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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a huge e-bike proponent (the real e-bikes and not the electric motorcycles pretending to be e-bikes).  I’ve ridden thousands of miles on DC city streets sometimes with my child on the back, sometimes alone, and increasingly now accompanied by my elementary aged child riding their own bike just in front of me.  I accept that biking in the city is likely the highest risk activity we partake in.  I still think it is worth it.  I will say in 8 years of daily riding I’ve never been hit or even had a significant close call.  I am cautious and pick my route carefully.  I follow the rules of the road (not riding through lights etc) and when not in a bike lane I take the lane (meaning I ride in the middle of the lane so cars can’t miss seeing me or sideswipe me).

I fully understand people who don’t feel comfortable doing it but if you are interested in it I also recommend joining the dc family biking group and testing it out.

And yes my bike was expensive but I we still spend less money on it than our car (even though my bike gets more mileage a year than the car).[/quote]

Your bike gets more mileage than your car because you live in the city and you are using it to replace walking and public transit trips. We live in the city with a car and no e-bike, and almost never use our car. Instead we walk and take public transit.

An e-bike is a luxury item. It's a great way to make a 20 minute walk into a 5 minute bike ride, and it is useful if you are towing small kids or groceries. But they are expensive, have relatively short life spans (compared to both cars and traditional bikes), kids outgrow them before they can safely bike on their own, and yes, they are more dangerous than other options. I'm glad you enjoy riding your e-bike but it's essentially a hobby for you. It's not a replacement for a family car, as you well know, since you still have a car.[/quote]

My bike very much replaces car trips.  I go grocery shopping and buy more than I can carry on my bike.  I commute to work daily on it because it takes the same time as driving and is faster than public transit.  I bike from DC to the Silver Spring YMCA instead of driving.  I still have a car because I bought it in 2005 and it hasn’t died yet.  I doubt I’ll buy a new car when it dies.  I will definitely buy a new e-bike when it dies (though it is 7 years old and in great condition so that likely won’t be for a while).[/quote]

You must have bought one of the higher end e-bikes. Is it a cargo bike? We know people who have had the Lectric Xpedition (around 2k) as well as the Xtracycle Swoop (around 5k) and I've never heard of one lasting 7 years without at least a battery replacement, and the batteries are so expensive that depending on the bike many people will just replace the whole bike. We also know people who have one of the above and purchased an extra battery so they can cycle them out, and that extends the life obviously because each battery is working half as much. Do you have a Tern? I have heard those are better, but 8k is a lot for something you can never take on a highway.

They are definitely luxury items.[/quote]

Batteries are around $300. Tern electric cargos start at $3000.[/quote]

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