E-bikes designed for Pittsburgh

[Copanut]

Yet many older people ride unassisted bicycles everyday.

Yes, they do. And I used to play hoops 4 days a week. Eventually, Mother Nature wins.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by stburr91

I don't agree with that, the biggest deterrent to cycling, is the lack of safety, not an unwillingness to cycle. In regards to safety, e-bikes are no different than bicycles, and would require the same infrastructure as bicycles.

I don't think that implies that e-bikes substitute for unassisted bikes. It just implies that perceived safety will operate as a constraint on both.

By the way, decent factory e-bikes are typically considerably more expensive than decent unassisted bikes, and these seem to be following that model. That's part of why I doubt that e-bikes will really substitute for unassisted bikes--the pricing is consistent with two different markets.

So from an environmental perspective, having more people to ride e-bikes, isn't any different than having more people ride Segways, rather than walk.

Note that kind of switching didn't happen much either, for similar reasons--Segways cost a lot of money compared to just walking.

There is no such thing as free energy, not from a cost, or environmental standpoint.

That's true, including human-provided energy (which comes from food, which is not costless to produce).

But wall-chargeable electric vehicles have an advantage over ICE vehicles in that electricity generation can be more quickly switched to lower-cost energy sources.

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Originally Posted by Impala26

Criticism and cynicism from MGM? What a surprise!

We should be doing everything we can to make alternative transport EASIER, not more difficult in this era of increasing fuel prices and a desire to decrease fossil fuel use.

INB4 "It's a vehicle on the road too." No way should a bike be subject to the same fees as 3000 to 6000 pound vehicles. If everyone rode bikes, you'd basically never even SEE potholes. I could compromise and say a new form of registration for bikes and such with a negligible fee or none, but not the same $70 ish fee as typical vehicles.

Haha what? A regular car registration is $36 a year and a motorcycle is $18.

[SammyKhalifa]

Originally Posted by stburr91

I don't agree with that, the biggest deterrent to cycling, is the lack of safety, not an unwillingness to cycle. In regards to safety, e-bikes are no different than bicycles, and would require the same infrastructure as bicycles. It's been proven all over the world, that if you improve safety for cyclist, more people will cycle. E-bikes would be more of a replacement for bicycles.

So from an environmental perspective, having more people to ride e-bikes, isn't any different than having more people ride Segways, rather than walk.




Yet many older people ride unassisted bicycles everyday.




There is no such thing as free energy, not from a cost, or environmental standpoint.

I'm sure more people would commute to work downtown from the Southside Slopes (for example) in a bike like this, especially if they have to go to work in suits. Beats them being in cars.

I see these as having a different purpose than recreational bicycles.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by stburr91

I think it's a bit sad to see one of the more environmentally friendly modes of transportation turned into something that you plug in. Not that this concept is in any way new, this is just adding bigger and bigger motors and batteries onto a bicycle.

It's sort of a trade-off. The energy to move a rider and bicycle, even with motor and battery is far less than a car. And the fact that it is peddle-assist with regenerative braking makes them even more eco-friendly. Considering Pittsburgh's hills, a motor to assist certain legs of a journey is a big plus.

They didn't discuss much about its construction but carbon fiber should save weight if not yet used. And a tubeless tire would also be a big help. Maybe it's impractical, but a removable battery might be good if you can leave one at home to recharge. And replacing an old one would be a snap.

With all the existing electric bicycles, hopefully they've gotten their patents issues worked out. And too bad the R&D will be done in Israel. You'd think CMU would be ideal.

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Carbon fiber is getting more expensive every day

[BrianTH]

Saw one cruising in Squirrel Hill--looked like fun.

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by MeinGlanzendMotorrad

Haha what? A regular car registration is $36 a year and a motorcycle is $18.

Alright, I've honestly never owned my own car, so I didn't know the exact figures off-hand. I'm pretty sure I came up with the number as the proposed higher registration fee. Irregardless, you proved my point in that there's no way it's justified to have an $18 registration fee for a ~50 lb. E-bike if it only costs $36 for a ~6000 lb. SUV.

A better question might be, would it be legal to ride on the bike trails?

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

$18 a year is nothing for a registration fee. That's a buck fifty a month.