I still think the most under-reported, most holy shit tech story of the last 5+ years is how good e-bikes have gotten and how much more affordable a decent e-bike has become.
E-cars and trucks are a nice change but mostly meh. E-bikes, tho? They are magic.
They deserve subsidies and way more press attention.
@ryansingel@mekkaokereke I am significantly mobility impaired and will be clearing over 1000 ebike miles in my first year as an owner. I hadn’t even realized fully the depth of my disability-induced depression until my emotional support vehicle entered my life.
@donaldball@ryansingel@mekkaokereke For a relative with chronic fatigue syndrome, her e-bike represents freedom and gives her the ability to live on her own.
@ryansingel they're also really repairable compared to cars! Most of the parts are extremely generic bike parts (wheels, tires, chains). Even the batteries are easily removable and sold by the manufacturers
@ryansingel in the classic Clayton Christensen disruptive innovation pattern, ebikes fit perfectly. Electric cars are a sustaining innovation compared to petrol cars; ebikes are the disruption that starts out worse and cheaper and displaces from beneath. Cargo ebikes are the next iteration that makes it clearer.
@paninid@KevinMarks@ryansingel THIS!!! I've been saying this a lot!!!
One thing that really irks me is, Vietnam used to have streetcars and auto rickshaws, but they got rid of all of them and now the streets are filled with loud ass motorcycles
On the one hand, you want to let up a ragged cheer and celebrate.
On the other hand: my heart constricts when I think of all those climate heroes, let loose on American streets built for car supremacy. The number of traffic deaths have shot up in recent years. (And also nobody talks about the number of traffic-maimed people, which must be vastly larger than the 44,000 dead in the US in 2023 alone).
We desperately need a nationwide Vision Zero policy.
I ascribe it to English-language people suffering from #CarBrain, and since English-language journalists are of that culture it's hard for them to go around the blind spot. Same for EVs that are buses, by the way.
But yeah, worldwide, the EV revolution came on TWO wheels. Here's a thread
@ryansingel But are e-bikes trips replacing car trips? Or public transpo trips? That needs to be studied. If the latter, they are a net loss for the environment, and subsidies would be a wealth transfer upward.
@Tullis@ryansingel It has been studied, and yes, they are replacing car trips. They're undoubtedly ALSO replacing public transportation, which is good unless your system's funding relies heavily on fares (which is bad).
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