who has an Electric Bike

On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 7:34:23 PM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2020 8:30 PM, News 2020 wrote:
On Fri, 04 Dec 2020 17:25:30 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:


That's for the usual "delta" configuration, with one front wheel and two
wheels in the rear. I suppose a "tadpole" upright trike with two front
wheels and one rear would be less hazardous, but I've never seen one in
real life - only the recumbent versions.

No cargo bikes over your way?
Nope, I've never seen one in action near here.

Three-wheel cargo bikes? https://bikeportland.org/2016/12/07/...ortland-196744 It's big business here. https://www.kgw.com/article/money/ne...3-d18402ef85cd It seems like practically every business had some bicycle delivery vehicle, even the place where I bought my mattress. https://www.mattresslot.com/about/delivery-by-bike/

Mom cargo eBikes were the bane of my pre-COVID commute. https://tinyurl.com/y2krg6vz Even without trailers, they take up a lot of real estate, and many are over-powered and driven by crazy moms.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 04/12/2020 23:25, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2020 3:09 PM, wrote:
A friend on our weekend rides has a trike with a battery motor. He
is in his 70s. He has the motor to keep up with us younger riders.
And the trike because I think his balance and bike handling skills
may be deteriorating due to age.

Sorry to divert the thread, but I'm curious about your friend's
trike. Not the motor so much as the configuration. Is it upright or
recumbent? (I have friends with recumbent trikes, at least one being
motor assisted.)

My only test ride on an upright "racing" tricycle was a bit scary. It
featured drop bars, normal shifting, etc. but the handling was _so_
much different than a conventional bike. It seemed unstable, and I'm
sure if I took it into a seriously tight turn, it would have been.
They're noted for tossing riders who enter a turn too fast then try
to brake.

A disabled friend who has a trike let me have a go. I fell off it.
Hellish spawn of Stan contraptions.

That's for the usual "delta" configuration, with one front wheel and
two wheels in the rear. I suppose a "tadpole" upright trike with two
front wheels and one rear would be less hazardous, but I've never
seen one in real life - only the recumbent versions.

Of course, recumbent trikes have far fewer stability concerns.

Sir has never owned an Anthrotech :-)

On Saturday, December 5, 2020 at 9:23:14 AM UTC, Tosspot wrote:
On 04/12/2020 23:25, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2020 3:09 PM, wrote:
A friend on our weekend rides has a trike with a battery motor. He
is in his 70s. He has the motor to keep up with us younger riders.
And the trike because I think his balance and bike handling skills
may be deteriorating due to age.

Sorry to divert the thread, but I'm curious about your friend's
trike. Not the motor so much as the configuration. Is it upright or
recumbent? (I have friends with recumbent trikes, at least one being
motor assisted.)

My only test ride on an upright "racing" tricycle was a bit scary. It
featured drop bars, normal shifting, etc. but the handling was _so_
much different than a conventional bike. It seemed unstable, and I'm
sure if I took it into a seriously tight turn, it would have been.
They're noted for tossing riders who enter a turn too fast then try
to brake.
A disabled friend who has a trike let me have a go. I fell off it.
Hellish spawn of Stan contraptions.
That's for the usual "delta" configuration, with one front wheel and
two wheels in the rear. I suppose a "tadpole" upright trike with two
front wheels and one rear would be less hazardous, but I've never
seen one in real life - only the recumbent versions.

Of course, recumbent trikes have far fewer stability concerns.
Sir has never owned an Anthrotech :-)

It is not necessarily true that a recumbent has fewer stability problems, though it is certainly easier to arrange for a recumbent to be stable than for an upright trike. The "stability" of recumbents assumed at Le Caff Poseur is a function of the most common configuration of two wheels at the front and of having the rider's weight well forward because even those who do not understand the geometry want the tight turning circle of a short wheelbase. An upright tricycle with two wheels at the front can be made as stable as a recumbent at the cost of greater expertise expressed in more complicated dynamic arrangements, most notably tilting wheels fairly close together, a desire that fights with the requirement to have the weight of the rider well forward. In its purest form, tilting wheels also lead to prominent moving linkages above the wheels that may appear ugly until you become used to them. If the front wheels are close enough together, dynamic conditions can be made bicycle-like without the falling-over part. A truly ideal stiction-free tilting-wheel construction would be kept upright by forward motion alone and would fold over by force of gravity when stopped, so some limit to the lean must be arranged, but it needn't be expensive or sophisticated: it can be a single disc brake with a lock bolted to the central pivot of the opposing parallel equal length suspension links, operated by the lever on one of the handlebars, and it can, with a little more difficulty, be arranged to limit the lean dynamically and progressively to say 35 degrees for everyday cycling heroes or 45 degrees for the brave or even 55 per cent for the young and the reckless like Joerg.

Andre Jute
"Just about every automobile manufacturer short of Porsche could learn something useful from Jute's book. We always knew suspensions were important, but he infuses them with excitement and art." -- CAR Magazine reviewing DESIGNING AND BUILDING SPECIAL CARS by Andre Jute (Batsford, London; Bentley, Boston; etc)

On 12/4/2020 11:29 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 7:34:23 PM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2020 8:30 PM, News 2020 wrote:
On Fri, 04 Dec 2020 17:25:30 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:


That's for the usual "delta" configuration, with one front wheel and two
wheels in the rear. I suppose a "tadpole" upright trike with two front
wheels and one rear would be less hazardous, but I've never seen one in
real life - only the recumbent versions.

No cargo bikes over your way?
Nope, I've never seen one in action near here.

Three-wheel cargo bikes? https://bikeportland.org/2016/12/07/...ortland-196744 It's big business here. https://www.kgw.com/article/money/ne...3-d18402ef85cd It seems like practically every business had some bicycle delivery vehicle, even the place where I bought my mattress. https://www.mattresslot.com/about/delivery-by-bike/

Mom cargo eBikes were the bane of my pre-COVID commute. https://tinyurl.com/y2krg6vz Even without trailers, they take up a lot of real estate, and many are over-powered and driven by crazy moms.

I wonder how those things make it through some of the "innovative" bike
infrastructure.

A park near me put in bollards at the head of a bike lane. It was
impossible to fit a trailer through them, and we often dismounted from
our tandem instead of trying to thread the needle. It took me years to
convince them to remove bollards.


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 4:25:33 PM UTC-6, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2020 3:09 PM, wrote:
A friend on our weekend rides has a trike with a battery motor. He is in his 70s. He has the motor to keep up with us younger riders. And the trike because I think his balance and bike handling skills may be deteriorating due to age.
Sorry to divert the thread, but I'm curious about your friend's trike.
Not the motor so much as the configuration. Is it upright or recumbent?
(I have friends with recumbent trikes, at least one being motor assisted.)


I cannot remember the brand of the trike. Since I am not a trike person they are just a curiosity to me. His is recumbent. Can't remember if he bought it new or used. Two wheels in front and one behind. With the motor/electric assist. He is able to keep up with us riders by using the motor assist. But we are not racing fast. 15-20 mph is our average riding speed. On the flats. Slower on the hills.



My only test ride on an upright "racing" tricycle was a bit scary. It
featured drop bars, normal shifting, etc. but the handling was _so_ much
different than a conventional bike. It seemed unstable, and I'm sure if
I took it into a seriously tight turn, it would have been. They're noted
for tossing riders who enter a turn too fast then try to brake.

That's for the usual "delta" configuration, with one front wheel and two
wheels in the rear. I suppose a "tadpole" upright trike with two front
wheels and one rear would be less hazardous, but I've never seen one in
real life - only the recumbent versions.

Of course, recumbent trikes have far fewer stability concerns.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 7:30:13 PM UTC-6, News 2020 wrote:
On Fri, 04 Dec 2020 17:25:30 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:


That's for the usual "delta" configuration, with one front wheel and two
wheels in the rear. I suppose a "tadpole" upright trike with two front
wheels and one rear would be less hazardous, but I've never seen one in
real life - only the recumbent versions.
No cargo bikes over your way?

Of course, recumbent trikes have far fewer stability concerns.

Similar to Frank's response. I may have, maybe, possibly seen one in use once in my life. But in my metro area (3-400,000 midwest USA) they are pretty non existent. But bikes and trikes for recreational or commuting are sort of common. Common meaning you will see bikes every day on streets and trails during the spring, summer, fall seasons throughout the day. But they are still somewhat a surprise/shock to see. And you see one bike for every 100 or 1000 cars you see. So in reality bikes are not common.

On 12/5/2020 4:03 PM, wrote:
On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 4:25:33 PM UTC-6, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2020 3:09 PM, wrote:
A friend on our weekend rides has a trike with a battery motor. He is in his 70s. He has the motor to keep up with us younger riders. And the trike because I think his balance and bike handling skills may be deteriorating due to age.
Sorry to divert the thread, but I'm curious about your friend's trike.
Not the motor so much as the configuration. Is it upright or recumbent?
(I have friends with recumbent trikes, at least one being motor assisted.)


I cannot remember the brand of the trike. Since I am not a trike person they are just a curiosity to me. His is recumbent. Can't remember if he bought it new or used. Two wheels in front and one behind. With the motor/electric assist. He is able to keep up with us riders by using the motor assist. But we are not racing fast. 15-20 mph is our average riding speed. On the flats. Slower on the hills.

That's what one friend of mine has. He used to ride enthusiastically
with our club, but he now has long standing and quite serious health
issues. His trike allows him to keep cycling, but it's used only on MUPs.


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Saturday, December 5, 2020 at 1:03:35 PM UTC-8, wrote:
On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 4:25:33 PM UTC-6, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 12/4/2020 3:09 PM, wrote:
A friend on our weekend rides has a trike with a battery motor. He is in his 70s. He has the motor to keep up with us younger riders. And the trike because I think his balance and bike handling skills may be deteriorating due to age.
Sorry to divert the thread, but I'm curious about your friend's trike.
Not the motor so much as the configuration. Is it upright or recumbent?
(I have friends with recumbent trikes, at least one being motor assisted.)

I cannot remember the brand of the trike. Since I am not a trike person they are just a curiosity to me. His is recumbent. Can't remember if he bought it new or used. Two wheels in front and one behind. With the motor/electric assist. He is able to keep up with us riders by using the motor assist. But we are not racing fast. 15-20 mph is our average riding speed. On the flats. Slower on the hills.
My only test ride on an upright "racing" tricycle was a bit scary. It
featured drop bars, normal shifting, etc. but the handling was _so_ much
different than a conventional bike. It seemed unstable, and I'm sure if
I took it into a seriously tight turn, it would have been. They're noted
for tossing riders who enter a turn too fast then try to brake.

That's for the usual "delta" configuration, with one front wheel and two
wheels in the rear. I suppose a "tadpole" upright trike with two front
wheels and one rear would be less hazardous, but I've never seen one in
real life - only the recumbent versions.

Of course, recumbent trikes have far fewer stability concerns.
The kids got me and the wife involved in a two week cruise to Mexico. There was a man and his girlfriend there that had a lecture. He was crippled by some disease or other than paralyzed his right side. But with a recumbent tricycle the both of them went coast to coast and back twice. We apparently dropped him at our furthest south port of call and he rode from there towards Alaska. Unless those wonderful peaceful protestors in Portland and Seattle didn't kill him in their peaceful protests.

On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 2:09:21 PM UTC-6, wrote:
A week ago I saw an older rider in my neighborhood with an e-bike. I saw her out the front window on the street. I'm positive she was on an e-bike because she was zipping along at 10 mph on the flat street at a constant pace and not pedaling at all. I thought it was a dumb/bad reason to have an e-bike. If you're riding along on a flat street with no cars and completely alone and probably no destination or concern about when you finish, why use an e-bike? And this older woman I saw was just sitting on the saddle, not pedaling at all. She could have been sitting on a moped instead and it would be identical.

I agree with Frank's list of valid reasons to have an e-bike or motorized bike. But to get one to simply make bicycling easier, why? Just ride shorter distances or ride slower or ride less often if you want bicycling to be easier.

I saw my older e-bike riding woman this afternoon out the front window. It was about 40 degrees and cloudy. She was just sitting, no pedaling, and going along at about 8-9 mph or so. While I was sitting in the recliner watching football. I again wondered "Why are you riding an e-bike?" Its Sunday afternoon so likely no valid reason to go anywhere. It was almost certainly a leisure ride. So why sit on a moped bike? Just to see the scenery? And its not like there is any scenery in my 19990s-2000s residential housing suburban neighborhood.

But I thought of a valid reason for this woman to be on the e-bike. Besides just being lazy and pretending/claiming that you rode a bike. Maybe she has grandkids or children in the neighborhood and was visiting them. She lives too far away to walk but with an e-bike its a good distance to travel. OK. Her use of an e-bike is valid. I just see her go by my front window on the street in front of my house and see her turn the corner on the next street. I don't see where she comes from or where her destination is. Getting fresh air on the e-bike is probably good.

wrote:
On Friday, December 4, 2020 at 2:09:21 PM UTC-6, wrote:
A week ago I saw an older rider in my neighborhood with an e-bike. I saw
her out the front window on the street. I'm positive she was on an
e-bike because she was zipping along at 10 mph on the flat street at a
constant pace and not pedaling at all. I thought it was a dumb/bad
reason to have an e-bike. If you're riding along on a flat street with
no cars and completely alone and probably no destination or concern
about when you finish, why use an e-bike? And this older woman I saw was
just sitting on the saddle, not pedaling at all. She could have been
sitting on a moped instead and it would be identical.

I agree with Frank's list of valid reasons to have an e-bike or
motorized bike. But to get one to simply make bicycling easier, why?
Just ride shorter distances or ride slower or ride less often if you
want bicycling to be easier.

I saw my older e-bike riding woman this afternoon out the front window.
It was about 40 degrees and cloudy. She was just sitting, no pedaling,
and going along at about 8-9 mph or so. While I was sitting in the
recliner watching football. I again wondered "Why are you riding an
e-bike?" Its Sunday afternoon so likely no valid reason to go anywhere.
It was almost certainly a leisure ride. So why sit on a moped bike?
Just to see the scenery? And its not like there is any scenery in my
19990s-2000s residential housing suburban neighborhood.

But I thought of a valid reason for this woman to be on the e-bike.
Besides just being lazy and pretending/claiming that you rode a bike.
Maybe she has grandkids or children in the neighborhood and was visiting
them. She lives too far away to walk but with an e-bike its a good
distance to travel. OK. Her use of an e-bike is valid. I just see her
go by my front window on the street in front of my house and see her turn
the corner on the next street. I don't see where she comes from or where
her destination is. Getting fresh air on the e-bike is probably good.


Maybe she just thinks it’s fun.