Passed by a guy on an electric assist bike

[Miquel In De Rain]

View: http://youtu.be/b0EAc9w__Ko


Nice that the leccy bike owner contacted me about this vid.

Must say I was impressed with it.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

I've come across one a few times which has a small petrol engine aftermarket fitted to a BSO with a second chain on the left side for the drive. I towed the cheeky fecker from The Oval to Streatham.

He was probably trying to save on petrol it being so damned expensive these days

 

[Recycler]

cycling is still very safe. the lifetime risk of dying on a bike is something like 1 in 140. Motoring has a much higher risk, at 1 in 75..

I'ld be interested to see those figures too. Certainly in the UK, on a mileage basis cycling, is considerably more dangerous than driving. i.e. if you commute by car you are safer than doing the same journey by bike.

 

[Recycler]

Must say I was impressed with it.

He accelerated pretty well at the lights didn't he?

 

[CopperBrompton]

This 'safety in numbers' notion is a victim-based cycling safety ideology based on the flawed premise that the roads are currently unsafe for cyclists and that only motorists can change the cycling safety status quo.

Live in black-and-white much?

The more people who cycle, the greater the awareness of cyclists and the safer and more pleasant the roads. If you haven't experienced this, I echo the suggestions others have made to spend more time cycling in the Netherlands, in France and in London.

 

[Gary E]

My only concern is could the electric bike be a way in for the powers-that-be to introduce new legislation for bikes in general? Speed limits (yes I know they're supposed to be limited but clearly a lot of people have got round this), number plates, road fund licence....

 

[Gary E]

I

View: http://youtu.be/b0EAc9w__Ko


Nice that the leccy bike owner contacted me about this vid.

Must say I was impressed with it.

I wouldn't mind so much if the guy had actually pedalled a bit more, electrically ASSISTED?

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

I
I wouldn't mind so much if the guy had actually pedalled a bit more, electrically ASSISTED?

Yup, I thought you HAD to pedal and it just assisted?
That guy seemed to just spin a couple of times then off he went, bored as he was!

 

[BentMikey]

This 'safety in numbers' notion is a victim-based cycling safety ideology based on the flawed premise that the roads are currently unsafe for cyclists and that only motorists can change the cycling safety status quo. This is not the case. Sure, as with any mode of transport, there are deaths and injuries that happen while cycling. But about half of these occur due to poor cycling practices - most often through faulty lane positioning. But even with all the bad road safety practices of cyclists and motorists alike, cycling is still very safe. the lifetime risk of dying on a bike is something like 1 in 140. Motoring has a much higher risk, at 1 in 75.

So I don't buy this 'safety in numbers' BS. It places cyclist safety purely in the hands of drivers, making us out to be passive victims. And even if it's true that more cyclists make the road safer, we have yet to see an increase in cycling that would make a big difference. A much bigger difference can be made by educating cyclists in terms of lane positioning and other safe cycling practices that put us in charge of our own safety.

Unfortunately for your world view, safety in numbers is a pretty solid theory, so I would soon stop thinking it's BS. It's by far the biggest effect on our safety out there, much much more so than cyclist training. Safety in numbers is effectively societal training of motorists. They are the killers out there, not cyclists, and changing their behaviour will have orders of magnitude more effect than changing cyclist behaviour.

 

[potsy]

I
I wouldn't mind so much if the guy had actually pedalled a bit more, electrically ASSISTED?

That was my worry when I almost bought one before I bought my first bike, the temptation to just let the bike do all the work might have been too much for a lazy begger like me
Never gonna get fit like that

 

[downfader]

Got overtaken by an electric assist rider last week. Wouldnt mind but he a) shoulder barged me and b) made no attempt to leave the cycle lane which is little more than 1metre wide. Not sure if he heard me call him a "tosser" or not...

 

[smutchin]

I neither know nor care whether there's any truth in the safety in numbers theory, I just like seeing more people on bikes and fewer in cars.

d.

 

[biggs682]

i see one quite often on my commute , rider seems more interested in his fag than anything else

 

[Ian H]

The trouble is that electrically-assisted bikes run out of power at around 50 miles. So not much use to me (even were I both old and infirm).

 

[Gary E]

is that 50 miles assisting or on it's own?