[Tinsnips]

Growing up riding enduros in the ‘70’s I have memories of Can-Am 250s that were absolute beasts. Back then, around here they were king.

I came across this article and wanted to share it here for conversation

I can confirm that even as an evil sport bike guy I gots say the electric super sports have put up some impressive times. I still wanna burn dinosaurs but can’t look you in the eye and say I’m not interested.

What are your thoughts about electric bikes? What do you like or dislike? Is this going to work or is it not going to sell?

 

[AlanRides]

My 2¢ is that the electrics look like a lot of fun for city/short hop riding. Until battery and charging technology allow longer rides without fear of running out of charge and then being able to recharge as fast as one can fill a tank of gas I think they will be neat, expensive toys for those who can afford them and never stray too far from home.

I will always worry about the problems with the mining and geopolitical impacts of sourcing the rare earth magnets needed for motor construction and lithium and other minerals associated with batteries. Then the eventual impact of bunches of bad batteries. In the not so distant future I think it will be determined that electric transportation isn't quite as green as many think it is now.

 

[Boog]

The training my life has brought to me looks to the 2nd, 3rd... order of effects for just about everything decided.

1st, Keeping the battery(s) charged is a concern that can be overcome with prior planning. Trips will simply take longer. As Alan states, they will be well suited for around town/commuting to work, but so well for cross country trips.

2nd, many city HOAs (or other ordinances) prevent laying an extension cord out of the house to the street where so many people park. This requires bringing the bike (or E-car) inside the townhouse; and that is not always an option.

3rd, Alan also mentioned what is to be done with the millions of pounds of dead lithium batteries. At present, it is too expensive to recycle them.

4th, Alan also mentioned the mining of both lithium and neodymium. These elements are not easy to get though at the moment, the world has a good supply. We just cannot source them here in the US, and the amount required to go "ALL" electric may not be available. One should never rely on a rival nation for one's needs...

5th, where are we going to get the electricity to charge the batteries? Georgia just fired off the first new nuclear power plant in a long time. We are going to need many more to support the demand...

As for riding them, they are okay for fun. They are not as quiet as the media reports though as I discovered on the group rides. The gas-powered BMW and Suzuki 650 that rode as front and back safety were far quieter than the E-bikes.

I have ridden several and wrote a review a few years ago. I will try to find that and post it in a different thread.

The bottom line for me is I am fine with adding them to the roads. I am not fine with the idea of banning internal combustion engines and going all electric. The talking heads on TV do not understand how much more robust the electrical grid must be for that and have not even begun to count the cost to build it correctly.