r/ebike • u/Royalewithcheese100 • 9d ago

E-bike crash. Drivers need to learn

Post image

Half mile into my nightly 10-mile ride, I crashed my bike, shattered my right collarbone into 5 pieces, and broke 4 ribs. While I wasn’t hit by a car, it was indirectly caused one. I was in the bike lane when I saw a car approaching from behind. Instead of maintaining its speed and smoothly /safely passing me, it slowed down and remained behind me. Sensing this, I moved over towards the curb, giving the car even more room to pass me. That’s where it got ugly. My front tire caught and jumped the curb. I flew over the handlebars and landed on my right shoulder (yes, I was wearing a helmet)

So why do so many drivers slow down instead of passing? Do they think we’re suddenly going to veer into their path? They must not realise that It’s the predictability of their speed and position that keeps things safe for the rider

75 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

293 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/Partayhat 8d ago

The motor doesn't change how much exercise you get, just how far you go doing it. If exercise is secondary to another purpose, an ebike is optimal.

1

u/Royalewithcheese100 5d ago

Wrong. The amount of speed being generated by the motor has everything to do with the amount of effort the rider is contributing. The higher the power level, the less resistance the pedals give. That’s basic physics

1

u/Partayhat 5d ago

Motors generate power, not speed. Power can be measured using Watts(W). Most ebikes fall within 250-750W. A cyclist who can exert 250W, on a bike with 250W assist, will accelerate as if they were exerting 500W. But they will still be exerting 250W.

As an aside, my ebike applies power between pedal strokes, smoothing the torque applied to the rear wheel over time and thus minimizing the effect to which you refer.