e-bikes

[ShiftyMutt]

Anyone have one? Looking to getting one?

I’m jumping into that world and finding out that our infrastructure really sucks for people that want to commute on ebikes if you’re in the anthill of So Calif cities.

‘A 13-year study of a dozen cities found that protected bike lanes led to a drastic decline in fatalities for *ALL users of the road*’ this includes walkers. Car drivers are more careful when there’s bike lanes with barriers rather than painted lanes.

The pics below are not in America. The charging port is in Denmark.

C’mon California, you wanna combat climate change, make our streets eBike friendly.
If you build it, we will ride.

[John Q. Public]

I'm seeing a lot of them around town. Even a family of 4 in the 'hood that rides by now and then. And our old friend Somelo has one that I guess she rides on short errands. And then there's the guy around the corner who has an antique Whizzer, which is cool but internal combustion. I hear him and his grandson riding around a lot. See below.

About the danger, I don't know. I have a friend who's 70 and he's been commuting and riding all over Southern California most of his life - and he has friends who do the same - so it can be done. I guess the number one rule is to never trust cars.

[ShiftyMutt]

I remember Whizzers. A bit before my time but I knew of people that had them. Popular in the vintage bike circles. I bought a 1952 Schwinn Panther at a garage sale. Had the big headlight, horn tank, rear rack, Springer fork, all in a nice green and white original paint. I wished I took a picture before I sold it.

I love the old bikes. I knew a guy that had one of those high wheels - those bikes with the huge tall wheel in the front and tiny wheel in the back. Super hard to ride, mount and dismount.
I do still have this 1949 JC Higgins though..

[John Q. Public]

Wow! Very cool! I like the hood ornament/headlights/blower scoop.

My brother has a small collection of bikes that he's found at yard sales and thrift stores. He'd be jealous.

[ShiftyMutt]

I’ve never heard the term “blower scoop”. Interesting..
I’ve only known it as a batwing headlight. It used to work. I think the bulbs are blown. The horn on the tank doesn’t work either. But there’s what looks like simple wiring inside, just haven’t fixed it. It does ride like an old heavy Cadillac though.
Blast from the past for sure.

[ShiftyMutt]

Here’s a better pic of the headlight

[John Q. Public]

It sticks up like a supercharger scoop on a dragster (blower scoop).

The buzzer could be fairly easy to fix. It's probably a pretty simple electro-magnetic device. A loose wire or a dead button is probably the culprit. Believe it or not, the bulbs might be hard to replace. I tried to find an old-style flashlight bulb a few months ago and there doesn't seem to be such a thing anymore.

[ShiftyMutt]

Even if I found bulbs I doubt the brightness is all that good. It would be nice to have it back to working order though.

The draw back I’m seeing now with ebikes is theft. Apparently there’s no lock a determined thief can’t cut. So it compromises the purpose of car replacement when you can’t trust it will still be there when you leave work or the store, and I would want it for a productive purpose, not just leisure. I did see a bike ‘cage’ option you can lock your bike inside a cage, I think Alhambra (?). Need real solutions if this state is serious about more electric transportation.

There is a voucher / rebate program that I think starts next year if you purchase an eBike or do an car-to-ebike replacement. But still - theft.

[John Q. Public]

I saw a video that I should have posted a couple weeks ago of a prototype of an automated underground bike parking garage. You pull your bike into a kiosk and push a button and your bike is whisked away. You come back and stick your ticket in a slot, stick a Euro in another slot and your bike comes back up in less than a minute. Pretty slick and it has a very small footprint.

Another (small) complaint about e-bikes as recreation is that they provide little to no exercise, which may or may not be a bad thing depending on your priorities. But I found out after I wrecked my back that your back actually does a lot of work when you ride a bike, depending on your position. I can only ride my mountain bike for 15 minutes or so. I can ride a beach cruiser for a little longer but neither is especially comfortable. But I guess maybe the strain is good for it.

[ShiftyMutt]

I understand the back injury aspect. I had surgery when I was about 35 and it still bothers me to be in one position for long. The beach cruiser is the best position for me, too.
As far as exercise, you can get as much or as little as you want by adjusting the pedal assist really. I just don’t want to deal with hills. It’s too hilly where I am unless I want to deal with a lot of traffic. Actual bike trails are a bit far for me to get to just to ride farther. But it good to ride and clear your head these days.

[John Q. Public]

I live on a hillside, so an assist would be sweet. But knowing myself the way I do, I know I'd be awful tempted to just use it in scooter mode.

[ShiftyMutt]

I think Magicycle actually has cruise control, so there ya go!


This is bike power station in Germany (c’mon America!)

[John Q. Public]

The Foreign Babe was just there and she said they were very popular in Hamburg. And she said their version of Aldi is a really good place to shop.