this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2025
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micromobility - Bikes, scooters, boards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility

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Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles, heelies, or an office chair: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!

"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.

micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"

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An analysis from Upway found that an e-bike is 68 times cheaper than driving a car.

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[–] tunetardis@piefed.ca 15 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I've tried it both ways. What I have noticed with the e-bike is I ride it 7 days a week, where it was more like half that with my old bike. Frankly, it is so much fun I am making excuses to get out there.

Some points based on my experience:

  • I used to avoid deep ravine trails due to the steep climbs involved. Now I seek them out.
  • I don't mind travelling somewhat out of my way to reach said trails. It's really no bother on an e-bike. Nothing is ever a slog anymore.
  • Heat waves and smog alerts don't phase me anymore.
  • As for winter, you have more options. You can get fat tires that ride better through snow or mud, for example. Of course you can do so with a regular bike also, but it adds weight, so there's a trade-off.
  • Travel times have lowered somewhat, but more importantly, they have become much more consistent. You don't pay a time penalty for fighting head winds.
  • I don't show up at work a sweaty mess.
  • If I want a stronger workout, I can choose where and when to do it, such as on a trail rather than busy city streets, and on the way home rather than work.
  • I tend to slow down more often, where before I was blowing through stop signs and what not.
  • If you have any muscle or joint issues, e-bikes are a godsend.
  • A minor point, but my e-bike has a usb for charging phones. (These things are amazingly stealth. I owned mine for like a year before realizing it was tucked under a rubberized cover below the front panel, and then I found it on my wife's bike in a different spot.)

On the negative side:

  • My e-bike model at least is bulkier than a regular bike (I do have the fat tires for winter and all that), which can make it more challenging to lock it up at bike racks.
  • Brake pads don't seem to last as long as they used to.
  • Yes, it costs more initially. But as the article points out, if this is an alternative to driving, you quickly make back the investment. A regular bike is obviously the cheapest option of all though.
[–] JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

A minor point, but my e-bike has a usb [port...] . I owned mine for like a year before realizing it was tucked under a rubberized cover below the front panel

You got my hopes up there, but no dice. So annoying to not have this, it's basically a necessity if you want to use satnav for more than a couple of hours at a time. I considered hotwiring a USB port onto my battery, but thought better of it and bought a powerbank instead. More wires, more weight, more waste. Put USB ports on your batteries dammit.

[–] tunetardis@piefed.ca 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah I guess the big issue there is the voltage on the main battery is pretty high. Too high for USB. But it has to be brought down anyway for the electronics, so why not let people tap into it at that point? It's petty not to offer the option.

Mine was a USB-A connector hidden under the display. Once I realized where it was, it was easy enough to get to. On my wife's bike, it was trickier to find/use. I had to crane my neck and look carefully under where the finger controls were and there was a tiny panel with a USB-C connector behind it.

This all reminds a bit of what happened when we got a hybrid car and my coworker needed a boost. I had jumper cables on me but it was a real head-scratcher to figure out where to attach them on a hybrid? Like in the bike case, the battery is plenty powerful but the voltage is way too high. Eventually, I found a positive 12V terminal hidden in the fuse box! You remove the cover and there's this U-shaped piece of metal sticking out you can attach the positive clip to.

[–] JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

So I'm now gonna go hunting again! But alas it's not on the specs sheet and this is very much a budget bike straight out of China. No regrets about that, the quality's otherwise fine and it was a great deal.