Woman stranded for 30 hours in desert after e-bike stops working on remote trail | OutThere Colorado
Woman stranded for 30 hours in desert after e-bike stops working on remote trail | OutThere Colorado
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... she had to push it? She couldn't pedal it?
Maybe my ebike is comparatively light, but I can't imagine being unable to pedal it when it's dead.
I have an e-bike I use for commuting and groceries.
It’s very very heavy when not powered and it has a ton of drag (because of the regenerative braking). It’s brutal to pedal without assist even though I’m an avid cyclist who spends most of my time on non-e-bikes.
Depending on the kind of bike it was - and her level of fitness - there could be multiple problems or issues that resulted in her being stranded.
There’s an easy answer here, that e-bikes used in the outback/wilderness should have adequate bail-out gearing.
Regen braking shouldn't be on all the time though, that sounds odd.
Definitely heavy enough that even with gears it can be a lot to pedal without assist, I can say from personal experience with a ~70 lb first-gen RadCity
Regen isn’t on all the time, but the regen gearing causes very high drag. It’s a side effect of how the motor is designed. In order to cruise as if it could freewheel with no drag, the motor controller has to feed it a low amount of power when not pedalling. About 20W-30W depending on the speed.
But the motor is also much larger than most e-bike motors (1200W continuous with a much higher peak) - additionally the battery is double the size of most e-bike batteries (also ~1200W/hr).
So in addition to the drag - lots of extra weight.
Oh I see, is that a permanent magnet motor that's ultimately responsible for the drag?
That highlights a few potential problems with e-bikes.
Some are "single-speed" with motor assist. But without the motor, single-speed would be a nightmare for someone who doesn't have the leg strength.
And it's unclear what model she had. Some are in excess of 60lbs (+whatever gear you bring), which would also be very challenging to ride if you aren't used to it.
We don't know the fitness of the rider, either (although, the article says she pushed the thing 20 miles!). Some people choose e-bikes because they don't have the physical ability to pedal, so who knows?
Granted, anyone going on a remote ride that far out into the wilderness really needs to have a plan a, b, and c. At the very least, a satellite emergency device to call for help, or an ebike that can function without power.
Remember the old two stroke pedal mopeds of the 1970s and early 80s? The only reason they had pedals at all was to comply with laws allowing "motorized cycles." They were absolutely not usable by pedaling alone. Not only were they extremely heavy, the crank arms were waaaaay too short.
It wouldn't surprise me at all if some ebikes were being manufactured in a similar way, complying with regulations by having "functional" pedals (which would allow you to pedal in order to activate or assist the electric drivetrain but not operate the bike on pedal alone), but being low-speed electric motorcycles for all practical purposes.
I know that some most definitely do have pedals simply for compliance, but they are utterly useless to move the bike. Those e-bikes tend to look like vespas or faux motorcycles.
But I wish they mentioned the model here. I'd find it surprising if an e-mountain bike couldn't be moved through human power alone... but an e-dirt bike or something large that pretends to be an "e-bike", yeah, you aren't going to move that using pedals.
This absolutely reeks of someone paying for a story to drive support to more heavily regulate ebikes
My ebike is heavy as shit (60-80lbs depending on the gear that's on it) and geared for mountain biking. I've had it die in the middle of a valley. I've had it die 60 miles from home on an admittedly much flatter trail. I've had ittrip the safety overheat while going uphill.
I've never not been able to pedal.
Unless the chain breaks (and even then, I have a chain tool and have cut out all my gears to make it single speed in an emergency before) Walking it may be less tiring minute-to-minute, but you'll regret not having the speed of the bike.
Also, protip: if you think you might need more than 30-60 miles of assistance, get a second battery if you don't think you can pedal it.
Also, my requirement for calling something an ebike is the ability to y'know... Be a bicycle. Otherwise it's an electric scooter/motorcycle depending on motor power. So if it's one of those, then sure you have to push it. But that's on you for not having a backup power plan. I've never met a dirt biker in the middle of nowhere that didn't have a gas can somewhere on the bike.
bike in picture would have gears, and it should be an easy ride in lowest gear. Pushing up big hills excepted.
She could also abandon it somewhere, get help, and return some time later.