everyone should realize that e-scooters are a physically risky form of transport, especially when driven above about 20km/h.
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bicycles have always struck physicists (e.g. me!) as almost miraculous. they are simultaneously:
• dynamically elegant,
• mechanically simple,
• energetically near-optimal, and
• extraordinarily cheap, as a conveyance.YES I DO LOVE BICYCLES. so should everyone, tbh.
with the added proviso that not everyone can ride a bicycle and that's OK. humanity will always need other transportation options. we just aren't anywhere close to bikemaxxing yet and we should be.
this is so much fun
when the bicycle was invented, there were probably 10 other things people tried - skateboards, etc, and the bicylce survived cause it is the only form that hits all the benefits you mention
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everyone should realize that e-scooters are a physically risky form of transport, especially when driven above about 20km/h. if you fall off, you're going to have facial trauma at a minimum. just ask my 50-something brother who got stuck with a big dental bill. ALWAYS wear a FULL FACE HELMET on these things - a bike helmet isn't enough. and NEVER EVER ride with MORE THAN ONE RIDER on board.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/e-scooters-pediatrician-survey-9.7305210
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everyone should realize that e-scooters are a physically risky form of transport, especially when driven above about 20km/h. if you fall off, you're going to have facial trauma at a minimum. just ask my 50-something brother who got stuck with a big dental bill. ALWAYS wear a FULL FACE HELMET on these things - a bike helmet isn't enough. and NEVER EVER ride with MORE THAN ONE RIDER on board.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/e-scooters-pediatrician-survey-9.7305210
The speed and wheel size makes me really nervous.
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@Wyatt_H_Knott yeah, it would be a mighty steep cognitive challenge for an 8yo to understand that risk correctly. i'll stick my neck out and call it a major parenting fail
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The speed and wheel size makes me really nervous.
@gbargoud your intuition is spot-on
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Take it from a professional physicist. (Note: physics is the branch of knowledge involved in road accident reconstruction.)
E-scooters are generally much less inherently stable than bicycles, especially at low to moderate speeds. A bicycle possesses several passive self-stabilizing mechanisms that scooters either lack or possess only weakly. As a result, scooters demand more active balance control from the rider and are less forgiving of bumps, steering errors, and surface irregularities.
@adub But the rider must be part of the equation. I feel like 50 years on skateboards help my command of scooters.
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@adub Mmm. My school bike, a reward for passing the 11+ and going to grammar school was a 'tourer' with Sturmey Archer 3 speed. It did improve in the VIth form when I got a recon 'racer' with 5 speed derailleur gear, but it was still too hard to be fun. I got a moped instead, then a mighty BSA Bantam.
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@adub But the rider must be part of the equation. I feel like 50 years on skateboards help my command of scooters.
@kawentzmann oh for sure, being secure on a skateboard helps a lot! i am not an experienced stakeboarder but i can ride a longboard and even that helps
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@kawentzmann oh for sure, being secure on a skateboard helps a lot! i am not an experienced stakeboarder but i can ride a longboard and even that helps
@adub Yes in fact, I count in longboards. I switched to longer decks myself in the 90s and currently have boards of various lengths.
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@adub Mmm. My school bike, a reward for passing the 11+ and going to grammar school was a 'tourer' with Sturmey Archer 3 speed. It did improve in the VIth form when I got a recon 'racer' with 5 speed derailleur gear, but it was still too hard to be fun. I got a moped instead, then a mighty BSA Bantam.
@pthane my first bike had a Sturmey Archer 3-gear too! it was not built for the hill my parents lived on but was great on the more-or-less flat. my next bike was a 12-gear and i could get up that hill in first if i stood on the pedals and (ahem) tacked up the very steepest bit
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@adub @pthane I see a number of people around my area who don't seem to use gears very well. I sometimes see people pedalling super fast in an easy gear or really slowly in a way harder than necessary gear on flats.
There is of course, a but of preference when choosing a gear and getting a cadence you feel comfortable with, but I've seen what seemed like extremes.
Oh, and grown adults on tiny bmx bikes, which I can't imagine is comfortable to commute with.
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Take it from a professional physicist. (Note: physics is the branch of knowledge involved in road accident reconstruction.)
E-scooters are generally much less inherently stable than bicycles, especially at low to moderate speeds. A bicycle possesses several passive self-stabilizing mechanisms that scooters either lack or possess only weakly. As a result, scooters demand more active balance control from the rider and are less forgiving of bumps, steering errors, and surface irregularities.
@adub How good are e-scooters at doing emergency stops? - just offhand I can't see how they could work at all.
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@adub It may be that more people than you think can cycle, if you're not already aware of You Can Bike Too. https://www.miltoncountrypark.org/ycbt
#Cambridge@TimWardCam @adub Thanks for that, Tim. What an amazing selection of vehicles! I'll pass it on to a few pettishly interested people
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@adub @pthane I see a number of people around my area who don't seem to use gears very well. I sometimes see people pedalling super fast in an easy gear or really slowly in a way harder than necessary gear on flats.
There is of course, a but of preference when choosing a gear and getting a cadence you feel comfortable with, but I've seen what seemed like extremes.
Oh, and grown adults on tiny bmx bikes, which I can't imagine is comfortable to commute with.
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