Pedego disservice to the ebike community?

[Alphbetadog]

I watched this video and was annoyed a little by how ebikes are portrayed. Very few were wearing helmets, often not peddling but just throttling through the multi-use paths, and most appalling of all at time: 58 - roosting and deliberately eroding the trail! There is a lot of hate out there for ebikers, and personally I do all I can do to set a good example and be as courteous as possible to other trail users. I just think Pedego can do a better job.

 

[Nutella]

It's not as bad as Luna's

 

[Barry S]

Mikael Colville-Andersen spoke at TEDx Copenhagen as to why we shouldn't wear bike helmets. I don't plan on leaving mine at home when I ride, but he makes some interesting points. Here in Honolulu, an adult doesn't have to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle OR a motorcycle, but by God you better not glance at your phone while crossing the street because that's REALLY dangerous.

 

[Marceltt]

It’s just a commercial showing how fun it can be. As to wearing helmets it debends on local laws and your own choice.

 

[EbikesRock]

The marketing team at Pedego are brilliant marketeers (is that a word?). There is no requirement for helmets in California where they have headquarters so what’s your beef?
Every industry has one standout and Pedego takes center stage in the ebike category whether you like them or not. They seem to focus their marketing on baby boomers rather than cyclists which is probably a darn good idea. I bet they go public soon. Eroding the trail? Seriously! A dirt bike path is nothing but pure erosion! Let’s build more highways lest someone with an ebike spin a tire.

 

[Marceltt]

The marketing team at Pedego are brilliant marketeers (is that a word?). There is no requirement for helmets in California where they have headquarters so what’s your beef?
Every industry has one standout and Pedego takes center stage in the ebike category whether you like them or not. They seem to focus their marketing on baby boomers rather than cyclists which is probably a darn good idea. I bet they go public soon. Eroding the trail? Seriously! A dirt bike path is nothing but pure erosion! Let’s build more highways lest someone with an ebike spin a tire.

Well spoken

 

[Marceltt]

I honestly don't see a problem with this particular ad.
Ebikes are still perceived as old people's bike...or ebikes are for people who are not fit enough to ride a normal bicycle. I'd be more annoyed by that.

Stromer is calling themselves as "Supercar of electric bikes" and openly advertise their high performance.

Juiced Bikes does pretty much the same thing too, the owner of company (Tora was his name I think?) always talks about how fast the bike can go.

I’m glad you agree. Yes there are more aggressive ebikes out there. I do respect the trails and other riders also. I don’t know why the one fellow was so upset over the Pedego commercial.

 

[Fitzy]

I got a kick outta this guy's awful toupée.

 

[Marceltt]

Some people love to overreact to everything and make a big deal out of nothing.

Eroding the trail? Seriously? Watch the video again, exactly how much of tire skid mark did it leave? Non-electric downhill bikes leave a lot bigger marks all the time, give me a break.

Oh yeah doing a burn out is bad because it's like street racing. That barely did anything to put public safety or anyone's life in danger. I've seen kids electric 4x4 that you can get from Toys"R"Us doing exact same thing.

Glad you see it that way.

 

[Drew]

I got a kick outta this guy's awful toupée.

I think it's mean-spirited to make this remark.

 

[Reid]

Toupees are fine, and so is riding without a helmet or roostering dirt for a promotional video that won't be used to example irresponsible ebikers outside of this thread.

KWYADAWYADI. I've ridden 57 years without a helmet and that is my right and my personal choice. Helmets are an elective choice and are certainly good to use. They reduce injury rates and save lives.

But this is still supposed to be a nation of free, responsible choice (although in fact my ruined life story examples that the USA is in fact a police state).

Riding a bike is dangerous. A person can be killed at any time, by any car driver, helmet notwithstanding. Increasing that risk of death by omitting the helmet is a right of choice where I live.

A commercial extolling the ebike augmenting personal freedom, is a good and joyful thing, in my opinion. We are teetering on a balance of nanny-ism and totalitarianism.

The internet is soon to be throttled, and so, this thread of indignation over the style of promotion of an ebike brand is perhaps not very worthy of raising anyone's dander, unless his dander is covered with a flap of orange hair.

 

[newfydog]

I've ridden 57 years without a helmet and that is my right and my personal choice. .

Of course when some uninsured helmetless rider turns themselves into a slobbering, spoon fed invalid in a public institution it costs us all money. I would support helmetless motorcycling if emergency rooms could actually turn them away, but the reality is that their "rights" impinges on others. I was stopped by a cop in that totalitarian hell- hole called Australia and asked to put my helmet on. Fair enough, they all pay for the health care.

 

[Reid]

Of course when some uninsured helmetless rider turns themselves into a slobbering, spoon fed invalid in a public institution it costs us all money. I would support helmetless motorcycling if emergency rooms could actually turn them away, but the reality is that their "rights" impinges on others. I was stopped by a cop in that totalitarian hell- hole called Australia and asked to put my helmet on. Fair enough, they all pay for the health care.

Here in the police state of Florida the former universal motorcycle helmet law was virtually repealed July 1, 2000: A person over 21 years of age may operate or ride upon a motorcycle without wearing a helmet if they are covered by an insurance policy providing for at least $10,000 in medical benefits for injuries incurred as a result of a crash while operating or riding on a motorcycle. As for bicycles in Florida, riders over the age of sixteen are not required to wear a helmet.http://www.floridahealth.gov/statis...stem/_documents/data-fact-sheets/tbi-2013.pdf
(does not break down the source of the injuries).

Florida allows you to make your own fool decision.

(Florida also allows obesity, including by means of unrestricted pizza and high fructose corn syrup and unlimited Aspartame consumption, filling assisted living facilities and nursing homes and hospital beds with insolvent and fatally afflicted wards of the state.)

However, virtually all of the thousands of road bikers and most of the Sunday cyclists in my affluent Coconut Grove area wear helmets.

Flash! Seen today first time!: A very fast and fully lycra'd road biker pedaling a sky blue, mid-drive FAT TIRE EBIKE, visually estimated at well over 20 mph!

Yet he looked so normal and would make a great advertising image, hairnet helmet included, to counter oldster images of ebiking with our comb-overs and wattles waving in the breeze.

His youthful example is sure to excite other road bikers here who see him to get power assist bikes. Hooray!

PS. Even I might wear a helmet, when my prepaid, long-awaited 28 m.p.h. 2nd production CrossCurrent S arrives in December. Me, helmetless for all these years, wear a helmet? Well, it is lot faster and aggressive that I'll be riding. So, a helmet, then? Otherwise my luck may excessively depend on Depends.

 

[Marceltt]

I think it's mean-spirited to make this remark.

Agree

 

[justforfun]

The Pedego ad is well done. I wear a helmet riding mine because my cap flies off. Don't need one one riding my Trek.

 

[Gogogordy]

What they should’ve portrayed is a helmetless Pedego rider rooster tail blasting dirt into the faces of some traditional bicyclists (small children with elderly grandparents preferably) while giving them the “bird” as they pass by the traditional riders at 3x their speed.

^I’m just kidding!

Seriously, some advertising doesn’t help with potentially sensitive “perceptions” of certain products or those who are attracted to them, and inasmuch I take much greater umbrage with some (much more mainstream) advertising portraying irresponsible drivers in high performance vehicles....on public roadways (hello Dodge Co.....can you hear me? Mercedes?)

I dont find this Pedego ad particularly offensive, especially at this point in time, but when ebikes, and challenges integrating them into more daily life on trails, parks, etc more frequent, it could raise a brow as there are increasing numbers of them and the inevitable increasing pushback against them...then I would consider ads like this a disservice to ebiking in general. YMMV

 

[JohnT]

I’m a Pedego dealer, and I approve this message!

Having said that, I believe everyone should wear a helmet, but I think there are enough people who disagree that no one should be forced to wear one. Getting more people out and riding makes us all safer.

I get the OP’s point, that the rooster tail sets a bad example and goes along with the irresponsibility of not wearing a helmet. I just don’t agree that it does much harm.

I think the point of the segment was to show how fun Pedegos can be, and it did that well, but just because an ad appeals to the carefree kids in us doesn’t mean it reflects our reality. Most of our customers wear helmets, don’t rooster tail, love to pedal, and have a blast!

 

[harryS]

It's OK with me if ebikers do roostertails, but only with front hub motors.

 

[trebor]

100% the commercial is not appealing to me, but neither would be an ad for trikes set in a retirement community. Certainly the ad doesn't annoy me - I am just not their target customer. It is weird to see people riding without helmets, but people who ride bikes but are not cyclists don't use helmets.

As for eroding the trail, that would be like someone kicking the sand at the beach. It was just the ground of plain dirt that was placed there by a highway department - not a natural trail in a redwood forest.