Time to get serious about e-bikes, Colorado Springs park officials decide (how much, maintenance)

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by otowi

Cool. On a side note - rollerblades appear to be making a comeback - I noticed several people blading around Prospect Lake the other day...

Speaking of rollerblades, we redid a couple of office chairs with skateboard wheels; talk about free rolling!

[WouldLoveTo]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Speaking of rollerblades, we redid a couple of office chairs with skateboard wheels; talk about free rolling!

Link please? I need to do replace wheels on my own chair and that sounds like fun!

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo

Link please? I need to do replace wheels on my own chair and that sounds like fun!

Wife got them from Amazon, believe me, these things roll as easy as a steel ball on a sheet of glass, and they don't leave the damned black smudges that cheap office chair wheels left on our tile floors.

Back on topic, I don't think e-bikes will be a problem in parks, they don't go all that fast and serious cyclers will do those speeds and more.

[waltcolorado]

In the article a few post back, class 1 and class 2 ebikes had different access. Class1 had more access than class 2.

I own a class 2 and think there should be no discrimination between the two. Both limit power to 750 watts (about 1 hp) and 20 mph max assist speed.

The class 2 has a throttle but the class 1 does not. On a forum used by class 2 riders, there was a thread where everyone was asked how they use the throttle. Main use was to get going when at a stop light crossing a busy street. Or for a little boost when going up a steep hill instead of having to fumble with changing power settings (which is what you would do on a class 1 bike). The throttle ends up being a safety feature. Its does not make the low powered ebike into an electric motorcycle. Class 2 almost always have the motor as part of the hub so the electric motor only has one speed. The human pedal system typically has 7 gears but the motor only one gear.

Class 1 on the other hand have the electric motor driving the pedal crank so take advantage of the bikes gear range. So class 1 bikes using the same hp motor can generate more torque at the rear tire (which is more destructive on dirt trails) when a low gear is used and can achieve higher speeds when higher gears are used.

My opinion.. the class 1 bikes have the potential to be the most obnoxious to pedestrians and conventional bike riders and more destructive on dirt trails. I suppose the manufactures of class 1 bikes have done a better job lobbying and painting having the throttle as making the bikes into more motorcycles. The throttle is much more of a safety feature than anything.

Regardless.. I think the conventional uses of all the recreational paths are going to find all ebikes dangerous and annoying especially as numbers are increasing. And ebikes are definitely getting sold now.

[WouldLoveTo]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Wife got them from Amazon, believe me, these things roll as easy as a steel ball on a sheet of glass, and they don't leave the damned black smudges that cheap office chair wheels left on our tile floors.

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Wife got them from Amazon, believe me, these things roll as easy as a steel ball on a sheet of glass, and they don't leave the damned black smudges that cheap office chair wheels left on our tile floors.

Thanks! Sorry that I forgot to do an on-topic part of my post.

Originally Posted by waltcolorado

My opinion.. the class 1 bikes have the potential to be the most obnoxious to pedestrians and conventional bike riders and more destructive on dirt trails. I suppose the manufactures of class 1 bikes have done a better job lobbying and painting having the throttle as making the bikes into more motorcycles. The throttle is much more of a safety feature than anything.

Regardless.. I think the conventional uses of all the recreational paths are going to find all ebikes dangerous and annoying especially as numbers are increasing. And ebikes are definitely getting sold now.

I'm out east and don't have any skin in your issue, but it is an issue for us as well. I'm an avid mountain and road biker. I've been heavy into these sports for nearly 20 years and have spent many hours doing trail maintenance and bringing new riders into the sport.

Once covid hit and we went into lockdown, our trail systems were completely overrun and not in a good way. Best way to describe it is "The people on the trail systems have no idea how to actually be outdoors". Worst thing is they are still outdoors, and still haven't figured it out. They have no trail etiquette, no anything. They'd drive cars on trails, not pay attention, block trails, throw trash etc.

These are the people I see most likely to buy an ebike and cause more issues. And out here, they are not legal in many places and many of the shops selling them are being pretty evasive about that point.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo

... I'm out east ...

Wife and I worked in / around DC for many years. Those DC bike couriers are amazingly fast, daring and qualify for kamikaze pay.

[Vision67]

E-bike 101: What to know as electric cycling moves to Colorado Springs trails

https://gazette.com/life/e-bike-101-...16ae127b7.html

"If it wasn’t already, the e-bike debate is officially on in Colorado Springs.

That’s after the parks department this month announced a year-long pilot program expanding e-bike access to trails. Beginning May 31, the department will begin observing and deciding the long-term future of charged-up rides in cherished parks and open spaces.

Here’s an e-bike 101, filling you in on the technology, the trends and some finer points of debate:

Where did e-bikes come from?
A United States patent filed in 1895 illustrated a “hub motor” in the rear wheel and a battery attached to the triangle frame — looking very much like today’s e-bikes. Concepts came earlier in France. While the automobile went on to captivate Americans, those European e-bike ideas went from paper to street.

Modern power controls entered the scene in the 1990s. In 1997, The New York Times profiled an American effort to popularize e-bikes, with car icon Lee Iacocca partnering with Unique Mobility, a Denver area company specializing in electric motors.

But it was Japanese companies like Yamaha that became early leaders in worldwide e-bike production, which ramped up in the early 2000s.

How popular are they?
Read a Forbes headline in 2020: “E-Bikes Are The Hottest Thing On 2 Wheels.”

In recent years, e-bikes have been identified as the fastest-growing segment of the cycling industry.

. . . . .

[abcdefg567]

My concern is that they won't stay on dedicated trails and then would pose a hazard for everyone. There's several trails clearly marked hikers only, no bikes...and they're just filled with bikes regardless.

Not to be the, "In Denver," person...but I have never experienced such blatant disregard for signage at trails until we moved here. There was one relatively flat area - Castle Ruins park maybe, that has downhill mountain bike trails and hiking areas that are mostly flat and wide dirt rails. Never did I see someone riding a bike on them.

I know someone who was very injured by an e-bike and took months to recover after broken bones and surgery - they can be much heavier. I don't want one crashing in to myself or my kids.

[Phil P]

It's really more of a simply gross overcrowding of trails and lack of foresight on the state of Colorado for not building more and better trails than it is anything to do with e vs non e bikes. That's the root of the problem, overuse, not type of use.

I was talking to a lady who worked with the Pike Forest division, she said their headcount went from something like 40 in 1990 to 15 before she retired recently. So we're cost cutting in the recreation department (cause low taxes or something) and pummeling people into the area who mainly moved specifically for outdoor rec, then wondering why we have problems? All the beef that's had about bike trails is mirrored on dirt bike / ATV trails, they've just got so overused with COVID especially. And it's not like what we have is all there is, there's tons of land to build trails, they could add more in Black Forest or all of the Rampart Range area, but with 15 foresters, how is that going to happen?

Out here in Atlanta, the parks and trails are in much better shape than Colorado ones, they have dedicated and frequently marked separate bike and hiking paths, direction markers to prevent head ons, paved routes for the mindless joggers, big paths and little paths... They just put more investment into it; there's no red rocks as a focal point, but the actual park experience is much better.

About classes though, I've never once been stopped and asked if my bike is class 3, that doesn't happen unless you're in some sort of pedestrian zoo on the 4th of july or something.

[Mike from back east]

Over the 11 years we lived in COLO SPGS I had interactions with the planners down at the Parks board. It isn't for lack of desire on their part to build the parks the city needs, it's a huge lack of funding which gets me back to TABOR as the root of all evil. Good parks make for a civilized city but the anti-tax crowd still has a majority in the city and until that changes there will precious little done 'for the people.'