"If you can't ride it without the assistance of an electric motor, please keep it out of the park and off the trails"
That's all there is to say.
this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025
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micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
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micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
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... she had to push it? She couldn't pedal it?
Maybe my ebike is comparatively light, but I can't imagine being unable to pedal it when it's dead.
She could also abandon it somewhere, get help, and return some time later.
I have an e-bike I use for commuting and groceries.
It’s very very heavy when not powered and it has a ton of drag (because of the regenerative braking). It’s brutal to pedal without assist even though I’m an avid cyclist who spends most of my time on non-e-bikes.
Depending on the kind of bike it was - and her level of fitness - there could be multiple problems or issues that resulted in her being stranded.
There’s an easy answer here, that e-bikes used in the outback/wilderness should have adequate bail-out gearing.
Regen braking shouldn't be on all the time though, that sounds odd.
Definitely heavy enough that even with gears it can be a lot to pedal without assist, I can say from personal experience with a ~70 lb first-gen RadCity
Regen isn’t on all the time, but the regen gearing causes very high drag. It’s a side effect of how the motor is designed. In order to cruise as if it could freewheel with no drag, the motor controller has to feed it a low amount of power when not pedalling. About 20W-30W depending on the speed.
But the motor is also much larger than most e-bike motors (1200W continuous with a much higher peak) - additionally the battery is double the size of most e-bike batteries (also ~1200W/hr).
So in addition to the drag - lots of extra weight.
Oh I see, is that a permanent magnet motor that's ultimately responsible for the drag?
That highlights a few potential problems with e-bikes.
Some are "single-speed" with motor assist. But without the motor, single-speed would be a nightmare for someone who doesn't have the leg strength.
And it's unclear what model she had. Some are in excess of 60lbs (+whatever gear you bring), which would also be very challenging to ride if you aren't used to it.
We don't know the fitness of the rider, either (although, the article says she pushed the thing 20 miles!). Some people choose e-bikes because they don't have the physical ability to pedal, so who knows?
Granted, anyone going on a remote ride that far out into the wilderness really needs to have a plan a, b, and c. At the very least, a satellite emergency device to call for help, or an ebike that can function without power.
Remember the old two stroke pedal mopeds of the 1970s and early 80s? The only reason they had pedals at all was to comply with laws allowing "motorized cycles." They were absolutely not usable by pedaling alone. Not only were they extremely heavy, the crank arms were waaaaay too short.
It wouldn't surprise me at all if some ebikes were being manufactured in a similar way, complying with regulations by having "functional" pedals (which would allow you to pedal in order to activate or assist the electric drivetrain but not operate the bike on pedal alone), but being low-speed electric motorcycles for all practical purposes.
I know that some most definitely do have pedals simply for compliance, but they are utterly useless to move the bike. Those e-bikes tend to look like vespas or faux motorcycles.
But I wish they mentioned the model here. I'd find it surprising if an e-mountain bike couldn't be moved through human power alone... but an e-dirt bike or something large that pretends to be an "e-bike", yeah, you aren't going to move that using pedals.
This absolutely reeks of someone paying for a story to drive support to more heavily regulate ebikes
My ebike is heavy as shit (60-80lbs depending on the gear that's on it) and geared for mountain biking. I've had it die in the middle of a valley. I've had it die 60 miles from home on an admittedly much flatter trail. I've had ittrip the safety overheat while going uphill.
I've never not been able to pedal.
Unless the chain breaks (and even then, I have a chain tool and have cut out all my gears to make it single speed in an emergency before) Walking it may be less tiring minute-to-minute, but you'll regret not having the speed of the bike.
Also, protip: if you think you might need more than 30-60 miles of assistance, get a second battery if you don't think you can pedal it.
Also, my requirement for calling something an ebike is the ability to y'know... Be a bicycle. Otherwise it's an electric scooter/motorcycle depending on motor power. So if it's one of those, then sure you have to push it. But that's on you for not having a backup power plan. I've never met a dirt biker in the middle of nowhere that didn't have a gas can somewhere on the bike.
bike in picture would have gears, and it should be an easy ride in lowest gear. Pushing up big hills excepted.
You can break a chain, or get 1 or 3 flats on a classic bike.
Both motorized or pedal. The former can also run out of fuel.
If you have a hub motor you can ride without a chain, but if you are getting out into the wild you should have a spare chain/belt, repair kit, tubes, etc. along with everything you need to survive if you get stranded (water filter, emergency rations, clothing to stay warm, emergency shelter, etc.).
It's also worth mentioning that you can pedal a dead e-bike all the same, it just sucks going uphill because of the extra weight. I've ridden my EP2 Pro around (albeit slowly) with no power when I was bored and wanted to ride around but didn't want to waste battery because I had to get back quickly later on.
Definitely carry a spare chain/belt, repair kit, and tubes for flats. I like Flatout too, works pretty well for plugging flats. You can also run tubeless or tires with liners, tube liners, etc.
I run Tannus Armour in my ebike and Flatout in my bicycle.
Remember, the last half of your battery is not the same as the first half. If you are relying on power, especially in remote locations, use it conservatively!
And don't rely on the "estimated range" that some devices give on the display, or the marketed range! E-scooter and e-bike manufacturers are notorious for overstating the range you get from their products, so an e-bike with "150km range" may only get you 65km in real-world scenarios.
With my e-scooter, I made sure to test the range in all kinds of conditions and riding styles, then plotted the data in a spreadsheet to come up with a reasonable estimate. Even though it has a rating of 65km range, I can reliably get 45km no matter how I ride, just because I did the math.
Funny enough, the "eco mode" on my e-scooter doesn't actually get you much more range, but it makes the ride feel terribly slow and sluggish.
@_haha_oh_wow_ ... i learned this the hard way when I decided to ride mine in 90F from work. The bike starting running hot and I could smell it... it was already running low anyway. I still wonder what that the owner of the home that I laid out on their lawn thinks of me to this day. I needed the shade tho lol
That panel is maybe good for 200W, laying flat like this at most 120W. Continuous driving on that thing might be 5-10km/h (5mph) while the sun's high up
Yeah but going downhill facing south in the summertime could be more than 120W
This is why I:
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Choose the type of bike for the activity I'm doing. If it's extremely long range and remote, I'll use a standard bike.
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If I'm going on a long range ebike trip, I either start with a smaller battery and progress to a larger one for the return trip, or two, manually pedal out as far as I can and then use the battery for the return trip.
I really only use ebikes for city travel though. (Though we have done 45 mile trips on a whim because ebikes give you so much stamina)!
Battery budgeting is perhaps an intermediate skill in that you need to understand how your bike and battery works, but its a necessary skill. Low assist levels for longer is usually much more efficient than 0 assist followed by fuller assist.
I usually do! My ebike is single speed, so it's pretty fine unless I need to go up steep hills.
I was still at 50% after a 45 mile ride. And I usually only charge it to 85% ish. :)
My ebike is used exclusively for fast short trips where I need to carry stuff. Anything else I ride a bicycle because I know it'll never run out of power (unless it's really shitty out, then I cave and drive usually).
When my eFat runs out of battery, then pedaling it feels like I'm towing a tire but it still sure beats pushing it..
Does an e-bike not come with pedals?
The obvious solution is to create some sort of enclosure around the "bike". Maybe add climate control. Upgraded axles and bearings might be needed to support additional weight. This extra weight may require more wheels and bigger brakes.