Now that's what I call a Cargo Bike - this CaGo from Denmark is now available here - if #ebikes are the future for #urban travel, then this must make a strong showing for the #delivery part of that idea.
Upgrading my recumbent to electric night 1: motor is installed! Still some tweaking to do - re-aligning the brake pads, namely. But, that’s a good start.
Yes, I did spend extra on a black motor with black spokes. I also got a black motor controller. I need the color scheme to match.
Day 2: spent a couple hours trying and failing to adjust the disk brake. I'll get it... I hope.
Also removed the cranks, bottom bracket, and so forth to install the torque sensor (which replaces the bottom bracket). Unfortunately, I don't have a chainring that'll fit this setup, and I forgot to order one earlier, so more wait...
I also modeled up a way to mount the display near the front of the bike.
hi #BikeTooter - what electric bike (if any) would you recommend to an adult who learned to ride fairly recently? Lives in an urban setting, looking to do leisure/fitness riding mostly for now. Fairly cautious rider. #EBikes
Lots of errands today, finishing with full panniers from grocery shopping topped off with a case of wine. 🍷 (UPS missed me a couple times, so I had them hold it at a nearby store)
Can everyone on #BikeTooter agree whether we're using the plural form or the singular form for hashtags? Or can Mastodon core give us a feature that enables smooshing hashtags together if one is the plural form of the other?
There is not a path to reduced #ClimateChange emissions and a sustainable #transportation system that allows our species to survive #GlobalWarming while maintaining #CarSupremacy with its glut of empty passing lanes and free #parking where all options to choose #eBikes or #transit have been cut off by walls of traffic (cars always either at a standstill or moving at deadly speeds, averaging 20mph.) Many people need to change their plans and stop driving, many car lanes need to be repurposed.
What is with this plate on the REI #eBikes for the motor controller compartment cover? The edges aren't sealed at all and the tapped steel flat bar floats in there with the controller hooked to both ends, like this is just to clamp it in place. The center screw doesn't thread into anything except the plate and then it touches down on the controller, plus had this red grease only on it. I'm concerned that water is going to get in, since there are no gaskets and it faces up. #BikeTooter
Verkehrsministerium: Fahrradblinker sollen für alle erlaubt sein
Egal, ob mit Motor oder ohne: Das Verkehrsministerium will künftig flächendeckend Blinker an Fahrrädern zulassen. Bislang geht das nur für spezielle Modelle. Eine Pflicht soll es aber nicht geben.
@acdha@peterdutoit no sector's emissions are going to completely stop overnight but my point is that we need to compare the amount of actual reduction for the time period in question, and I haven't seen any analysis of 2020 emissions that got this right. Most are comparing the whole year to 2019 and concluding that we're powerless to stop #GlobalWarming, when the reality is that people could just ride #eBikes to the grocery store and the oil industry would collapse.
Why is the UK govt taking so long to sort out legislation for escooters?
Why do escooters get treated so differently to ebikes as well? Fundamentally, they're the same thing, just one has a seat. The van both be modified to be illegal. They can both be ridden illegally.
Yet ebikes are already covered by law and escooters are not.
UPDATE with more details on #Boston's new #ebikes: they're available to ride now, and you'll find them at several stations around downtown this afternoon.
The NJ legislature just passed a bill requiring low-speed electric bicycles to be registered with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission and to be insured.
Somewhere, either a fossil fuel lobbyist or an insurance industry lobbyist got his wings.
Love bikes AND good at the details of contracts? Want to get more people on bikes AND build connections in communities? This weekend is a great time to write your application for job with @wsdot Active Transportation Division. Pro tip: Get full position description Monday, read that, address all elements of job/qualifications.
@roezone@BrentToderian ITYM one of the few DIY ones. It's not "luck" that I chose to get battery motor & frame separately or can replace any one of them. I remain unimpressed with bosch / shimano #eBikes, but I can see why bike shops won't deal outside of that supported yet locked-in scheme, they're not electrical technicians and most don't want to be. Meanwhile manufacturers want to be exempt from #rightToRepair, and there's still very little open source controller specs & software options.
#EV#battery repair is dangerous. Here’s why mechanics want to do it anyway.
Fixing car and #ebike batteries saves money and resources — but challenges are holding back the industry.
by Maddie Stone, Dec 08, 2023
"About three times a day, Rich Benoit gets a call to his auto shop, The Electrified Garage, from the owner of an older Tesla Model S whose car battery has begun to fail. The battery, which used to provide several hundred miles of range, might suddenly only last 50 miles on a single charge. These cars are often out of warranty, and the cost of replacing the battery can exceed $15,000.
"For most products, repair is a more affordable option than replacement. And in theory, lots of these Tesla batteries can be fixed, said Benoit, who runs one of the few Tesla-focused independent repair shops in the United States. But due to the time and training involved, the safety considerations, and the complexity of the repair, Benoit said that the bill to fix one car battery at his shop might run upwards of $10,000 — more than most consumers are willing to pay. Instead, he said, many choose to sell or donate their old vehicle for scrap and buy a brand new Tesla.
“'It’s getting to the point where [the car] is almost like a consumable, like a TV,' Benoit said.
"Benoit’s experience heralds a problem that early adopters of EVs, as well as electric micromobility devices like e-bikes and #escooters, are beginning to face: These vehicles contain big, expensive batteries that will inevitably degrade or stop working over time. Repairing these batteries can have sustainability benefits, saving energy and resources that would otherwise be used to manufacture a new one. That’s particularly important for EVs, which contain very large batteries that must be used for years to offset the carbon emissions associated with making them.
But many EV and e-mobility batteries are difficult to repair by design, and some manufacturers actively discourage the practice, citing safety concerns. The small number of independent mechanics who repair EV or e-bike batteries struggle to do so affordably due to design challenges, safety requirements, and a lack of access to spare parts.
“'There are a lot of automakers who do not allow battery repair, even in case of minor damages to the battery case,' a GDV spokesperson told Grist. Automakers sometimes choose to replace the battery if the car was involved in an accident that caused the airbags to activate. Both practices 'will lead to an increase of repair costs,' and ultimately, higher insurance premiums, the spokesperson said.
"New rules around EV battery repairability would come at a critical time. Helps, of Cox Automotive, said that two trends in EV battery design are occurring in parallel: 'Batteries are either becoming very serviceable, or not serviceable at all.'
"Some, like the batteries inside Volkswagon’s ID.4, feature LEGO-like modules that are easy to remove and replace. Others, like Tesla’s new 4680 structural battery pack, don’t include modules at all. Instead, all of the cells are bonded together and bonded to the pack itself, a design Helps described as 'impossible to service.' If a bad cell group is found, the entire battery must be replaced.
“'It’s still a fully #recyclable battery,' Helps said. 'You’re just not able to repair it.'
"#Tesla didn’t respond to Grist’s request for comment."
@Rjdlandscapes I guess the takeaway I got from the full article (not just the excerpts I posted) is that the batteries aren't made to be repaired -- which is ridiculous, but not surprising. I had a friend who gave up her #EVCar because the #battery replacement was more than the value of the car. That's just bad and wrong. Also, #Lithium, #Cobalt and the like need to be recycled if the battery is no longer repairable. Sometimes batteries stop holding charges. It's something we see with household rechargeable batteries, and it's a design flaw that needs to be fixed. As for the dangers of #LithiumBatteries, there have been issues with exploding cars and #ebikes -- just being in storage! So, yes, proper training is required -- just like working on electrical systems or plumbing -- not for the untrained.
@DoomsdaysCW e-bike batteries have 1% as much energy, and 1/10th of the voltage of electric cars. They can easily be replaced without special tools or safety equipment, but modern cells will last for thousands of miles. In my experience, we replaced 3x car miles with cargo bike miles (largely by replacing car trips to farther places with bike trips to parks and more local destinations) nearly 30k gas-fueled car miles displaced by #eBikes with just about 10lb of lithium-ion battery.