
Electric bikes are the future of transportation - Tomte
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/10/20904414/electric-bikes-ebike-guide-rideables-battery-how-to-buy-price
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amclennon
Electric bikes are great! During peak rush hour traffic, it's actually faster
for me to commute using my bike than driving down the freeway.

The only thing that prevents me from riding my ebike more often is the
irrational fear that I'll get my bike stolen as soon as I park it on the
street.

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c22
I put a two-way car alarm on my e-bike. The whole thing was still cheaper than
a car.

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stevenhubertron
I have had an e-bike for about 2 years. It’s faster than driving and I am not
a sweaty mess when I get to or from work. It’s been great. Some ebikers are
jerks and just use throttle to pass people at 24mph but they are few and far
between.

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greenonions
Ebikes really are amazing. I think they are particularly suited to the US,
because much of our infrastructure is designed entirely around cars.

The ebike allows you to traverse a car-designed landscape with the ease of
biking on flat ground. And where there is bike friendly infra, it's even
better.

Not to mention, it's an absolute joy to ride at about 15 mph, wind in your
hair, all that stuff. And for short trips say to the grocery, it can be faster
than your car, cheaper, more comfortable, better for the environment, and
healthier.

I highly recommend trying an ebike to anyone.

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chrisdhal
I see this argument and I just don't get it. My local grocery store is less
than a mile away on city streets. There is no way an ebike is faster, more
comfortable or healthier (since it's an ebike I'm not pedaling, or not much,
so maybe a touch healthier) than my car. I'll go along with cheaper and better
for the environment, but as for the others I don't see how that can be.
Especially after getting groceries, which since I'd be on a bike would have to
be a small amount (say 1 bag or so) as opposed to my car where I could do a
week's worth of shopping at once, saving time and number of trips.

I'd love to find a reason to get one, but I can't justify it. I work from home
3 days a week and my office is 25 miles away on the other side of a major
metropolitan area. I live in a suburb and the office is in another suburb, so
non-freeway travel to it would be a nightmare.

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Someone
Op writes “ _can_ be faster”, not “ _is_ faster”. In densely populated
neighborhoods, cycling can certainly be faster than driving a car.

Also: how long does it take you to find a parking spot for your car at the
grocery? How far from the shop is it, on average? Do you have to find a
parking spot at home, too?

And a double bag on the back of a bike can easily hold 50 liters. That’s quite
a bit of shopping.

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chrisdhal
Fair enough about "can be".

It takes me seconds to find a parking spot. The parking lot is large and right
there, I could park in the farthest away spot and be inside in less than a
minute. I live in a detached single family home and have a garage, so I don't
have to find parking at home.

Again, I'm not saying it's not viable, but in many cases the "advantages"
aren't there.

Note: this is in a suburb of a major US city. There is plenty of space, all
single family homes, US-like supermarket.

Edit: added note about city.

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Noos
I don't think the people replying to you understand what a suburb or small
town or city is like. I feel sometimes I should make a video of my home town
(pop 40,000) to show people here why a lot of things like bicycling to work
would actually play out here.

Edit: Like I really do't have traffic jams here...traffic is steadily moving
at 40 mph or so with only minor stop and starts.A lot of things you have to
get on the highway for, which makes bicycling simply impossible. Even
depending on the town, where you work matters; most people here are knowledge
workers who can fit into a downtown center with no hazard. The guys working at
the local lowes distribution center, chicken farm, or industrial park have
their workplaces in the middle of nowhere due to noise and pollution concerns.

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Noos
I feel more like electric scooters or motorcycles would be a better bet. 40
mph+ cruising speed would be a lot better, and enable them to use the main
lanes instead of needing dedicated bike paths or using hazardous shoulders.

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thorwasdfasdf
I'd love to e-bike to work but the way neighborhoods are set up, I have a
minimum commute of several miles just to get out of the neighborhood. And
everything is just so far apart. It's hard to move close enough to work to
make an e-bike make sense.

The fastest bike they said at 28mph means my average speed including red
lights would be about 15mph, means It would take me an hour to get to work!
Here in the US, it's probably better to just get a motorcycle.

the big adv of e-bike is no need to pay yearly registration, right? also, no
insurance and no gas cost or maintenance. So, the savings can be pretty big

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m-p-3
I wish that was the case, but the harsh winter and the 14km commute to work
where I am make this roughly impossible several months per year.

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randyrand
*for places that have infrequent rain and mild winters =(

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roxas232
I mean if you gear up for it, it's not so bad. This article has some
suggestions for handling it! [https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/11/03/how-
to-ride-your-...](https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/11/03/how-to-ride-your-
bike-all-winter-and-love-it/)

