this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023

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Sustainability

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It's Time For Everyone to Stop Ignoring E-Bikes (www.treehugger.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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According to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 60% of trips are less than six miles, and three-quarters of all trips are less than 10 miles. We have noted before that this is the fastest ride to zero-carbon; almost anyone can ride an e-bike for six miles under almost any conditions. If there were safe places to ride and secure places to park, then millions of car trips could be avoided, and millions of cars taken off the road. If only e-bikes weren't totally ignored.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Articles usually fail to mention that e-bikes are about 3x more energy efficient than acoustic bikes as well, making them even more attractive from an energy standpoint, as well as more efficient than almost all public transportation. Energy efficiency in transport - Wikipedia

Human powered cycling is further impaired by the ~10 calories of fossil fuel in each calorie we eat, and then burn, on the bike or walking. 10 Calories in, 1 Calorie Out - The Energy We Spend on Food This puts the human cyclist at up to a ~30x energy efficiency disadvantage relative to an e-bike, and that's a big deal - especially if we power up our bike's incredibly low energy needs from low gCO2/kWh electrical sources. Humans are just really, really bad at work. I like bikes and always have, but I'm certainly a pretty big evangelist of the e-bike!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The comparison does make sense but it fails to account for the fact that the body needs exercise and that a certain amount of calories will be consumed by the body daily no matter if an e-bike is used or not.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Absolutely, but BMR is not taken into account for transportation efficiency calculations for good reason I think, they are "simple" leveled calculations of how much energy is used per passenger per distance for transportation energy comparison purposes, so yes we still have the same BMR energy use simply to exist no matter what transport system we use, or even if we just stay home.

The need for exercise is usually also not factored in to efficiency calculations either, but it's one of the reasons I like all bikes, and e-bikes would certainly help more people get more daily intensity minutes than they otherwise might get using a more sedentary mode. It's a win-win! Even as you age or if you are relatively unfit, you can still cycle 7 days a week at commute speeds, for commute distances, and never push yourself into an over training scenario, which is a pretty awesome advantage. I'm a long time rural cyclist, and with the greater average distances, only the most well-trained athletes might be able to do the distances required at average speeds sufficient to make it practical on a daily basis otherwise.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Did you ever heard about permaculture ? The real problem is the way we grow food, especially monoculture.
This is not the way nature run things.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Yes! I even considered attending a full PDC at one point as I'm a gardener and a farmer and I was very intrigued by the concept when I learned about it. The way we grow food is very much a problem, that is a big part of the argument that Michael Pollan makes in his books and lectures, he's where that 10:1 calorie ratio comes from. Changing the food system to be sustainable without fossil fuels while feeding billions will be a monumental task.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I'd like to use an eBike, I'm central enough in a city that I could get a lot of places with it, but my main concern is that it would be stolen here. Bike theft of ordinary bikes is already bad enough, having a bike worth $1k+ stolen would be devastating, and I'm sure it would get targeted even with a good u-lock.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Two friends have them. E-bikes are great. But I have no way to buy them. Where are they sold? Are there any consumer reviews?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Edit: my reply to a commend didn't go where I expected.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Start at your local bike shop (LBS). Most shops have some. Ask your friends about theirs.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Ask your two friends where they got theirs and if they would recommend the model they bought.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

2 miles to the grocery store. No way I would ride a bike along that road. Alternative path is 5 miles up and down rolling hills, also a narrow road.

E-bikes aren't being ignored; they are being excluded by the current infrastructure.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

People are being ignore by infrastructure planning. There are very few places where urban design is not car-centric.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

An e-bike would help with the hills but yes, infrastructure is critical.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Why on earth is the commenting box all the way to the bottom?

Anyway...

eBikes. <--- Easier to steal than a eKickScooter or eScooter for short. Why? I can fold mine and hide it inside the gym, I cannot go inside the gym with an eBike.

I live in a city with very high bike robbery figures. Purchasing an eBike would be an excellent way to invest in someone else's comfort. I'll be owning it for 5-full minutes probably before it gets stolen and I never see it again.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

It's even time for a lot of people to return to classical bikes. No polluting batteries needed for small distances.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

How do you secure ebikes in a parking lot? There are zero public bike racks where I live

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Lock it to anything immovable with a good chain. Also, ask your city council for public bike racks as a norm.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Most EU ebikes are pedal-assist only, though easily modded.
https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/electric-bike-laws/

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's time to stop requiring drivers licenses for e-bikes. Driving a car should not be a requirement to ride an e-bike.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

where is that a requirement? The US?

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