Hot rodding e-bikes
 

On Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 9:13:46 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:

I
think it was John Allen (author of the excellent Street Smarts booklet)
who pointed out that until now, there's been at least a rough
correlation between a rider's average speed and his skill on the bike.
E-bikes destroy that correlation. "Chipped" ones will be worse.

I'd suggest these are Darwin Awards candidates, except that such people careening on a e-bike could kill innocent bystanders as well.

Hot rodding e-bikes
 

On Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 4:15:13 PM UTC-4, Zen Cycle wrote:
On Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 9:13:46 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:

I
think it was John Allen (author of the excellent Street Smarts booklet)
who pointed out that until now, there's been at least a rough
correlation between a rider's average speed and his skill on the bike.
E-bikes destroy that correlation. "Chipped" ones will be worse.

I'd suggest these are Darwin Awards candidates, except that such people careening on a e-bike could kill innocent bystanders as well.

Or cause innocent bicyclists to crash trying to avoid those darn e-bikes. I've seen that happen a number of times on rail-trails around here which is another reason I avoid those rail-trails a lot of times. Some e-bike users seem to think that any off road path or trail is there for them to speed along at the top speed of their e-bike. They seem to EVER consider that maybe someone else is using the trail from the opposite direction.

Cheers

Hot rodding e-bikes
 

On 6/13/2019 6:27 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 4:15:13 PM UTC-4, Zen Cycle wrote:
On Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 9:13:46 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:

I
think it was John Allen (author of the excellent Street Smarts booklet)
who pointed out that until now, there's been at least a rough
correlation between a rider's average speed and his skill on the bike.
E-bikes destroy that correlation. "Chipped" ones will be worse.

I'd suggest these are Darwin Awards candidates, except that such people careening on a e-bike could kill innocent bystanders as well.

Or cause innocent bicyclists to crash trying to avoid those darn e-bikes. I've seen that happen a number of times on rail-trails around here which is another reason I avoid those rail-trails a lot of times. Some e-bike users seem to think that any off road path or trail is there for them to speed along at the top speed of their e-bike. They seem to EVER consider that maybe someone else is using the trail from the opposite direction.

Speed is weirdly addictive when you've got a motor.

I remember an incident back in the 1970s. I had been riding my
motorcycle and lost something I had strapped to the bike. (I can't now
recall what it was.)

Anyway, I took the motorcycle back out and rode the same streets and
country roads at low speed, maybe 29 - 25 mph, to look for the lost
item. And I remember thinking "This is really pleasant." At low speed,
there was very little noise from wind or from the engine. I had much
more time to look all around and appreciate my surroundings. It felt
like there was less risk of crashing. It was quite relaxing.

But ever since, with rare exceptions, when riding a motorcycle I've
chosen the highest speeds the law would allow.

--
- Frank Krygowski

Hot rodding e-bikes
 

On Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 1:15:13 PM UTC-7, Zen Cycle wrote:
On Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 9:13:46 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:

I
think it was John Allen (author of the excellent Street Smarts booklet)
who pointed out that until now, there's been at least a rough
correlation between a rider's average speed and his skill on the bike.
E-bikes destroy that correlation. "Chipped" ones will be worse.

I'd suggest these are Darwin Awards candidates, except that such people careening on a e-bike could kill innocent bystanders as well.

E-bikes can also be pretty benign and convenient. I was in Seattle on Tuesday, noting the number of bike-share eBikes. It made sense with the steep hills. https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2016/08...ntown-seattle/
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/uber-l...tric-bicycles/

IME, the hot-rodded eBikes are typically ridden by people who are not cyclists and are just trying to beat traffic -- as opposed to cyclists who could just use a little help.

-- Jay Beattie.

Hot rodding e-bikes
 

On Thu, 13 Jun 2019 15:27:08 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

On Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 4:15:13 PM UTC-4, Zen Cycle wrote:
On Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 9:13:46 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:

I
think it was John Allen (author of the excellent Street Smarts booklet)
who pointed out that until now, there's been at least a rough
correlation between a rider's average speed and his skill on the bike.
E-bikes destroy that correlation. "Chipped" ones will be worse.

I'd suggest these are Darwin Awards candidates, except that such people careening on a e-bike could kill innocent bystanders as well.

Or cause innocent bicyclists to crash trying to avoid those darn e-bikes. I've seen that happen a number of times on rail-trails around here which is another reason I avoid those rail-trails a lot of times. Some e-bike users seem to think that any off road path or trail is there for them to speed along at the top speed of their e-bike. They seem to EVER consider that maybe someone else is using the trail from the opposite direction.

Cheers

But, after all, don't some bicyclists, here, brag about how fast they
ride? Why shouldn't e-cyclists do the same :-?

--
cheers,

John B.

Hot rodding e-bikes
 

On 6/13/2019 6:54 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 6/13/2019 6:27 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 4:15:13 PM UTC-4, Zen Cycle
wrote:
On Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 9:13:46 PM UTC-4, Frank
Krygowski wrote:

I
think it was John Allen (author of the excellent Street
Smarts booklet)
who pointed out that until now, there's been at least a
rough
correlation between a rider's average speed and his
skill on the bike.
E-bikes destroy that correlation. "Chipped" ones will be
worse.

I'd suggest these are Darwin Awards candidates, except
that such people careening on a e-bike could kill
innocent bystanders as well.

Or cause innocent bicyclists to crash trying to avoid
those darn e-bikes. I've seen that happen a number of
times on rail-trails around here which is another reason I
avoid those rail-trails a lot of times. Some e-bike users
seem to think that any off road path or trail is there for
them to speed along at the top speed of their e-bike. They
seem to EVER consider that maybe someone else is using the
trail from the opposite direction.

Speed is weirdly addictive when you've got a motor.

I remember an incident back in the 1970s. I had been riding
my motorcycle and lost something I had strapped to the bike.
(I can't now recall what it was.)

Anyway, I took the motorcycle back out and rode the same
streets and country roads at low speed, maybe 29 - 25 mph,
to look for the lost item. And I remember thinking "This is
really pleasant." At low speed, there was very little noise
from wind or from the engine. I had much more time to look
all around and appreciate my surroundings. It felt like
there was less risk of crashing. It was quite relaxing.

But ever since, with rare exceptions, when riding a
motorcycle I've chosen the highest speeds the law would allow.


I trust by 'law' you meant Bernoulli's and not some
arbitrary civil regulation.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Hot rodding e-bikes
 

On Friday, June 14, 2019 at 1:15:53 AM UTC+1, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 1:15:13 PM UTC-7, Zen Cycle wrote:

E-bikes can also be pretty benign and convenient. I was in Seattle on Tuesday, noting the number of bike-share eBikes. It made sense with the steep hills. https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2016/08...ntown-seattle/
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/uber-l...tric-bicycles/

IME, the hot-rodded eBikes are typically ridden by people who are not cyclists and are just trying to beat traffic -- as opposed to cyclists who could just use a little help.

There's a divide somewhere, for sure. 250W should be enough for most cyclists "who could just use a little help". Even for a cyclist who weighs up to a 100kg, 350W should easily allow a top speed of 25kph on the flat, and plenty of oomph for hills. 500W and even more so 750W just aren't necessary except maybe for dedicated cargo bikes but they could also make better use of available, better gearing choices.

Andre Jute
Old timey dodgem codger

Hot rodding e-bikes
 

On 6/13/2019 9:44 PM, AMuzi wrote:
On 6/13/2019 6:54 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 6/13/2019 6:27 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 4:15:13 PM UTC-4, Zen Cycle
wrote:
On Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 9:13:46 PM UTC-4, Frank
Krygowski wrote:

I
think it was John Allen (author of the excellent Street
Smarts booklet)
who pointed out that until now, there's been at least a
rough
correlation between a rider's average speed and his
skill on the bike.
E-bikes destroy that correlation. "Chipped" ones will be
worse.

I'd suggest these are Darwin Awards candidates, except
that such people careening on a e-bike could kill
innocent bystanders as well.

Or cause innocent bicyclists to crashÂ* trying to avoid
those darn e-bikes. I've seen that happen a number of
times on rail-trails around here which is another reason I
avoid those rail-trails a lot of times. Some e-bike users
seem to think that any off road path or trail is there for
them to speed along at the top speed of their e-bike. They
seem to EVER consider that maybe someone else is using the
trail from the opposite direction.

Speed is weirdly addictive when you've got a motor.

I remember an incident back in the 1970s. I had been riding
my motorcycle and lost something I had strapped to the bike.
(I can't now recall what it was.)

Anyway, I took the motorcycle back out and rode the same
streets and country roads at low speed, maybe 29 - 25 mph,
to look for the lost item. And I remember thinking "This is
really pleasant." At low speed, there was very little noise
from wind or from the engine. I had much more time to look
all around and appreciate my surroundings. It felt like
there was less risk of crashing. It was quite relaxing.

But ever since, with rare exceptions, when riding a
motorcycle I've chosen the highest speeds the law would allow.


I trust by 'law' you meant Bernoulli's and not some arbitrary civil
regulation.

Actually, no. I'm pretty compliant with speed limits.


--
- Frank Krygowski

Hot rodding e-bikes
 

On Wed, 12 Jun 2019 12:35:18 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote:

Seems it's easy to modify an e-bike to travel up to about 45 kph.

http://cphpost.dk/news/souped-up-ele...tial-accident-
waiting-to-happen-authority-says.html

Unskilled newbies blasting through traffic at 30 mph? Sure! What could
go wrong?

Given the amount of plastic in modern cars, it might redress the
bicyclist/motorist injury ratios.

A 250 watt motor is max legal here,but its possible to buy a 1,000 watt
overseas and ship it in. All it requires is wheel buldng skills and deep
pockets for the battery. OTOH, we can all hope self immolation is a
feature of such activities.

Hot rodding e-bikes
 

On Sat, 15 Jun 2019 04:57:26 -0000 (UTC), news18
wrote:

On Wed, 12 Jun 2019 12:35:18 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote:

Seems it's easy to modify an e-bike to travel up to about 45 kph.

http://cphpost.dk/news/souped-up-ele...tial-accident-
waiting-to-happen-authority-says.html

Unskilled newbies blasting through traffic at 30 mph? Sure! What could
go wrong?

Given the amount of plastic in modern cars, it might redress the
bicyclist/motorist injury ratios.

A 250 watt motor is max legal here,but its possible to buy a 1,000 watt
overseas and ship it in. All it requires is wheel buldng skills and deep
pockets for the battery. OTOH, we can all hope self immolation is a
feature of such activities.

Professional cyclist can develop peak power of about 1200 watts in a
sprint and can reach a speed of about 66 mph. Perhaps just an
exercise program is cheaper than a souped-up e-bike :-)
--
cheers,

John B.