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Comment by burlesona | Hacker News Reader

I highly recommmend the electric scooter. So fast and so fun. I got this one:

I had that scooter and used it for my daily commute for a couple of years. The first time I hit a pothole, I shattered my clavicle and had to call an ambulance. The second – and last – time I hit a pothole, I broke my humerus in two places but was was able to take a Lyft to the emergency room. I completely lost the use of my right hand for a couple of months because swelling pinched off the nerves. Extremely inconvenient for someone who works in front of a computer.

I would strongly recommend that you not ride an electric scooter. Consider the diameter of the wheels. If you hit any pothole or rail or anything which has a lip higher than HALF the diameter of that little wheel, you're going to go flying over the handlebars. If you ride it every day for months or years, you're going to crash, no matter how careful you are, at least on SF streets.

I don't understand why you went back to using a scooter, if you were so clearly able to diagnose the dangers, and had one fairly severe injury. Why not switch to a commuter bike (the ~1 ft wheel foldable ones)?

Also, separate question, my understanding is that potholes are mainly formed by freeze/thaw cycles -- weather not typically found in SF. Have you lived in Chicago or NYC? Can you contrast the pothole density between those three cities?

After the first time, I thought it was a one-off and that I could avoid further injury by being more careful. After the second time, I realized that was foolhardy.

Potholes in asphalt can be caused by pressure from tires too. I've never tried biking or scootering in a different city so I can't compare the quantity of potholes.

Or, a bicycle. You can get a good one on craigslist for a hundred bucks if you're patient. You may get a bit sweatier but you'll get an exercise ;)

Or, there's no hills, and you go your own pace, and it's fine.

Having tried both I do feel bicycles are safer - those tiny scooter wheels shake me to pieces.

Another thing I like about bikes is that it can be really therapeutic to perform your own tweaks, maintenance and repairs. Yesterday fitted new break pads and it’s such a pleasure to ride and is satisfying as hell.

If it stops raining sometimes in the next year or two I'll give it a try!

Hah, we're opposites. I always get frustrated trying to do it the right way and end up hacking it together shittily

I built an electric bike from an inexpensive normal bike + Bafang motor. Total cost <$1000. I have never been happier with a vehicle. This is really the best of all worlds.

Oh snap, got a blog post or anything? Would love to kick a motor on to help on the incline home.

There are a million tutorials online, just google "bafang tutorial"; I found this video informative https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf6BMf28ats but again, there are many many others.

One point important mentioning though is that once you put a motor on the bike you kind of have to use it all the time, because 1/ you lose the front derailleur, 2/ motor + battery weight around 6-8 kg, and 3/ the engine is always engaged.

It's possible to use the bike with zero assistance, on flat ground, if you need it (for example if the battery dies), but it's not something you want to do all the time.

So, it's not really a sport anymore. Yet it's extremely pleasant.

Also: you can buy Bafang motors on Aliexpress or Alibaba; I find sellers on Alibaba much more professional, and most will agree to sell just one item.

> the engine is always engaged

This isn't true, I misspoke. The engine isn't always engaged, it has a freewheel mechanism, but it's not as smooth and friction free than if there was no motor.

The usability of the bike with the motor off rests on the size of the plate you choose; if you want to be able to ride the bike easily without the motor you should select a small plate (<=42T probably).

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