Forum Index > Gear Talk > Electric Bikes
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
Cyclopath
Faster than light



Joined: 20 Mar 2012
Posts: 7697 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
Cyclopath
Faster than light
PostMon Oct 08, 2018 8:55 pm 
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics
Location: Cle Elum
Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
PostTue Oct 09, 2018 4:08 pm 
I was thinking about getting an e-bike for the Middle Fork road to get to the Dutch Miller Gap trailhead easier. That and the road beyond Slide lake. Id want maximum performance for both hill climbing and electric range. I dont care to much about speed.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Randito
Snarky Member



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9495 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment.
Randito
Snarky Member
PostTue Oct 09, 2018 6:54 pm 
Backpacker Joe wrote:
I was thinking about getting an e-bike for the Middle Fork road to get to the Dutch Miller Gap trailhead easier
Seems like a lot of coin to drop for 7 and half miles of a road that isn't too bad of a ride on a $200 used mountain bike from craigslist.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Tom
Admin



Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 17835 | TRs | Pics
Tom
Admin
PostTue Oct 09, 2018 8:48 pm 
Can probably say the same about many luxuries in life. I biked up the road past Side lake ~10 years ago to retrieve our vehicle parked up top and that was no fun at all, lol If I had an e-bike back then it would have been worth every penny. It's a gray area whether e-bikes are allowed on some roads so if you're planning to do that might want to invest an e-bike that looks more like a bike than a motorbike. wink.gif

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Randito
Snarky Member



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9495 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment.
Randito
Snarky Member
PostTue Oct 09, 2018 9:07 pm 
I guess I find it odd that hiking enthusiasts find pedaling to be a burden. But I typically pedal a few thousand miles per year.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Tom
Admin



Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 17835 | TRs | Pics
Tom
Admin
PostTue Oct 09, 2018 9:22 pm 
I don't find it odd at all. Bicycling uses different muscles. Not all of us bike or are in the best shape of our lives any more due to age, medical issues, etc. 10 years ago when I was still somewhat in my prime, biking that 3 miles up a steep road after a long day of hiking was indeed a burden. I'd love to see you do that loop though and walk the talk.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Damian
Member
Member


Joined: 18 Dec 2001
Posts: 3260 | TRs | Pics
Damian
Member
PostTue Oct 09, 2018 9:25 pm 
Backpacker Joe wrote:
to get to the Dutch Miller Gap trailhead easier
Exactly what I was thinking plus the many loop opportunities closed rough roads offer. Looking fwd to the inevitable big gains in this technology in the upcoming years.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Riverside Laker
Member
Member


Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 2818 | TRs | Pics
Riverside Laker
Member
PostTue Oct 09, 2018 10:12 pm 
Don't wait too long. You might buy a camper like we did!

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!



Joined: 25 Dec 2006
Posts: 11272 | TRs | Pics
Location: Don't move here
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
PostWed Oct 10, 2018 8:18 am 
I originally got my bike to get up the bad and washed out roads to my super secret huckleberry patches. The bike arrived during the start of the monsoon, about a year ago. Then my house sold. I now live in town but have a heck of a steep hill to get up if I go the route of least traffic. Randy, one benefit of electric bikes is that people who aren't in the best of shape are now getting out and peddling. Some have lost a lot of weight. Not me. My major source of exercise is walking, but the bike is just plain fun to ride. It kind of is like having a horse to get around on. There are also three wheeler e-bikes for those who have more problems. That's a good thing. Tom, as far as where you ride, the important thing is not to ride like a jerk. I think most people don't know the difference between an e-bike and an acoustical bike if you are polite. I ride and ask questions later and no, I'm not going in the wilderness with it or blatantly illegal places. I'm not comfy with it on steep sidehills. The weird thing is that at first, it almost seems like the bike is possessed. That took a while for me to get used to it. I just wish I could find THE bike seat to use. My mountain bike seat does not feel right on the e-bike. The Rad seat is good for about 10 miles. I will never make it to Conconully and back at that rate! Speaking of, we have seen very good manners from the ATV crowd whilst we are sharing their trails. No jerks encountered yet. The first two miles of the Republic trail are shared and there are rules that seem to be followed. up.gif up.gif

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Randito
Snarky Member



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9495 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment.
Randito
Snarky Member
PostWed Oct 10, 2018 8:33 am 
Tom wrote:
Bicycling uses different muscles.
Than hiking muscles I suppose, but I've found that cycling is good exercise for keeping skiing muscles in shape during the warmer months and I'm an enthusiastic skier.
Treeswarper wrote:
I just wish I could find THE bike seat to use.
Finding at bike seat that is comfortable for extended saddle time is tricky -- particularly with more upright riding positions of "city" or "hybrid" bikes. I'm pretty happy with my Brooks B67 -- which is wider than a typical MTB or road bike saddle and has springs. But Brooks saddles are a bit of an acquired taste and require a considerable "break in period" and fairly frequent usage to keep the "butt tissues" in condition -- it's not the sort of saddle you can hop on for 4 hours after a gap of six months and be happy -- but I don't think that sort of saddle exists.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
iron
Member
Member


Joined: 10 Aug 2008
Posts: 6391 | TRs | Pics
Location: southeast kootenays
iron
Member
PostWed Oct 10, 2018 2:50 pm 
treeswarper wrote:
Tom, as far as where you ride, the important thing is not to ride like a jerk. I think most people don't know the difference between an e-bike and an acoustical bike if you are polite. I ride and ask questions later and no, I'm not going in the wilderness with it or blatantly illegal places. I'm not comfy with it on steep sidehills.
preach. on my daily commute i see a lot of e-bikes. clueless, every one of them. no lights. swerve into traffic. etc. yes, i know, other non-e-bikers are similar, but not all. anyway, tom is sensible enough, obviously, so not an issue here. if bike weight is an issue so you get get it in your rig, why not just get a hitch rack?

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Tom
Admin



Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 17835 | TRs | Pics
Tom
Admin
PostWed Oct 10, 2018 3:55 pm 
I actually avoid roads whenever possible. Don't even like using the bike lanes as it just takes one distracted driver to re-write my life story. My e-bike is a class 2 so legal to ride on sidewalks and shared paths which I prefer to use. Obviously I'm considerate of others on shared paths and will use the bike lane as appropriate but so far hasn't been much of an issue where I ride.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!



Joined: 25 Dec 2006
Posts: 11272 | TRs | Pics
Location: Don't move here
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
PostWed Oct 10, 2018 6:57 pm 
I can't pull a trailer if a bike is on a hitch rack. The ramp system works well, and is cheaper. One develops a method to load and unload. And, if the weight is too much, the battery can be removed. That's about five pounds. So far, I've found people to be polite drivers around here. There are no bike lanes, but the roads with the left turn lanes in the center make lots of room for cars to get around. On some of the county roads, maybe only 4 or 5 cars will go by in a couple hours. That makes for some nice riding.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Randito
Snarky Member



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9495 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment.
Randito
Snarky Member
PostThu Oct 11, 2018 5:09 am 
FWIW: I lived in Manhattan recently and I found that riding a bike on the streets of the big apple to feel safer than riding the streets of Seattle. 1) Traffic in NYC never goes more than 10 mph. 2) The streets are loaded with double parked trucks, pedestrians, eBikes delivering take out by riding against traffic, swarms of dirt bikes and ATVs pulling wheelies for blocks at a time, fire trucks, ambulances, etc, etc. So NYC drivers expect to have negotiate chaos and hat they can't just hop in the car and drive at 30mph. So a cyclist that isn't weaving in and out and going the wrong way is seen as just one more object to avoid hitting. In Sesttle drivers seem to have the expectation that they can drink their latte, yak on their phone, drive ten over and never slow or steer around an obstacle-- when their journey is delayed by 5 seconds to avoid striking a cyclist, they act like they are victims of a crime against humanity. The only worse drivers IME were drivers of ridiculous pickups, (lots of chrome, lifted, turbo diesel, not a scratch in the bed ) in "horse and wine country" ( e.g. San Luis Obispo, CA) that thought it was great fun to pull along side a cyclist grinding their way up a hill and just when the tail pipe was in front of the cyclists face, punch it and spew a thick cloud of diesel exhaust to express their displeasure at being delayed 3 seconds on their way to a wine tasting.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
iron
Member
Member


Joined: 10 Aug 2008
Posts: 6391 | TRs | Pics
Location: southeast kootenays
iron
Member
PostThu Oct 11, 2018 7:44 am 
i've always felt that slow traffic is more dangerous b/c they can make sharp turns, open doors, etc. 60 mph traffic, while very deadly, is less likely to have this issue.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Gear Talk > Electric Bikes
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum