I live in Chicago.
I’m not gonna say there’s no reason to have a car, but I see no reason for the average Chicagoan to own a car.
The CTA is actually pretty reliable overall The streets are comparatively bikeable The Divvy System (bike share) is well layer out.
Make America Multimodal Again. This. Shit. Works.
E-bikes are probably around 100 times more economical than e-cars so it makes sense that they are much more impactful simply because so many more people can afford them.
The raw electricity usage is ~25 times lower for E-Bikes. And that is not counting in the 2 ton weight difference with all this steel, battery cells, electronics etc.
The lower weight and size also has significant external benefits, because roads need less maintenance and don’t need to be as big (that means less taxes for the owning classes in the back).
I’d imagine it’s quite a bit fewer tire micro-plastics too.
we talking about the “fourth power law” (damage to roadway is weight to the power of 4)?
100 is a bit much, a good ebike can cost several thousands. IMHO the main driver for adoption is the availability of dedicated infrastructure. I can afford an EV but chose to use a bike because the infrastructure is excellent where I live and it allows me to avoid traffic and congestion.
Maybe its a bit much but as i said in the other reply, you need:
- a parking space
- insurance
- maintainance
- eventually very costly battery replacement
All of these are either not necessaey or muuuch cheaper for bikes. These are also recurring costs that together could pay for a whole new e bike every few months.
You get about 150 E-bikes out of the cells used for a car
Heavily depends on the car and ebike. I’ve seen ebikes rocking over 1Kwh and cars closer to 40Kwh.
Yeah and a motorcycle is almost as heavy as a car… if you compare a Honda Goldwing (379 kg) to a Citroën 2CV (475 kg).
I didn’t say anything useful, but we sure cherry-picked ourselves out of the general statement that cars 5-10 times heavier than motorcycles!
I love my electric unicycle
How long did it take for you to get half-decent with it? I have little to no balance, I can’t even rollerblade or ice skate, you think it’s worth trying to learn?
It seems so practical which is why I wanna keep trying to learn.
I won’t lie to you, the learning curve can be steep at first. It took me two to three weeks of practicing a half hour to an hour almost every day before I got it. Like you, I have no experience roller blading or ice skating.
The journey from starting to staying on it for more than five seconds is the longest part, from that to effortlessly flying down the street is much faster.
It’s like learning to ride a bike but you didn’t do your falling when you were a little kid. And you will fall. Always ride with at least a helmet, wrist guards, and knee pads. And if you’re gonna ride anywhere cars can get to you, that helmet should be an ECE 22.06 rated motorcycle helmet.
All that said, I still think it’s worth it. It’s my main mode of transportation, it’s very practical and fun, and at this point riding is second nature to me.
I would recommend looking for a used entry level EUC on craigslist or something first rather than going for the biggest, fastest wheel right away.
Thanks for the response! Mind answering a noob question? Like where did you practice, an empty parking lot or…? Cuz even with helmet and gear, if you did fall, was it OK?
Yeah, an empty parking lot. You might think a field of grass would be better, but in my experience the unevenness of the ground makes it harder to learn more than the softness boosts confidence.
Your falls when learning in the parking lot will be a lot more stumbling and dropping the wheel than anything serious. The wrist guards are especially important because most people’s reflex when falling is to catch themselves with their hands, and that can be a problem even at low speeds without guards. You will also bang your ankles on the pedals, which is painful but not seriously damaging.
First, work on just controlling the wheel with one foot while standing on the ground with the other. Roll it back and forth, get a bit of a feel for how it moves.
You’re going to want to try and hold onto something when you first try to get both feet on the wheel. In my opinion, this is a dead end and doesn’t really help.
Get out away from obstacles and work on stepping your second foot up. The movement you should be going for is a single smooth unhurried step while leaning slightly forward, don’t try to rush. This part can take a while and can tire you out more than you’d expect. It’s okay to let the wheel fall (that’s part of why a cheaper, lighter secondhand wheel is ideal for learning), and it’s okay to take breaks. Getting frustrated doesn’t improve balance or smoothness.
When you manage to get both feet on the pedals, keep your knees bent slightly, your back straight, and your eyes up. Especially at first your balance, and the wheel responding to your balance, will tend to go where you’re looking. Look at the ground, you’ll go to the ground. Look forward, you’ll go forward.
I’ve honestly been considering giving up my car for an electric scooter for the summer - my wife will keep her car, so we can still go to places with the family, but I don’t need a car for my work commute. At the same time, I’m too lazy to wake up early enough to walk.
Helps that I live in a medium sized European town. Escooters and bikes are very viable - and you can rent them for a low fee too, from multiple providers (I do wish they didn’t each require their own app, but of course they do).
Yeah households don’t really need two cars, drop it down to one.
Electric bikes have become really popular and common here in Denmark. I only have around 5km to work, so no need for an electric one, but if I had perhaps 20km to work, I’d buy an electric bicycle instantly.
I have 30km to work and it’s along high speed roads. Electric bike is unsuitable and will eat about an hour each way. With the shifts I do I can’t compromise my precious home hours.
Some people need traditional cars and I’m one of them. I won’t share my job but before you say I should move job I really can’t lol.
I’m not saying it’s the optimal solution for everyone, nothing is.
Redesigning cities to be circular with frequent public transports around and in between the circles would be optimal
