Hacker News Reader

Comment by mataug | Hacker News Reader

My wife and I own one of the RadMission ebikes[1] each, and I now fully believe that they are the missing middle transportation that many cities, even in suburbs.

We've taken these bikes on, long trips on a trial, grocery runs, trips to the gym, and even on dates. These things are a ton of fun, and I can safely keep up with cars on many, not all, city streets.

I think ebikes can effectively replace cars for many trips, they cause minimal wear to city infrastructure, require much less space on roads, cause a lot less traffic, and generally improve the health and well being of people in a city.

I think we need an ebike revolution as much as we need an electric car revolution.

https://www.radpowerbikes.com/collections/electric-bikes/pro...

View on HN

One dilemma that stops ebikes from really taking over cars is the fact that it rains a lot in most of the country. Sure, on the west coast and in the desert ebikes work great. Move to a climate like the east coast, and it is immediately much less appealing as a single mode of transportation.

North of California on the West Coast gets quite a bit of rain as well, some 200+ days on average, and even though the rain is more on the scale of a light mist than a torrential downpour, moving through it for a decently long period of time would leave anyone soaked to the bone.

It doesn't need to be a single mode - it can be a supplementary mode that covers some percentage of use - 10%, 30%, 50% - all would help reduce transit issues and improve transit density.

Scooters dominate personal transport in Taipei despite a rainy climate. Offices there have pegs for hanging up wet ponchos.

I cycle (manually) in the rain pretty frequently. It's not ideal but it's honestly just fine.

It depends on the level of rain, but there are affordable solutions to cycling in the rain to prevent you from getting drenched. I use the Rover cycling poncho from Cleverhoods to keep dry. It's mostly a regular poncho, but it has thumb straps you can strap on your handlebars and your legs are covered.

My son, who rides in a seat on the back, has a rain cover that provides shade when it's not raining and that we can zip an enclosure onto when it is to keep him completely dry.

If it's a heavy rain and we can't wait it out we'll take the car. But we mostly use our e-bikes as it's easier/quicker/more fun.

This is easily solved for with a decent rain jacket and rain pants.

When I started commuting via ebike I was convinced I would take the bus or drive on rainy days, but in reality I’ve found that riding in the rain (with rain gear) is still vastly more enjoyable than sitting in traffic.

I live in a city famous for its rain.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com