Interesting eBike conversation with a coworker today

Smaug

Smaug

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I have a colleague, we are both engineers. He's a 30 year old mechanical engineer who is always trying to get away with things. I'm a 47 year old regulatory (electrical background) who is trying to comply with things but still do what I want. His mentality is: "It may be illegal, but can I get away with it?"

I told him i just ordered the eMoped. (more on that in the eMopeds subforum) Here's how it went from there:

Him: I just ride my 80 around town. (80 cc dirtbike, not licensed, loud exhaust, no lighting or license.)
Me: ...but that's illegal. I'll be "riding the loophole" It's like a moped, but no need to license or insure it.
H: Doesn't matter. Cops don't do their job any more. They don't care.
M: They DO care, they just have to pick their battles more nowadays.
M: Eventually, you're gonna get nicked.
H: I'd run. How's he gonna catch me? I can go places he can't. (he brings up Google Maps and shows me all the foot bridges in the area)

At this point, I was like this: :oops:
This guy is very smart; one of our best design engineers. Financially smart too. He stayed home after finishing college, paid off his loans, saved up and put 40% down on his house. But he has that mentality that the law doesn't matter, only what he can get away with. One day, I think he will not show up for work and it will be just a question of whether he hurt himself doing something stupid or got arrested and is spending some time in jail.

Continuing.

M: They're gonna get you, and it's not going to be pretty when they do.
H: At night? I don't think so.
M: Wouldn't you rather do the right thing and have fun legally?
H: Nah.
M: I can ride this eBike on the road, and also sidewalks and bike trails, as long as I'm reasonable. No need to run from the police.

I think we get the impression from YouTubers that the people who are causing more laws to me made are young punks, but they come from all walks of life.

On the bright side, this colleague of mine is not making it worse for eBikers. Thank goodness he hasn't gotten into eBikes, or he'd be giving us a bad name. I shouldn't encourage him. (the mechanical engineers here are sticking with gas as if it's a religion!)

Just thought I'd share. It's an interesting time. I'm going to be telling my grandkids about it some day.
 
I probably live in that zone halfway between you and your co-worker. I got my eBike for fun riding and commuting to work.
Where I live the police don't draw exception to eBikes that can run 30+ MPH. I normally run at about 21 MPH, but I like having the
extra power in case I need to change lanes (such as when switching from the far-right lane to the left-turn lane). For me the ability to
have bursts of higher speed can make some lane changes much safer.

I am an engineer as well, and work in conformance/performance test engineering. A full machine shop is in the garage, along with welding equipment (MIG, TIG and Stick). I do electronics as well. The garage also holds a dual trace storage scope and multiple Fluke meters and power supplies. I cut my teeth on designing/fabricating instrumentation electronics for two different physics labs.

We used to have gas-engine bikes running all over town, but the police did crack down on them. They just smile and wave at eBikes if you are
not driving like a maniac (staying under the speed limit, and not radically changing lanes).

I really like the no registration/tag/license feature of eBikes, although my license does have a motorcycle endorsement. I find most police are pretty tolerant, provided you aren't rubbing their noses in a blatant violation.
 
If he was out riding, and gets pulled over, I would advise him to just pull over. Chances are they won't do anything more than a warning.
 
biknut said:
If he was out riding, and gets pulled over, I would advise him to just pull over. Chances are they won't do anything more than a warning.
Click to expand...
He is an idiot, outside of work. I overheard him admit to someone else he spent some time in the back of a police car a couple weeks ago, for ripping up and down his street on a super-loud dirtbike. Again. He's not learning.
 
Smaug said:
He is an idiot, outside of work. I overheard him admit to someone else he spent some time in the back of a police car a couple weeks ago, for ripping up and down his street on a super-loud dirtbike. Again. He's not learning.
Click to expand...
He's a feckin moron
 
HumanPerson said:
He's a feckin moron
Click to expand...
Smaug said:
He is an idiot, outside of work. I overheard him admit to someone else he spent some time in the back of a police car a couple weeks ago, for ripping up and down his street on a super-loud dirtbike. Again. He's not learning.
Click to expand...
Learning bro???? Shoot that MOFO and delete him from the gene pool please
 
If he's lucky, he'll hurt himself. If he's unlucky, he'll hurt someone else.
Sadly, I can guess how he votes, but that's another discussion.
 
Smaug said:
I have a colleague, we are both engineers. He's a 30 year old mechanical engineer who is always trying to get away with things. I'm a 47 year old regulatory (electrical background) who is trying to comply with things but still do what I want. His mentality is: "It may be illegal, but can I get away with it?"

I told him i just ordered the eMoped. (more on that in the eMopeds subforum) Here's how it went from there:

Him: I just ride my 80 around town. (80 cc dirtbike, not licensed, loud exhaust, no lighting or license.)
Me: ...but that's illegal. I'll be "riding the loophole" It's like a moped, but no need to license or insure it.
H: Doesn't matter. Cops don't do their job any more. They don't care.
M: They DO care, they just have to pick their battles more nowadays.
M: Eventually, you're gonna get nicked.
H: I'd run. How's he gonna catch me? I can go places he can't. (he brings up Google Maps and shows me all the foot bridges in the area)

At this point, I was like this: :oops:
This guy is very smart; one of our best design engineers. Financially smart too. He stayed home after finishing college, paid off his loans, saved up and put 40% down on his house. But he has that mentality that the law doesn't matter, only what he can get away with. One day, I think he will not show up for work and it will be just a question of whether he hurt himself doing something stupid or got arrested and is spending some time in jail.

Continuing.

M: They're gonna get you, and it's not going to be pretty when they do.
H: At night? I don't think so.
M: Wouldn't you rather do the right thing and have fun legally?
H: Nah.
M: I can ride this eBike on the road, and also sidewalks and bike trails, as long as I'm reasonable. No need to run from the police.

I think we get the impression from YouTubers that the people who are causing more laws to me made are young punks, but they come from all walks of life.

On the bright side, this colleague of mine is not making it worse for eBikers. Thank goodness he hasn't gotten into eBikes, or he'd be giving us a bad name. I shouldn't encourage him. (the mechanical engineers here are sticking with gas as if it's a religion!)

Just thought I'd share. It's an interesting time. I'm going to be telling my grandkids about it some day.
Click to expand...
i thought i had to suffer with gas heat and fumes on a weedwhacker till i bought a top of the line ryobi 40 volt multi use one, now i will never go back,i never go into the gas bike habit and as happy as i am now with electricity i never will-cheers
 
kmccune said:
i thought i had to suffer with gas heat and fumes on a weedwhacker till i bought a top of the line ryobi 40 volt multi use one, now i will never go back,i never go into the gas bike habit and as happy as i am now with electricity i never will-cheers
Click to expand...
I had a 52 V weed wacker before and it is as you say; better than the gassers for everything except maybe commercial use.

...but we're not there yet for motor scooter-class vehicles, where an inexpensive 49cc scooter can go 38 mph for over 100 miles at a time for under $3k new. Used is even more viable, because battery condition and availability is not a factor.
 
Smaug said:
I had a 52 V weed wacker before and it is as you say; better than the gassers for everything except maybe commercial use.

...but we're not there yet for motor scooter-class vehicles, where an inexpensive 49cc scooter can go 38 mph for over 100 miles at a time for under $3k new. Used is even more viable, because battery condition and availability is not a factor.
Click to expand...
I would spend more time getting the damn gas weedwacker started then actually working!! Pop the battery in and get the job finished!!
 
I really like the convenience of electrics, clean, quiet, silky power application etc, but the cold temperature aspect is a problem. My recent adventures with my e-bike in 20° F. weather really hit home on the limitations, the battery drops like a rock quick. A lot of folks in my neighborhood are using e-snow throwers, and they are not moving the large snow deposits from the plows as easy as the fuel machines. I built a few 2 stroke mountain bikes, and they will run all day, no matter how cold it gets. The bike manufacturers may have to start developing some cold climate versions, with battery, controller and display insulation.
 
WHEELZ said:
I really like the convenience of electrics, clean, quiet, silky power application etc, but the cold temperature aspect is a problem. My recent adventures with my e-bike in 20° F. weather really hit home on the limitations, the battery drops like a rock quick. A lot of folks in my neighborhood are using e-snow throwers, and they are not moving the large snow deposits from the plows as easy as the fuel machines. I built a few 2 stroke mountain bikes, and they will run all day, no matter how cold it gets. The bike manufacturers may have to start developing some cold climate versions, with battery, controller and display insulation.
Click to expand...
Insulation won't help if that component is not also making enough heat of its own to stay where it is happy. So, it'll never work for an LCD display. Going to LED is the obvious move.

The motor and controller are both fine at sub-freezing temps.

Those with battery insulation wraps say that it helps, but I doubt the battery pack makes enough heat to keep it in the happy temperature zone when it is -10 °F outside.

With a fuel vehicle, as long as it can start, it will warm up and work fine, as long as you're OK with reduced fuel efficiency due to the oxygen in the air being more dense at lower temperatures. I guess in that way, range is reduced on combustion engines too, though it's not to the same degree as the voltage drop on an electric vehicle.

My car drops from 26 mpg to 24 mpg in the winter. But the voltage drop on my eBike is a lot more obvious in terms of percentage of range lost.
 
Luckily the trail is across the street from my house. I charge up, get going and I got 35 mi. on the snow at full power. The e-bikes are a little hobby, my wife loves the little 250W conversion I did on her bike for hills, and lazy rides after she gets out of work. I need to stay on the pedal bikes for the exercise, I ride the fat tire bike on snow during the winter, when I get on my MTB bike in the spring I feel like superman, the fat bike is like riding with ankle weights:D
 
WHEELZ said:
I really like the convenience of electrics, clean, quiet, silky power application etc, but the cold temperature aspect is a problem. My recent adventures with my e-bike in 20° F. weather really hit home on the limitations, the battery drops like a rock quick. A lot of folks in my neighborhood are using e-snow throwers, and they are not moving the large snow deposits from the plows as easy as the fuel machines. I built a few 2 stroke mountain bikes, and they will run all day, no matter how cold it gets. The bike manufacturers may have to start developing some cold climate versions, with battery, controller and display insulation.
Click to expand...
Hi Wheelz, I also find the battery drain on cold days. I commute on cold days so I see that drain happen vs the warm summer days. But my commute is only 6 miles so the bike is back in the warmth of my office pretty quick. Snow blowers are a problem for power. We sell the Dewalt with the two big 60v batteries and it just seems to work for residential sidewalks and driveways.
 
I see more and more e-mowers and e-snow blowers, no gas/oil or starting. I have not made the switch yet, I have a pretty good size lot and I would probably need several batteries. I do leaves with my mower in the fall, and a lot of times it's cold, I don't think the e-mower would be up to the task. Slowly e-stuff is replacing things in my life, drills, battery hedge trimmer, inflator, blower. I don't think I will ever give up my pedal bikes and trikes, the health benefits are too great, I've lost weight, lower blood pressure , better heart function etc. I like the e-bikes but try not to spend too much time on them.
 
The wife and I had ventured into electric yard tools a few years ago as she cannot (or will not) pull start a gas powered blower. A 40v Kobalt blower was purchased and was soon followed by the weed wacker and hedge trimmer.
Initially the performance was great as one battery could weed wack most all the main yard. A few years later, it takes 3 batteries to perform the same task.
 

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