to rip it off the roof of our Saturn Vue (They just happen to put the On-Star antenna in the middle of the back of the roof?!) so I had to have it hanging over the windshield about 8 - 10 inches. If I accelerated too fast or went much faster than 25MPH it would have creased the coro-plast pretty bad if nothing else, so I wasn't very popular in the 45 MPH zones that I had to travel for a few miles until I could get on a slower road. :lol:

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking a car free life-style, quite the opposite, but I'm just saying if that was taken to the extreme, i.e. no U-Haul trucks when you need to move, trying to take things home on a bike trailer that really don't fit (there was some guy moving from his old apt. to a new one with just his bicycle trailer to haul stuff) was all I mean.

I don't currently own a car, but for example there would have been no practical way for me to get the three 4 x 8 ft sheets of coro-plast that I recently bought to build the fairing for my E-Bike home with just a bicycle.

I think it's great to have whole communities that work with just bicycles for transportation, and yes, I could put together a 4 wheeled "quasi-car" with some hub motors and such to have hauled this stuff home, but again, for some things, a car is still the practical choice. Just my $ 0.02

Yeah I understand how difficult it would be to move large, heavy objects. I think a great model would be one where the majority of the community owns bikes or ebikes, and there are still a few cars/trucks around for the really cumbersome loads. Maybe a car-share program like zipcar or something similar, or the places that sell the heavy things would have trucks. Last year I had to do some drywall at my place, and ended up paying the store to deliver it. It would be great if those people who's only justification for owning a car is to haul materials every once in a while would share or have the places deliver.

I used to tour around the U.S. nationally playing and working with bands, and that's one area where I had always thought that a gas-powered van or bus was always needed. However, recently I read an article about a folk group that did a small regional tour by bicycle. There's hope for us yet!

BTW, everyone should check out this bike-move!

[youtube]fq3oSyvXLiY[/youtube]

Man, that would have been SOOOOO much FUN!!

I love it when people prove the status quo wrong! I was thinking of how it geeky it looked but at the same time how much I wish I had been able to be part of it!! I guess that makes me a bike geek, and I'm proud of it!

The best part of that whole video was the guy on the weight weenie road bike with just a plastic chair strapped to his back! :lol: (look @ 5:42)

 

[veloman]

Who rides a bike, hauling a large load, through a school zone at 50mph? Try 10mph tops, if you are hauling something big. At that speed, you can easily manavuer around an old lady in a cross walk.


The point is that bikes are capable (won't be as easy as a truck) of hauling much more than the average person would think. With a mtn bike gearing, you can go up low grades at 3mph if you need to. Of course no one is going to haul large loads up and down real hills. But there are many areas where the land is pancake flat, and people like living carfree.

I'm sick of hearing all these stupid comments picking about why you can't do this or that. Maybe your situation is different, my point was just that it's possible for some people to do this stuff.

 

[Lessss]

Those insane loads were on the flat but also by muscle power alone. An ebike with a motor would be able to handle hills. TAC back and forth for the big'uns.

 

[gogo]

I live in the same 23 sq. mi. city as the bikes@work guy. I assume he takes the longer flatter routes when he has heavy loads. He is quite the example of how much utility can be had from bikes.

-------
Most people have long equated bicycles with pedaling, so to consider pedaling as optional is a mental challenge for some.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Those insane loads were on the flat but also by muscle power alone. An ebike with a motor would be able to handle hills. TAC back and forth for the big'uns.

Good point, a good torquey hill climbing motor will be the perfect answer, that and some of the new 50C LiPo!

I understand tacking back and forth would help with the hill, but it might not be too popular with traffic. :wink:

 

[fifthmass]

At a Civil War reenactment last year I towed a limbered artillery piece (3,000 lbs) with my Trek 820 Ebike. Sorry no photos of the actual pulling so you have to trust me. Here is me on bike at the event:

http://fifthmass.org/v-web/gallery/By-Alyssa-Heinstrom/Newburyport_2009_087

It was on flat pavement. Easy to go in a straight line and maintain 5-6 mph. Stopping and turning were impossible and I fell off when I tried to turn.

regards,
Bill