8 comments

OT - E-bikes

Jul 3, 2021, 11:15 PM

The view from the other side of the room

I’ve always liked bicycles, ever since Dad brought home a couple garage sale finds for my brother and me when we were about 8 or 9. My 1st job ever, buttering bread at the school cafeteria bought me a brand new 3-speed Sears’s bike when I was 12. Mountain biking was my favorite fun during my 30’s, early 40’s. So after many months of (Covid) boredom, when (many of us) we got the stimulus money, we sprung for a couple of RAD City E-bikes.

What a gas (electrons, actually) to buzz around at twice the speed with regular biking effort. Anyone else join the E-bike parade?

comments (8)

shailynn4 years ago

Buttering bread at school? Had to laugh.

Not yet but they do sound cool. I also know they aren’t cheap. I know someone who bought one recently and I think he dropped a little over 5k for his bike. He often takes a “rail trail” which is about 30 miles round trip a few times a week.

gSteph4 years ago

Buttering bread . .

Yep, 1st job, $1 a week, with all the cinnamon raisin bread I and the other kid could eat . .

aren't cheep . . 5K should buy a really good bike, paid 1,600 each for ours, that's about the price they get worthwhile. Once you program around the 20mph limit they'll go about 25, good for

gSteph4 years ago

a lot of fun

jackslash4 years ago

I do a lot of biking. I've thought about buying an e-bike, but I bike for the exercise. An e-bike kind of defeats that purpose.

gSteph4 years ago

I used to think that. Now I just go farther on a ride. You can set the power assist to -0-.

CJKent_band4 years ago

@gSteph

I tried an electric bicycle in San Francisco a couple of years ago when they started the undocked service, because I saw them in the street, all you had to do was download the app and scan it and you could drop it anyplace.

At the time I just wanted to check the e-bike out and it was a nice help on the hills of San Francisco.

The think about it is that you have to be aware that they start really fast and are faster than your normal pedaling and if you are not careful you can have a bad accident.

I remember reading about the obnoxious British Judge from American Idol Simon Cowell having a e-bike accident, breaking his back, when he was trying the bike in the courtyard of his house.

It I were to get one, I saw one from the Fatherland, The Ruffian, it is a high-end German electric bike.

Prices start at $6,500 (Six Thousand FIVE hundred 00/100 Dollars).

tuscl.net

It has peak range of 90 km (56 mi) and a 3.5-hour charge time, and the system will cut out at 20 mph (32 km/h) in North America.

Just remember to be careful out there.

shailynn4 years ago

^^^ your brother needs to find housing before he can upgrade his purple huffy bike.

gSteph4 years ago

be careful out there

Yeah, traveling at faster speeds could make for a more energetic accident, but there's safety in the available power.

Most danger while bicycling? Crossing the street or going through an intersection. With an e-bike you crank the throttle and zip, you're through the danger zone quickly.