Two-wheeled electric vehicles have benefited from improvements in battery technology:
As car companies make strides toward expanding the reach of electric cars in the U.S., the same is happening in the world of two wheels. Outside the U.S., motorcycles, mopeds and scooters are vital, affordable forms of transportation that alleviate congestion. They also run on fossil fuels, and many of the smaller motors are more polluting than regular cars.
In the U.S., these smaller vehicles largely have been leisure devices. But as battery technology improves and cities get denser, some startups are seeking to produce cheaper and greener mopeds, scooters and motorized bikes. When John McChesney reported on e-bikes for NPR in 2008, they were pretty much a new thing in the U.S. Electric bikes have a long history but re-emerged after the turn of the century.
Meanwhile, dockless bikesharing programs, popular in China, have made their way to the U.S. The bicycles are located using GPS, unlocked using smartphones, and parked almost anywhere. Entrants such as LimeBike, Mobike, Spin, and Ofo are competing against existing bikeshare initiatives and public-private partnerships that use fixed docks. Dockless bicycles have made their way across the nation, sparking skepticism, 911 calls, and thefts.
Cycling gadgets: the invisible trackers and dockless bikes shaping 2018
Dockless bike-sharing startup LimeBike is working on creating virtual parking spots
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Uber is getting into the dockless bicycle-sharing business with an acquisition reportedly worth $100-200 million:
Uber has acquired bike-sharing startup JUMP for an undisclosed amount of money. This comes shortly after TechCrunch reported that JUMP was in talks with Uber as well as with investors regarding a potential fundraising round involving Sequoia Capital's Mike Moritz. At the time, JUMP was contemplating a sale that exceeded $100 million. We're now hearing that the final price was closer to $200 million, according to one source close to the situation.
JUMP's decision to sell to Uber came down to the ability to realize the bike-share company's vision at a large scale, and quickly, JUMP CEO Ryan Rzepecki told TechCrunch over the phone. He also said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's leadership impacted his decision.
[...] JUMP is best known for operating dockless, pedal-assist bikes. JUMP's bikes can be legally locked to bike parking racks or the "furniture zone" of sidewalks, which is where you see things like light poles, benches and utility poles. The bikes also come with integrated locks to secure the bikes.
Also at VentureBeat, Recode, and The Mercury News.
Related: New Electric Bikes, Scooters, and Dockless Bicycles Hitting U.S. Streets
Lyft buys the biggest bike-sharing company in the US
Lyft has acquired Motivate, the bike-sharing company that operates Citi Bike in New York City and Ford's GoBike program in San Francisco. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, though it was reported in June to be around $250 million.
Motivate, which Lyft says accounts for about 80 percent of bike-share trips in the US, also operates networks in Chicago; Boston; Washington, DC; Portland, Oregon; Columbus; and Minneapolis. Lyft says it "will invest to establish bike offerings in our major markets and pursue growth and innovation in the markets where Motivate currently operates," but it's unclear where or when it might expand beyond the cities Motivate is currently in. The company also did not share when Motivate's bikes will be available in the Lyft app.
Also at NYT and TechCrunch.
Previously: Uber May Try to Buy Citi Bike Parent Company Motivate
Related: New Electric Bikes, Scooters, and Dockless Bicycles Hitting U.S. Streets
Uber Buys Electric Bicycle-Sharing Startup JUMP Bikes
Brakes that are too effective have led Lyft to remove thousands of its electric pedal-assist bicycles from New York City (Citi Bike), San Francisco (Ford GoBike), and Washington, D.C. (Capital Bikeshare):
A month ago, Jordan Wyckoff was riding an electric Citi Bike to work in Brooklyn when he slammed on the brakes to avoid a minivan that swerved in the bike lane. But when he hit the brakes, the front wheel locked up, sending Mr. Wyckoff over the front of the handlebars and onto the pavement.
The same thing happened to Dominik Glodzik when he tried to brake before a stop sign in Astoria, Queens about two months ago.
William Turton flipped over the front of an electric Citi Bike while trying to brake before an intersection on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn.
In recent months, dozens of riders have reported injuries while riding electric Citi Bikes, prompting the company on Sunday to pull all of the approximately 1,000 electric bicycles from New York City's streets amid safety concerns about the brakes. Lyft, which owns Citi Bike, took similar precautions with its other bike-sharing services in Washington and San Francisco.
Motivate, a subsidiary of Lyft since 2018, operates bicycle sharing systems in several cities.
Previously: Uber May Try to Buy Citi Bike Parent Company Motivate
Lyft Acquires America's Largest Bike-Sharing Company, Motivate
Related: New Electric Bikes, Scooters, and Dockless Bicycles Hitting U.S. Streets
Uber Buys Electric Bicycle-Sharing Startup JUMP Bikes
E-bikes are the fastest-growing segment of the bicycle industry. They're popular with commuters and baby boomers who might not otherwise be able to get out on a bicycle.
The bikes, which can cost $2,000 or more, combine the frame of a regular bike with lightweight batteries and electric motors for extra zip.
Their sales jumped 72% to $144 million in the U.S. last year, helping to breathe life into bicycle sales that have been relatively flat, according to the NPD Group, which tracks retail bike sales nationwide.
Their popularity has led to conflict.
In bike-friendly southern California, as local land managers take cues from agencies like the National Park Service, some are banning e-bikes from bicycle paths. That has angered riders, said Morgan Lommele, of PeopleForBikes, a bicycle advocacy group and trade association.
[...] Maine and 21 other states have adopted laws that classify e-bikes into categories. Most are treated like regular bicycles under such laws, said Lommele, who has been working with states to create uniform definitions. Only the fastest e-bikes are restricted to roads.
(Score: 2) by legont on Saturday December 30 2017, @06:12AM (2 children)
Electric bikes are definitely not legal on bike paths and possibly totally illegal
https://www.citylab.com/equity/2016/02/the-murky-legality-of-e-bikes/426969/ [citylab.com]
More info here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_bicycle_laws [wikipedia.org]
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 30 2017, @06:55AM (1 child)
Where?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 30 2017, @07:14AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_bicycle_laws#New_York [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 1) by sonamchauhan on Saturday December 30 2017, @08:19AM (3 children)
It's junk street furniture!
https://www.forbes.com/sites/evgenytchebotarev/2017/12/16/with-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars-burned-the-dockless-bike-sharing-market-is-imploding/ [forbes.com]
There's too much venture capital in the world, and investors have gotten excessively greedy. What next? Dockless hand tools? Dockless luggage?
"Hey, honey - as we're walking in this park, what do you think of a Paris getaway!?!?"
"YES honey - such a brilliant idea!!! Look - here's a dockless suitcase - lets rent it for our Paris weekend"
"Perfect - we don't even have to pack! I'll book an Uber to the airport, while you book this"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 30 2017, @08:50AM
https://archive.fo/q2gdc [archive.fo]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equipment_rental [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 30 2017, @02:36PM (1 child)
We've got dockless bikes here in Seattle and they've rapidly become a nuisance. Idiots leave them wherever they feel like, often times blocking the sidewalk. Vandals have been tossing them off bridges or into our waterways. People ride them without helmets since the companies don't provide them with the bike.
The whole thing is idiotic. People who want to ride bikes have some rather affordable options for purchasing one. There's numerous used bike shops here that sell decent bikes for relatively little money.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday December 30 2017, @06:12PM
People do that with "normal" docked bikeshare bicycles, although some will bring their own helmet. That point is not unique to "dockless".
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday December 30 2017, @12:29PM (2 children)
A lot of those ebikes look like toys. That is, they aren't fit to put on the highway, and ride at speeds up to 100 mph. In fact, some of them look like they might be unstable at 30 mph, considering that delivery boys are carrying a load on the bike. Ten pounds, a hundred pounds, possibly more. Assuming the bike weighs forty pounds, the rider weighs 150 pounds, and the load weighs 100 pounds, 30 mph amounts to a lot of kinetic energy. WTF are they doing riding on sidewalks? Why are they riding down one-way streets the wrong way? Running redlights?
Sounds to me like New York may have made the right call - just outlaw the damned things. If the riders don't have the sense that children are supposed to have when they learn to ride a bicycle, keep fining them.
Now, an electric MOTORCYCLE sounds appealing. Something at least comparable to a Honda 300, preferably a 500. My GL 500 will cruise at 100 mph for about 2 1/2 hours at a time, then it's time to stop for fuel. Nice comfortable ride, you can carry a lot of stuff in the various pockets, rear box, and panniers, plus the magnetic tank bag that sits on the fuel tank. Dry weight right at 500 pounds, fueled up, rider aboard, and whatever gear might be carried, there may be three quarter ton total mass. Yep, it's stable. And, properly licensed, because it meets ALL safety requirements at the federal and state level.
And, I would never ride down the sidewalk, or through a park, or down a bike trail.
Make a machine that equals that old 500, license it, then put it on the streets for deliveries.
Screw a whole bunch of ebikes. If they are made legal, the city streets will probably just degenerate into the same kind of messes shown in videos in China, India, Hong Kong, and other places.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a56VPFR3Qbo [youtube.com]
Maybe we should import some water buffalo to run throught the streets as well? Note that many of those machines are much older than my 1982 GL - some of them may be as old as I am! But, yeah, buffalo . . .
(Score: 4, Informative) by tonyPick on Saturday December 30 2017, @01:00PM
Are you supplying drugs to Lance Armstrong here? e-bikes like these will be pedal cycle replacements limited to 20mph which allows them to skip around most of the regulations related to motor vehicles. Faster than that and you get into "proper" regulation: e.g. States will typically define e-mopeds in the 1000W range (1.5 hp) and speeds attainable to 30mph, and include a few requirements such as a helmet, eye protection, and a driver’s license. States may also require title, registration, and insurance for mopeds: https://electricbikereview.com/guides/ebike-laws-usa/ [electricbikereview.com]
Breaking the law. IMO Arrest them and take the vehicle is the solution to that. Police the world over don't seem to care enough to do that though.
(Score: 4, Informative) by iwoloschin on Saturday December 30 2017, @01:01PM
You're completely right, these guys shouldn't be on sidewalks, but given that the speed limit in NYC is 25 MPH (unless otherwise posted) I don't think you really want, or need, a vehicle capable of 100 MPH.