Heidi Swift, "Ebikes, Awesome or Awful?", Grit and Glimmer, 5/25/2010

The author admits she's ridden - and enjoyed! - an ebike, and she concludes that she doesn't care if it's a bike or not as long as it's one less car on the road.

24 comments:
17 positive
6 neutral
0 negative

Joseph Rose, "For Real: Road-testing Three eBikes in Portland...", Oregonlive, 5/27/2010

Rose reports on his experience test riding three Kalkhoff ebikes and about the ebiking experience in general. Column delivers fewer comments than previous story, and less vitriol.

10 comments (less mine):
1 positive
5 neutral
1 negative

Joseph Rose, "Pedaling Purity: PDXebiker...", Oregonlive, 5/24/2010

Joseph Rose introduces me to the world. Sadly, comments devolve into name-calling. A couple interesting legal and behavioral questions discussed, but mostly it's unrelated to ebikes. Also, axoplasm's comment to this post was the seed behind this series of posts.

87 comments
21 positive
47 neutral (asking for more detail, ranting about something not ebike-related)
14 negative

North Portland Sunday Parkways

(I'm not a good photographer under the best of conditions, and this Sunday Parkways I was riding in a larger group that made it a bit more difficult to stop and take photos; I think you'll quickly see what I mean.)

Sunday Parkways, North Portland style kicked off promptly at 10am as traffic was diverted away from the route. We started much the same my route preview went last month, starting in Peninsula Park and riding south and west, ie, clockwise. As we rode through, we slowed to check out the Brammo e-motorcycle on display along with some ebikes at the Best Buy tent. Farther along, we saw The eBike Store and Kalkhoff USA set up next to each other; I tried to get a shot of both in the same frame. You see how well that worked out for me.

The Willamette overlook was easily the most stunning view on the ride. Farther along at Arbor Lodge Park we cruised by Singing Planet Ebikes. I got a pretty good shot of the graffiti chalked in front of their booth. Intentionally, of course.


Coincidentally, Saraveza was throwing a party for the New Belgium brewery. Scanning through my photos, I realized I was going to need some photographic filler. Here's a shot of the drum kit bicycle being played, and the rotating tricycle. You can pedal pretty fast on that thing, but you won't get very far. You will, however, quickly get dizzy.


Early results I heard were an estimate of 23,000 people out riding, eating, doing, watching, and soaking up some great sun! Based on congestion on the route, I wouldn't disagree with that estimate - wisely, there were signs to walk our bikes across the Bryant/I-5 pedestrian overpass. I saw at least 4 ebikes, including a Bionx-based hand-cranked trike, and an ebiker on a non-ebike. Up next, the East Portland Sunday Parkway. Held in conjunction with the East Portland Exposition, it should be well-attended. It will also be the first Sunday Parkways that travels along a MUP.

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eBikes Success Stories: John and his Optibike

John has been riding his Optibike for a couple years. John and his ebike lapped me at the OHPV's ePower Challenge race recently; I then briefly got to ride his bike around the parking lot after the race. They're nice ebikes, driven through a motorized bottom bracket. MSRP starts at around $9,000, though they are currently on sale, and occasionally offer factory reconditioned bikes from as low as $2,995.

PDXebiker: Why an ebike; why an Optibike?
John: I bought an ebike to increase my speed and decrease the exercise and time required for an approximate 30 mile commute from Portland to Gresham and back.
I bought the Optibike because it has the range and speed to do the above, and off road, too. It's a tremendous mountain bike.

How do you use your ebike? Does it displace car/bus/other bike use? How many miles/week, or do you even keep track?
I primarily use the bike for commuting but any quick trip with good weather anywhere in town is very easy.

In practice, is range an issue? Ever had a dead battery?
Range is not an issue with the Optibike - 50 miles is doable and more I imagine if you were to hyper mile the ride. The Opti is more efficient than the drum drive type of bikes you see on nearly all other E bike brands.
I did have a dead battery once, on my first ride! The bike was delivered with a faulty battery and was quickly replaced at no cost to me, although I was apparently the first customer to change out a battery "in the field". Usually they last about 30,000 miles.

What do you really like about your ebike/ebiking? What solutions really work for you?
Speed, power, and the appearance of youth. It makes me feel twice as fast, twice as strong, and half as old.

What do you not like about your bike/ebiking, and what do you do to mitigate that?
I love ebiking but many in the cyberworld do not share my feelings. In the real world, I suppose having an Opti is isolating in that I go very fast and who would be able to keep up comfortably? Lance? Nope, he puts out about 500 wattts of power I'm told and I can put out more than that pedaling hard in the lower power setting. So, I always ride alone.
I do have many other bikes, mountain and road bikes - I've cycle toured since 1971, done Cycle Oregon a few times and built some custom machines, too. They are all different bikes and they are all great.

John's also an Ambassador for the Optibike brand; drop him a line, he'd be happy to set up a test ride.

Those Funny Gutters: eBike Ramps that Work

I was recently walking around PSU campus, and came across a set of stairs with little "gutters" along the side. I was perplexed - it didn't look like any runoff would selectively divert itself into these gutters.

Turns out, they're called bike stairways, and designed to make it easier to wheel your bike up or down the stairs. These particular stairs are in an area to small for a ramp, so this is the alternative. I tried them out, they work pretty well; given that ebikes tend to be heavier than their non-assisted counterparts, I'd say they're especially beneficial for people on ebikes. The metal surface can be slick, even when dry, so be careful when it's a bit wet. They also require leaning your ebike to clear the handrail, but there was no sidewall scrubbing, even with fairly wide cruiser tires.

Obviously, this would work better for an ebike with a throttle, not just just a solely pedal or torque based application. The Kalkhoff Pro Connect Sport I recently tested had a separate throttle specifically for this purpose.

eBike Friendly Infrastructure: The Mississippi Hill

Usually, ebikes can integrate well into most existing bicycle infrastructure; there are exceptions (like hanging bike racks). However, there is some bike infrastructure to which ebikes adapt particularly well - in this irregular and occasional series of posts, I'll share my thoughts on some of them.

The Mississippi Hill is an alternative for the North Portland-bound ebiker to the Interstate and Williams bike lane. There is no bike lane striped on the southbound (downhill) lane, because bikes coasting downhill can keep up with traffic fairly well. The northbound, or uphill lane, was striped with a bike lane recently, and I frequently find myself using it. Even with the lane, perhaps due to the steepness of the hill, I don't often see other riders here. With the combined muscle and motor output, its a straightforward climb on an ebike. If I do pass another person on a bike climbing the hill, I try to be particularly careful about passing them in the main traffic lane - I know how much work they're doing, and I like to stay out of their way.

I've been riding the Mississippi Hill more frequently since Williams is being resurfaced. Apparently, Mississippi was on the same list of streets to be resurfaced - while riding home last night, I discovered it has been ground down in preparation for repaving. A short time with a rough ride is worth it for a newly surfaced bike lane here.

I frequently see a person on a gas-powered bike riding up this hill as well. He usually passes me.

Update, 6/23/2010:
The repaving is done, new signage in place, just waiting for the official striping. It's a nice, smooth ride.