Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Do e-bikes ease traffic congestion? With a little help ...

Joe Wylie

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 12:25:49 +1300

...another argument against requiring registration – many regular cyclists will either pay multiple registration fees, have unregistered bikes, or sell/dump them.
I've seen this happen already, where the handy scooter as secondary transport has been traded for an e-bike to avoid having to pay two rego and WOF fees. Regarding…

Moz

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 10:52:20 +1300

I think bike owners tend to get a stable going after a while, and use them as they see fit.

True. Which is both an illustration of the relative cost of bikes (so cheap you can own more than one!), and another argument against requiring registration – many regular cyclists…

Geoff Lealand

Fri, 02 Dec 2016 09:12:44 +1300

Good info, Ben. I have a Makita folding bike, which I acquired in a charity auction run by my local Placemakers a year or so ago. It folds into a tidy package, to fit into a good sized car boot.
I tend to use it now when we go away…

Joe Wylie

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 15:14:52 +1300

Mind you some people are not happy with them ….

Golly. The English-teaching expat who told me about swipe card e-bikes being installed in the city where he was working mentioned that they wouldn't last long in NZ. Perhaps China's catching up with us, rather than the other way around.

Paul Campbell

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 12:49:13 +1300

I think the problem with public ebikes is getting them to a charger, as I understand it the public bikes in China have their electronics powered by solar cells or in-wheel generators (there’s a bunch of intrigued Shenzhen hardware hackers mentally reverse engineering them), some use your phone to unlock…

Stephen R

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 09:42:35 +1300

How about public e-bikes in China? I’ve heard that even provincial cities have installed networks of swipe card operated bikes.

I don't know about China, but we recently saw ranks of swipe-card operated e-bikes in Japan, in similar racks to the bike-share systems I saw in in Copenhagen, Gothenburg and…

Paul Campbell

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 07:09:59 +1300

there are multiple comanies doing the public bike (not ebiuke) thing, one of the latest uses bluetooth and your phone to unlock the bike and to report its location for the next user

Joe Wylie

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 23:15:26 +1300

How about public e-bikes in China? I've heard that even provincial cities have installed networks of swipe card operated bikes.

mark taslov

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 21:00:49 +1300

With that, it’s worth keeping in mind that e-bikes were widespread before there was much in the way of congestion, In the 2000s cars were encouraged primarily to hasten economic growth while the Government were simultaneously building 1000s of kilometers of subway.

Wikipedia:

China has experienced an explosive growth of…

Paul Campbell

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 18:09:47 +1300

Yeah, half of those electric bikes in Shenzhen are really moped replacements, the local government banned 2 strokes so the busy smoky mess that is the streets of Hanoi, Saigon, Taipei, etc … is clean and quiet, and look like mopeds, they also have large electric tricycle delivery guys who…

BenWilson

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 14:45:33 +1300

That was pretty much why I got the electric bike buzz back, oh, 10 years ago or so. I have a debt of gratitude to that bargain basement $300 jobby I got on TradeMe that got me back on a bike. I did about 2000km on that one then sold…

Stephen R

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 13:56:18 +1300

My gut feeling is that e-bikes create a form of user, rather than converting one.

Speaking for myself and my wife, I hadn't ridden a bicycle for 10 years before I got the e-bike (pretty much since I left Christchurch and moved to Wellington). My wife had bought a manual…

Joe Wylie

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 13:29:33 +1300

There is significant danger in this, of course.

The consequences can be tragic.

BenWilson

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 13:15:35 +1300

There are claims that many bikes are effectively “underclocked” power-wise, and can be significantly boosted simply by swapping the inexpensive controller. Naturally it would help to know what you’re doing.

Yup, and there's a whole enthusiasts industry in rewinding your engine. You can make an electric engine more powerful just…

Joe Wylie

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 12:56:35 +1300

But there is an official limit of 300W of power output.

I'm not aware of any actual testing regime for that, though.

As far as I'm aware there's no requirement for dealers to gain approval for a specific model of bike before offering it for sale. There are claims that…

BenWilson

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 12:17:25 +1300

My gut feeling is that e-bikes create a form of user, rather than converting one. By making it possible to make more discretionary bike trips for more people, that is likely to be the main outcome. If the trip was something they'd have done in a car, there is probably…

BenWilson

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 12:11:47 +1300

But there is an official limit of 300W of power output.

I'm not aware of any actual testing regime for that, though.

Russell Brown

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 12:08:40 +1300

This might have something to do with the popularity of e-bikes in certain European countries.

Russell Brown

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 13:18:24 +1300

I was jesting – having an open source software bike would let you change MAX_SPEED=20 to something more exciting…

At present, there's no limit on speed like there is in Europe. Thus, imported European e-bikes are all limited to 25km/h (at which point the assist drops out), but not local…

Russell Brown

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 13:10:29 +1300

I’m curious as to why an e-bike changes your behaviour – is that because the bike is heavier than a non-ebike, or something inherent in the fact that you have power, so don’t feel the need to duck and dive?

It's way heavier than my nippy little standard bike. And…

Rich of Observationz

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 12:31:55 +1300

I was jesting – having an open source software bike would let you change MAX_SPEED=20 to something more exciting...

Stephen R

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 09:39:43 +1300

Sounds like a great reason for their being open source and software controlled.

There is the Copenhagen wheel which is controlled from your smartphone (but isn't open source.)
It basically turns your bike into a pedal assist e-bike for around US$1000, but isn't in commercial production yet (I think it's…

Joe Wylie

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 06:53:38 +1300

Sounds like a great reason for their being open source and software controlled.

Might that lead to an extra layer of complexity? While I'm not up with the exotic $3000+ "lifestyle" bikes, the controller circuitry of your standard Chinese ebike, of which the SmartMotion appears to be typical, amounts to…

Paul Campbell

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 00:11:35 +1300

Crossing the street here today in Shenzhen I dodged more ebikes in 2 minutes than I see in NZ in a month .....

Rich of Observationz

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 20:11:48 +1300

Sounds like a great reason for their being open source and software controlled.

Stephen R

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 16:08:21 +1300

The speed differential is not that great, if at all as, aren’t e-bikes speed limited in some way?

My understanding is that they're limited in the power output before Land Transport call them a motorbike.
Mine isn't speed limited, but if I want to go faster I have to pedal…

Stephen R

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 16:06:04 +1300

What’s the interaction like between e-bikes and traditional bikes in the lanes?

In Wellington, when I cycle round the bays I pass maybe 70% of commuter bikes, and get passed by a lot of the roadies, so e-bikes aren't that exceptional as far as speed goes. Although the bike lane…

Allan MacLachlan

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 15:56:37 +1300

Only ego deflation on the part of those of us on unpowered bikes – I recall after a gruelling training ride over Scenic Drive catching up to an e-bike at an intersection on the NorthWest Cycleway. I couldn't keep up to this guy on his "sit-up-and-beg" e-bike into a biting…

Zach Bagnall

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 14:52:51 +1300

What's the interaction like between e-bikes and traditional bikes in the lanes?

When I was cycling in London last year you'd see the odd one, maybe once a week so no big deal, but they had a trial period with motorbikes allowed in the bus lanes along with bicycles which…

Allan MacLachlan

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 13:00:47 +1300

An e-bike also influences my riding behaviour – I’m less likely to want to duck and dive, more likely to want my own lane.
I'm curious as to why an e-bike changes your behaviour – is that because the bike is heavier than a non-ebike, or something inherent in the…

Hugh Wilson

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 11:45:16 +1300

I would think there is potential for e-bikes to ease congestion, but some serious scale is needed for that to occur – that said, and I don’t live in Auckland, Auckland’s traffic does have a terrible reputation and is certainly at the stage where a number of options need to…

Gregor Ronald

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 11:01:54 +1300

I bought a SmartMotion eCity two years ago when I found my 13km commute across Christchurch was becoming a bit tough, especially on the return leg against the inevitable NE wind. I did 6500km on it over the last two years at work before I retired.

Now I don't ride…

Russell Brown

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 10:33:02 +1300

One things that helps a lot in Sydney is lifts at railway stations. They put them in officially for wheelchair accessibility, but they work well for bikes that are too heavy to carry up stairs. It makes mixed-mode travel much more practical, if it’s raining, or late at night, you…

Moz

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 10:20:53 +1300

When I had a hole in my leg the eBike was great (cars are not at all convenient when you only need one for a month but don't already own one). I was hoping that my partner would take the opportunity to ride to work on it, but sadly her…

Russell Brown

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 06:27:11 +1300

Despite my reluctance to support a sponsored post I did click the link but got a 401

Fixed now. The page moved.

Eediot

Sun, 27 Nov 2016 21:30:37 +1300

Despite my reluctance to support a sponsored post I did click the link but got a 401

Public Address

Sun, 27 Nov 2016 21:30:37 +1300

Discussion from blog post.