Go Electric: Bike Commuting Made Easy

Peak Moment 40: Catch Sally Lovell's enthusiasm for her electric-assist bicycle. Her comprehensive primer covers bicycle types, battery recharging, practices and products for security, inclement weather, and road safety. Gotta love that trailer for hauling stuff!

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• electric
• bike
• bicycle
• commuting
• energy

[rhizomaticon]

For those who 'would like to make that effort to START getting in shape' there are plenty of flat roads and trails to get started on. I see no elderly, arthritic, or injured people in this video. It is a video about able-bodied people looking for an easy alternative by still continuing to using energy exterior to themselves to power them around, period. What an amazing psychological ruse you play with yourselves to dream up these hypothetical scenarios to justify laziness.

[peakmoment]

We are all in different places about exercise. This video is about one person's choice, not intended to cover others' situations. If Sally gets more exercise and is healthier because the electric-ASSIST bike opens possibilities -- she wins.

Where I live in the foothills, flat non-gravel roads are a long, long way off and with many hills of steep up and down. Electric assist could help me get there.

[XCritonX]

Getting older heaver and out of shape. The solution: sitting on a e-bike. Wouldn't it be better to just use a normal bike and get in shape?

[peakmoment]

Sally said she got this electric-assist bike so she could ride it like a normal bike (to help get in shape), but have the electric-assist when she really needed it. She knew herself well enough to realize a pedal-only bike would be too much work and she wouldn't utilize it.

[twowheels25]

i live in a state that has some 230 days of overcast ,rain possible any day,plus winter and days of heavy wind.plus no sidewalks or bike lanes,in short you will die.i know because iv been hit by cars.i will never bike commute.

[peakmoment]

There's no one right answer for anything. Many communities will need to get reconstructed to make it safe for bikes and pedestrians. We probably won't bike commute, either, because it's a serious uphill downhill uphill downhill on gravel roads for 6 miles to town. Electric would help, a trike would be better, with lots of flags and lights. I think a more workable solution will be a car-share or jitney.

[liquidfire9]

PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS!

Screwing anything into a helmet compromises the integrity of the helmet and puts you (the helmet-wearer) at greater risk.

Bicycle helmets are designed to be single-use: they are made of closed-cell foam that shatters and breaks on impact to dissipate energy. If you've already shattered that foam with a screw (pointing straight towards your head, no less!), you've reduced the crash-protecting abilities of that helmet significantly.

Don't screw stuff into helmets!!!

[dkw12002]

If the bike goes 20 mph, that is fast enough for city streets and staying in the lane for some time. Big trucks are much slower and nobody seems to complain about them, so for short distances, people can get used to following a bicycle too. I rode a 50 cc scooter and often that would slow down to below 20 mph too, so I think the electric bike might operate like the small gas scooters. Wish I know how easy it would be to get up this steep hill by my house using the e-bike. I don't want to pedal.

[velodudect]

@rhizomaticon Really? I am an elite amatuer road cyclist and use an electric bike for most commuting because training doesn't fit in with commuting for me. What does that make me? I'd say it makes me similar to most people who don't want to be covered in sweat getting to work, eating constantly all day, lugging 8mph up hills, spending excessive time commuting. Dude, seriously? Hating on ebikes? I can only image what you think of 90% of America who drives a car. It's about senseable commuting.

[lovsoup]

@tbarzso Thanks for sharing... well, for my safety when I ride a bike here in Phoenix Metro I will still use the sidewalk. A cop can arrest me and I will have good reason. Stupid law banning bikes from sidewalks... let's just force people into more dangerous situations why don't we.

[tbarzso]

@lovsoup FYI, bicycle laws in Phoenix are very clear; Bicycles are vehicles that must adhere to the same laws as cars. They must ride in the street or provided bicycle lane, and cars are to give them three feet of clearance. It is against the law for a bicycle to be operated on sidewalks here in Phoenix, unless there is no way that vehicles can provide that 3 foot clearance. Look it up in AZ statutes ARS 28-735 and 28-815.

[lovsoup]

Bikers need to use sidewalks or don't ride. PERIOD. many riders i see ride two to a bike lane on road causing traffic hazard all becuz of Ego. Here in Phoenix too many bikers who don't know the laws and cut cars off causing more hazards going clear cut across intersections etc...

[driftingspirit42431]

What happens if the battery completely drains? Can you still ride it on just pedal power?

[RodMacPherson]

Agreed. that's what 2-part epoxy is for.

[RodMacPherson]

E-bike commuting is fun.

[Oilbeefooked]

ebikes could help tremendously in getting folks to go car-less or car-light. Why don't we have the same investment in developing them as we do for e-cars? I would not buy a Nissan Leaf for $40,000 but I'd buy a really good reliable ebike for $1,000 and forget about gas or e-cars altogether.

[WhiteGravey]

@rhizomaticon well said tobad your comment is hidden