No Stupid Questions @lemmy.world ericbomb @lemmy.world 1y ago

Bike Riders of lemmy, you okay with me riding my eScooter in the bike lane?

The sidewalks are really dangerous where I am, where they are super uneven, have "artistic" curves, and trees that are overhanging really low so like will hit my body.

I go max 15 MPH on my escooter and if I hear a ding ding I jump onto the sidewalk and go a bit slower until you guys pass, since I'm slower and can dismount easier it only makes sense for me to make room. I figure as long as I make room it "shouldn't" be a problem.

But just wondering if there are any bike riders that are just like shaking their fist at escooter riders.

EDIT: USA!

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Reading the comments I think I’m in the minority but you did ask so I’ll be candid and honest. I’ll also try my best to be respectful.

E-bikes and e-scooters drive me nuts. They can definitely be an annoyance, and sometimes a safety concern in bike lanes due to the fact that most riders of these electric machines are new to riding on the road, but that’s not even what makes me upset.

I just don’t get why people don’t invest in a good, correctly fitted bicycle. They are cheaper (often by an order of magnitude or two), easy to maintain, keep you healthy, use standardized, readily available parts, will never go obsolete, don’t need a charger, don’t contribute to e-waste, and are completely ubiquitous. I just don’t get why people don’t ride bikes. They are so amazing! Ever since I was a kid I have been completely obsessed, and now well into my thirties I am still a total nerd about bikes. I don’t think there is anything better than a good bike ride.

The part that confuses me the most about e-bikes is the serviceability. Who is fixing these things? All of the bike mechanic/nerd friends of mine won’t touch them with a 10 foot pole. Do bike mechanics now have to familiarize themselves with high voltage lithium ion batteries? Is there a standard for these batteries? If a manufacturer decides to go proprietary, and then decide to stop making e-bikes, or goes bankrupt, is your e-bike now e-waste? The whole thing makes me confused as to why we tried to fix a problem that was not a problem. Bikes just work.

I think a lot of people have bad experiences riding bikes because their last experience was with an uncomfortable, poorly sized, heavy bike. But the feeling of riding a light, correctly sized, comfortable bike is truly divine. In my opinion it’s on par with good sex.

BTW - of course there is a good reason for some seniors or people with disabilities to use something like this, but that is not the target that I am referring to.

So when I see an e-bike or an e-scooter I get upset on principle. And then when they do something dangerous like speed past me or ride the wrong direction in a bike lane I become infuriated. But maybe the world is changing and I should to. But I tell you what I am not ready for bikes to be replaced with e-bikes.
- Had a good bike. It was in my bike shed pretty much unused for years. Bought my first e-bike some years ago and sold my car some time ago after not using it.
  
  I live in Finland close to city centre with a shopping center nearby, so e-bike covers most of my needs. Occasionally I need to rent a car or loan one from a friend. I ride my e-bike throughout the year. Just need to replace the tires with studded tires for winter and drive a bit more carefully when there is ice/snow. I am pretty sure my e-bike I actually keeps me in better shape than the good regular bike I had, that I kept in the shed.
  
  9km (6miles) to city center to the office, and it takes me 21min to get there on an e-bike (could not be arsed to commute with regular bike as there are quite a few ascends and descends). Bus 31min and car would be around that as well.
  
  Service is not a problem either. Any bike shop fixes them here at least and there are specialized shops for e-bikes as well if you have something more exotic or think you need a specialized one. Most of the bikes here are fitted with Bosch or Shimano systems anyway so there is not much need for specializing.
  
  Granted, I am closer to a senior than a teenager.
  
  To the OP: We have a ton of e-scooters here. Both rental ones (multiple operators) and private ones and I do not mind them on a bike lane. We both are limited to 25kmh (15mph) assist, but I do go a bit faster as I can still pedal where they can not. Infact, it is also the law that they need to use bike lane if one is available. They are not to use sidewalk. They are analoguous to bikes in our road law.
  
  Bigger problem than scooters on the bike lane are the pedestrians on the bike lane in the city centre at least. People walking with their noses on their cell phones not paying attention to the divider and just walking in the middle of the very well marked bike lanes.
- A small point but a legit one. I have two e-scooters and I like them a lot. One point on cost, the cheaper one was around $700 and is a phenomenal commuter. The other one is still a commuter, but with more powerful motors for my very hilly area. That one was around $1400. There are mid ranges bikes (in the total scale of bikes) that cost what both my scooters do together.
  
  In this way, e-bikes and e-scooters should be seen very differently imo.
  
  My daily driver bicycle cost $150CAD, is older than I am, and I have replaced almost all of the out-of-date parts for modern parts for a few more hundred bucks. All well under $500CAD, including my Honjo fenders. A lot of the parts I got for free or a few bucks at my local community bike shop.
  
  Any bicycle more than $1500 is for high performance or enthusiast riding and the average commuter has no need to consider purchasing that. I also own a Marinoni (hand built in Montreal by an Italian world renowned frame builder) with full Campagnolo Record (read: top spec) components and it cost $2500 CAD. Sure, there are bikes worth more than that, and for good reason, (my pro-cyclist friend rides a $12000 bike) but if you’re not competitive (or a dentist) there is no point.
  
  My point being that $500 is more than enough to get you a very nice bike, as long as you are willing to buy used and put some TLC into it.
  
  What I'm saying is that $500 is enough to get you a brand new e-scooter that will go similar-to-bike speeds with no deal hunting, no mods, and a warranty. They're also foldable, portable on to most public trans (inside) or into "the office", and have virtually no maintenance.
  
  No hate on bikes. I have a couple of very nice bikes (not as nice as that Marinoni to be fair). But let's not act like you're reliability getting places for <$500. And even if you do, not everyone can. Solutions need to be repeatable.
  
  Edit: also to be fair, I am talking $500 USD. But if you go with a used scooter here you could probably do around $500 CAD equivalent.

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