POLL: E-Bike Community

[NSF Research Lead]

Greetings!

Due to recent funding opportunities, I am conducting research per the National Science Foundation and am looking at the future of cycling amongst the E-Bike community. After reviewing, EBR seems like a great place to start and I would appreciate feedback in the following poll. I look forward to contributing to conversations and learning as much as I can in the coming months!

Please feel free to sound off below in response to the following open ended question: What improvements to the current market need to be made for a rise in popularity in this technology?

Sincerely,
Brandon
Research Scholar
University of Akron
Graduate College of Engineering

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

NSF is funding some cool programs!

I hope you cite this paper in your study

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361920915000140

 

[Deleted member 803]

Greetings!

Due to recent funding opportunities, I am conducting research per the National Science Foundation and am looking at the future of cycling amongst the E-Bike community. After reviewing, EBR seems like a great place to start and I would appreciate feedback in the following poll. I look forward to contributing to conversations and learning as much as I can in the coming months!

Please feel free to sound off below in response to the following open ended question: What improvements to the current market need to be made for a rise in popularity in this technology?

Sincerely,
Brandon
Research Scholar
University of Akron
Graduate College of Engineering

Read my response to BMC and Stromer thread under the Stromer group. In reference to the marketing of ebikes.

 

[Deleted member 803]

Read my response to BMC and Stromer thread under the Stromer group. In reference to the marketing of ebikes.

http://electricbikereview.com/community/threads/bmc-and-stromer.2034/page-2#post-24695

 

[George S.]

Perhaps you could be a bit more specific about what you are studying? Everything seems to be up in the air right now. With lower battery prices and developing technology, it is hard to define an ebike. The regulations vary from state to state, on things like whether you need a license, or whether you can ride on a bike path.

I have my original store bought bike plus a bike I built from a kit. This distinction is somewhat arbitrary, given the nature of many kits. It can be a fairly trivial amount of work.

I hope this isn't one of those studies that the Senators from my state (Utah) are always pointing at to demonstrate waste in the federal budget.

 

[Deleted member 803]

Greetings!

Due to recent funding opportunities, I am conducting research per the National Science Foundation and am looking at the future of cycling amongst the E-Bike community. After reviewing, EBR seems like a great place to start and I would appreciate feedback in the following poll. I look forward to contributing to conversations and learning as much as I can in the coming months!

Please feel free to sound off below in response to the following open ended question: What improvements to the current market need to be made for a rise in popularity in this technology?

Sincerely,
Brandon
Research Scholar
University of Akron
Graduate College of Engineering

Besides proactive marketing, the other agenda item is bicycle friendly communities with dedicated infrastructure that includes not only dedicated bike lanes, but public bike sharing. Some cities deploy locked bike stations where folks can rent a bicycle (non-ebike) and drop the bike at the destination bike station. The other idea to promote bicycle riding is personal bike sharing. Bike sharing locks (new on the market) enable folks to lock their bikes anywhere and allow friends and family to unlock the bike remotely and ride. You can envision an Uber like service where folks register for bike share, pay a nominal fee, and can hop on a bike almost anywhere in a city. The idea is a public bike works that allows for reasonable security. On a national and state level, offering significant carbon tax credits for companies that have X percent of their employees on bicycles could go a long way.

Another idea for your quiver is the Tuk Tuk utilizing an ebike. A community Tuk Tuk program with very reasonable rates and a way to keep some young folks gainfully employed is worth considering for both small communities and larger ones. Those funny little islands south of Florida use scooters to help folks get around. A variation on that theme is worth consideration.

Whatever proposals are made, needs to have a social, political, economic, environmental, and health agenda. In other words...a well rounded program that offers motivation for the givers and receivers of ebike transport.

OK, the meds are wearing off so I'll stop noodling.......

 

[stevenast]

What improvements to the current market need to be made for a rise in popularity in this technology?

1. As already mentioned above, improvements to the infrastructure to make travel in US cities more bike/ebike friendly.... more Minneapolis like!

2A. A completely free market place without MAP.

2B. High quality at a reasonable price

2C. For the marketplace to reach a tipping point where economies of scale make lower profit margin acceptable to sellers

3. Stability in laws and regulations governing use of e-bikes.

4. Widespread involvement of major bicycle companies such as Trek, Specialized, Giant.

5. A shift from homebuilts to professionally engineered and tested products. Judging from your poll above (19-2 when I looked), that shift is well underway.

 

[stevenast]

I hope this isn't one of those studies that the Senators from my state (Utah) are always pointing at to demonstrate waste in the federal budget.

Studying the growth of e-bikes will never be a waste!

 

[bareyb]

5. A [forced/legislated] shift from homebuilts to professionally engineered and tested products. Judging from your poll above (19-2 when I looked), that shift is well underway.

Could not disagree more. This limits freedom and will be bad for all e-bike riders. Give the e-tailers that much of a monopoly and quality and price will suffer accordingly. Bad, bad, bad, idea. Not sure why you insist on pushing this agenda in every thread. It's a horrible idea to limit competition.

 

[stevenast]

Could not disagree more. This limits freedom and will be bad for all e-bike riders. Give the e-tailers that much of a monopoly and quality and price will suffer accordingly. Bad, bad, bad, idea. Not sure why you insist on pushing this agenda in every thread. It's a horrible idea to limit competition.

I don't understand how a free market limits competition, could you explain more?

 

[bareyb]

I don't understand how a free market limits competition, could you explain more?

Free market? With laws that favor manufacturers over individuals? If you can't understand that, then I can't help you. How about you stop pushing for laws on a subjects that you have no understanding of? Maybe do a little more research into what you are trying so hard to put into law? You very clearly do not understand. On that we can agree. You seem to be having a legislative knee jerk reaction.

 

[stevenast]

How about you stop pushing for laws on a subjects that you have no understanding of?

Like most, I ride an off-the-shelf e-bike.

I'm not "pushing" for any laws, just applauding those who are working on legislation; simply discussing the legal climate from the perspective of the growth of e-bike sales in this country.

New regulations, in many cases more liberal than current regulations, are needed and coming. I welcome that, and I know the e-bike industry does too, as will the majority of consumers.

 

[Vern]

I am pretty sure the poll results would be reversed if posted on endless sphere.

 

[stevenast]

I am pretty sure the poll results would be reversed if posted on endless sphere.

Yup, hobbyist site.

...and if we were to poll every person riding an electric bike this week in the U.S., it would be 95% riding factory-built.

 

[pcrdude]

<-------I modified my Trek in 1999 with a MAC can (geared) and 24v lead-acid battery (Currie kit). Now I have a Dash.

How should I vote?