Throttle? - Not a bike.

OPINION: If it's got a throttle, it's a moped.

Starting today, California is coming for your e-bike throttles
https://electrek.co/2025/01/01/starting-today-california-is-coming-for-your-e-bike-throttles/

WeGo E-bike Policy

eBikes.org’s Data-Driven Insights Into the E-Bike Market

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Report's Key Takeaways: - eBikes lead EV's world wise & US - 15% of US pop owns an ebike - Driver factors: pandemic, economic, and environmental  - Barriers: awareness, misconceptions, and implementation - Future Growth: New tech, safety regs, improved infrastructure

https://ebikes.org/general/e-bike-market-insights/

- Riding Toward the Future: Insights Into the Growing E-Bike Market

- E-Bikes: The Silent Leader in the Global EV Transition

- Three Factors Driving E-Bike Growth in the U.S.

- What to Expect in 2024

- 2024 and Beyond

https://www.facebook.com/groups/tnelectricbike/permalink/1475726839649576/ 

Banned! Why 2023 saw more e-bike and e-scooter bans than ever before

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Electric bicycle ridership grew to never-before-seen levels in 2023. But despite the increased ridership, or perhaps even because of it, this year has seen an increase in the number of limits and bans placed on electric bicycles and e-scooters. Here’s a look back at some of the most infamous bans and what led to them.

https://electrek.co/2023/12/26/banned-why-2023-saw-more-e-bike-and-e-scooter-bans-than-ever-before/ 

- NYC wants e-bikes stopped at the border

- Paris bans shared electric scooters, then something surprising happened

- Burning Man may begin banning electric bikes

- More college campuses banning e-bikes and e-scooters

As we head into 2024, the number of riders is only expected to grow even higher. With more e-bikes on the roads than ever before and no sign of the trend stopping, perhaps we should be asking how we can better and more safely incorporate e-bikes into our cities, communities, and campuses instead of simply attempting to ban them.

Subsidizing e-Bike Benefit

The effects of subsidising e-bikes on mode share and physical activity - A natural experiment

Highlights

• A subvention program for e-bikes led to a significant 12.6 percentage point increase in the bicycle mode share.
• This modal shift was observed in individuals who transitioned from using conventional bicycles, public transport, and cars.
• The subvention program resulted in an overall increase in cycling and active transport.
• Further research, employing more precise measurements, is needed to evaluate the impact on overall physical activity.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BDHOxYfdhDbPCpwhcB18UAgt6-x2rPhu/view?usp=sharing

Carey Rogers posted in Tennessee Electric Bike Forum January 23 at 11:21 AM

Available under Creative Commons. Report noticed using ChatGPT. 
Warning, scholastic nomenclature is not suitable for the typical bicyclist.

Funding Resources

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Bike/Ped Funding Sources -  Current opportunities  - Past funding opportunities that have been available. Check to see if they may offer more funding in the future.

Rails to Trails on an eBike

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The Spring/Summer 2023 issue of the Rails to Trails magazine included Exploring the Evolution of E-Bikes in America.  It discussed all the usual features and popularity on an e-bike. The last section was titled But Is It Cheating? That is always the common exclamation from the purist bicyclist, and maybe the most ignorant advocates.

Claire Martini, the project manager for the Leafline Trails Coalition of Washington State, said "Are multiple gears cheating? Is a lightweight carbon-fiber frame cheating? Suspension?"

The magazine author adds,"The trip that someone takes on an e-bike still burns more calories than the bike trip they chose not to take at all." 

According to a Rails to Trails study, 

338% increase in average daily distances biked by individuals on an e-bike vs. a regular bike. 

Researchers have found that e-bikes receive much of the cardiovascular health benefits obtained during conventional bikes, more than double their use of bicycles for transportation, and take longer trips on their e-bikes have also found that e-cycling can improve mental and physical health, happiness, and overall sense of well-being.

 https://www.railstotrails.org/trailblog/2023/may/04/exploring-americas-e-bike-evolution/

eBike Rebates

Let's get more people on bicycles:

The recently introduced E-BIKE (Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment) Act would create a tax rebate for people buying electric bikes similar to the tax incentive for buying an electric car.

Caron Whitaker, League of American Bicyclists

Nashville’s most dangerous streets

These streets are considered to have 

the highest concentrations of traffic injuries and deaths.

By Carmyn Gutierrez, Published: Jan. 19, 2023

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Several of Nashville’s most dangerous streets were revealed by Metro Vision Zero’s Safe Streets in Nashville Action Plan.

The number of drivers and pedestrians killed during vehicle-related incidents has increased since 2016, the Tennessee Department of Safety reports. The Vision Zero Action Plan aims to reduce those numbers to zero in a few years.

Four streets were deemed the most dangerous in Nashville, according to the action plan that was reviewed in August 2022. Those streets were Nolensville Pike, Charlotte Avenue, Murfreesboro Pike and West Trinity Lane. Data showed these streets had the highest concentrations of traffic injuries and deaths.

 

https://www.wsmv.com/2023/01/19/nashvilles-most-dangerous-streets/

 

The Cult of Bike Helmets

The history—and danger—of a modern safety obsession.

By Marion Renault, Jan 16, 2023

Last year, health officials in Seattle decided to stop requiring bicyclists to wear helmets. Independent research found that nearly half of Seattle’s helmet tickets in recent years went to unhoused people, while Black and Native American cyclists in the city were four times and two times more likely, respectively, than white cyclists to be cited.

Whether people should wear helmets was not the motivation behind the repeal, King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay said at the time. “The question is whether a helmet law that is enforced by police, on balance, produces results that outweigh the harms the law creates.” For lawmakers, the answer was clear: The potential benefits of a helmet mandate were not worth the harms it did to marginalized Seattle residents.

https://slate.com/technology/2023/01/bike-helmets-cyclist-deaths-do-you-need-to-wear.html

Bird eBike for Sale

Available for $1000 

Bird’s new electric bike combines the best features of commuter bikes, mountain bikes, and electric-powered bikes to create the ultimate ride. Built by the same team of vehicle designers and engineers who introduced shared electric scooters to the world, it's perfect for your everyday commute, leisurely riding, and everything in between. Thanks to its manual throttle for a fast recharge, an integrated backlit handlebar display, and a powerful 500w motor, you'll always get an effortless e-boost.

H2O The Book - Plus eBikes

It took Aussie Bob two years to put together his last two-week bike excursion that he didn't get to do. He is now working on another for 2023. Keep watching.

However, in the meantime read his most recent trip on H2O the Book. https://bit.ly/H2OBook

Why Isn't This in My City?

How bike parking pods could make US cities better for cyclists

Cities won’t encourage more cycling if there’s nowhere to park your bike. This startup wants to change that.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/06/29/1054557/bike-parking-pods-cyclists/

A Selfish Absurdity

An electric bike rode into the backcountry.
Now there's a nationwide turf war.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/an-electric-bike-rode-into-the-backcountry-now-theres-a-nationwide-turf-war/ar-AAXSjlJ?li=BBnb7Kz

Six Weeks from Hendersonville 2 Ocean

Finally, 2022 is the year for Aussie Bob's H2O leaving Hendersonville (actually Gallatin) to Savannah Georgia. He has had FOUR years to design this adventure in total detail (see the link to his Crazy Guy on a Bike. It's not been his first rodeo) journal. 

This supported SAG, Inn-to-Inn ride starts on May 21st and rolls into Savannah on June 6th. The half the riders are on ebikes and others are conventional, making this tour available to almost every capability.

Never Too Old to Cycle

Cycling is a sport many of us fall in love with from a young age, but there is still a lot of joy to be had from riding your bike as a veteran, or even if you're just starting out from an older age! We take you through some great tips to keep riding happily through the years!

Riding an E-Bike Isn’t the End of Your Cycling Career

For those of us who have served on Bike/Walk Tennessee's board of directors or live in Knoxville TN, you know Caroline Cooley. She is a super-advocate for biking and now for eBiking.

https://www.bicycling.com/culture/a36672989/caroline-cooley-riding-e-bikes/ 

Caroline Cooley has been riding a bike for longer than most of us have been alive. And though the retired nephrologist (a kidney specialist), is now 70 years old, she’s probably still logging more miles in a week—many of them on Knoxville’s root-ridden singletrack—than many of us spring chickens.

Her secret? A pair of Specialized e-bikes, 

namely the Levo SL (an electric mountain bike) and her Como, a cruiser with upright handlebars and panniers that’s perfect for grocery pick-ups and commuting around town.

Montreal - Cycling Without Age

We felt a special kinship when we visited with the Montreal Bike Club and have remained in contact. Malcolm McRae is their leader for this very civic oriented bike club.  Consistent with that orientation they have established  Cycling Without Age. chapter.

Dear Wheelmen and Wheelwomen

      Spring is approaching and the 2021 season of the Montreal Bicycle Club is about to begin. Last year, Covid made it impossible for the club to have overnight excursions or larger group rides.  Like many people I spent too much time this last winter on Zoom Meetings or working on the computer.  I hope that this summer we can all spend more time doing the things we love outdoors.
     Last November some of the Montreal Bicycle Club members started to consider what the club could do this coming summer that would help those seniors who were hit hard by the andemic.  It was decided to start a local Cycling Without Age Chapter and offer rides to those who would like to join us on outings but are not able to cycle themselves.
      A 25 %  down payment was made for a club CWA trishaw and we will now begin fundraising for the additional 75%.  Hopefully this private CWA initiative will some day turn into an expanded public program.  A slide presentation of our plans were given 19 March 2021 to the City of Westmount officials and can be viewed here.

https://montrealbicycleclub.weebly.com/cycling-without-age-in-westmount.html

      If you would like to contribute to the trishaw purchase it can be done through a Go Fund Me webpage or by contacting me directly.  The trishaw is now assembled in the bicycle shop and is available for delivery.  My hope is that we take delivery in late April or early May.

Cycling Without Age

Here is a TED talk inspired by an email from Malcolm (our friend in the Montreal Bike Club) It is called Cycling Without Age. As I listened to this TED talk, it reminded me why many of us so-called elderly do not wish to give up cycling -- it's smelling the flowers, hearing the birds, feeling the wind in your hair.

I do not plan to buy an electric rickshaw, but I have ordered the thing powering the vehicle – an eBike. As the speaker said, when people reach their seventies, most of them give up cycling because of physical limitations or fear of being hurt. 

But for many of us, I suspect the eBike is just the perfect alternative to extend this experience another decade.

It''s a Game Changer

John Cummins Tom, I'm a former Fogbee now living in BG. I've had an ebike for over a year now, and I wholeheartedly call it a total game changer. Mine is a Trek Allant 8+S, (pedal-assist) with a Bosch Performance Line Speed motor delivering a 28 mph max speed (+Class 3, the max), and importantly, 85 newton-meters of torque! I would advise anyone considering an ebike purchase to examine the specs as above and several others. But again, this bike is a GAME CHANGER for me. Hills are no longer a problem for me, and I usually can't wait to ride it again. (I was beginning to lose interest in riding). Oh, and I have gotten 50+ miles on a full battery charge, with almost 20% of battery power remaining. Of course distance is affected but several factors. I love ebikes! They're not cheap, but a hell of a lot of fun.