https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-news/new-legislation-would-offer-tax-incentives-for-buying-an-e-bike/
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Sounds interesting. E-bike companies are already struggling with demand, but this would tempt me to get a RadRunner and a RadMini step-through.
They still need to do something about parking though. I'd love to hop on and go to one of hundreds of stores and restaurants within range, but none of them have suitable bike parking. TWO stores have bike racks, and those are barely adequate for a rusty 3-speed.
I agree with you it's a parking issue. Also there's a lot of bike racks that cannot accommodate fat tires. I have started marking on Google maps in my area places who have adequate bike racks.
In the area that I live they've done a really good job with bike lanes and in a 5-mi radius I can hit a lot of places restaurants grocery stores and such. My commute to work is 3.7 mi and I am fortunate to have really good bike lanes all the way there. I do not drive anymore I only use my bike so things like this are really important.
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Wish there was someway if this passes to use this on a Rad bike already purchased..meh.
I think government needs to stay out of this sort of thing.
Quote from: Veggyhed on February 10, 2021, 09:51:10 AM
I have started marking on Google maps in my area places who have adequate bike racks.
That's a brilliant idea. Hope you don't mind if I copy you!
As some have already alluded to I love what downstream impacts getting more people on ebikes might have. Namely better infrastructure and actually thinking about rules before implementing. Locally we have a brand new beautiful trail that is not busy at all and I was pretty disappointed to see they outright banned ebikes. I'm fine with speed limits, limiting to certain classes or whatever but it's not like ebikes were a problem in our smaller town. A lot of people fail to realize that many people don't travel faster than someone on a non-electric bike would, they simply travel further.
Banned? That's odd. My road bike is faster than 20 mph, but perhaps someone on the council had a bad experience. I enjoy our local parks and e-bikes are welcome, but I recently came across a group of people being rude and flying past children at 30mph in close proximity. If that continues, I can see e-bikes being banned in more places.
I'm afraid that the future will hold the battleground between e-bikes and conventional bikes on trails. There are some people who ride traditional bikes who absolutely loathe e-bikers.
I've noticed a slight ray of sunshine and hope. A couple of people who I work with you are avid bikers and opposed e-bikes have now purchased eBikes and use them as commuters. However they refuse to use them on the trails around here.
The vast majority of errands that are run in a car can be done on a bicycle and would help everyone out. I do know several people now who understand this and use bicycles instead of their cars for many things on a daily basis
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I've got a very impressive local bike path system in my town. The local council held a public vote on whether to allow eBikes on them, and people voted yes, up to Class 2.
I am an avid cyclist, and am new to eBikes. Recently replaced my vehicle with a RadRunner 1. Before I had my eBike, I had experienced a couple folks on eBikes on the bike paths. Most of them were courteous enough, but once or twice I've had someone zoom by like an a-hole.
Personally, I'm halfway into the camp of "eBikes shouldn't be allowed on rec paths", but it'll probably be down to the a-holes, like so many things are. I will continue to be extra courteous on the bike paths when on any bike, but one day, some dork will probably hurt someone and that'll be the end of it for all of us.
TBH, I kinda prefer riding the eBike on roads anyway.
Makes me wonder what the real numbers are in the country. Those who bought these bikes for commuting vs Boomers who just bought another toy. I know I fall in the latter category and what I can tell make up the majority. Even the guy on Bolton Bikes claims this makes up most of his customer base.
I bought my bike to replace my two vehicles and hence use it as a daily commuter. I've already sold one of my vehicles having a tough time parting ways with my truck.
I know six people fairly well at work who bought electric bikes just for commuting and that's in the last two years. Several of these people started off as e-bike haters and have seriously changed their tune. Especially regarding cargo bikes.
Several times a week while commuting I find myself commuting with other e-bikers. It is definitely a growing trend.
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Quote from: CG31 on February 20, 2021, 10:49:46 AM
Makes me wonder what the real numbers are in the country. Those who bought these bikes for commuting vs Boomers who just bought another toy. I know I fall in the latter category and what I can tell make up the majority. Even the guy on Bolton Bikes claims this makes up most of his customer base.
Im in the market where it will do both. As long as they keep taxing my gas higher and higher , the bike gets used more often :)
Im a boomer who bought it for a toy, but plan on using it to do errands and stuff around town. And as a commuter if i ever get to commute again.
I'm 39 (technically a millennial!) and bought it to replace my 2017 4Runner. For how little I was using the truck, I couldn't justify the cost.
After a little while with just the bike, wish I would have done it sooner.