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Three months after getting a used RadRover e-bike from @RadPowerBikes, I would like to share some experiences so far in case it helps anyone currently on the fence about the getting an e-bike. https://twitter.com/TaylorWAnderson/status/1321937655223869441
I've replaced probably 95% of the number of trips (not nec miles)by car with trips by bike. This is thanks in part because I added racks to the front and back that can handle much of what I need to carry around. The wood in the first pic isn't just for show. It was for a bonfire.
My car is actually a truck, and it feels particularly gratifying to not drive it in Utah's inversion-filled winters. I still have the truck to get deep into the backcountry for hunting and hiking, but I'm seriously considering getting rid of it now.
The commercials hyping e-bikes are remarkably accurate (go figure): If we forgot even a single, omissible ingredient for a dinner, I am stoked to get the bike out and head to any store I want to go to (not nec the closest one).
I'm hardly skiing this year, so on weekends I'll go for rides to nowhere. I quickly found streets in neighborhoods I'd probably never have visited (hello, Yalecrest). I spend much more time on the west side and on SLC's multi-use trails like 9-line and S-Line.
I'm a Lowe's person. I can't not have a project going on. Because 300 West is a wildly inefficient stroad to Lowe's, I started making trips via the shoulder and strapping stuff to the bike on the way back. Not as scary when I'm going 20 mph among cars instead of 12 mph.
I'm flirting with a trailer so I can bring el perro places and also carry dirt and heavier stuff when gardening season starts. Also for hunting. @baolson I took the bike duck hunting five or six times on the causeways around Farmington Bay. It was my best season ever.
I've biked to the suburbs way more than ever before. The bike infrastructure there is actually somehow worse than I realized. I am not a suburban person and somehow the bike has reaffirmed.
I've had five flat tires and biked ~600 miles so far. The flats were from flying too close to the sun and using 3-inch tubes instead of 4 one time. I also missed a wayfinding sign on the Jordan River Trail and biked through a patch of goatheads on the Glendale Golf Course. Pop.
When asking for advice on which bike to buy, a few people were steering away from the budget, direct-to-consumer brands like Rad. I actually have found bike shops largely unwilling to work on my bike when I've had some issues. (I'm not a good mechanic whatsoever. Almost useless.)
There is a bike mechanic in SLC who goes door-to-door and works right in the street. I also bought a bike stand and pledged to get better at fixing what are fairly simple machines.
Anyways. The bike is what I wanted. It's not high-end or flashy (although people routinely ask about it or rubber-neck). But it is utilitarian and, again, very often replaces trips I'd either make on my analog bike or in the truck.
I did notice there are even more people out there who assume e-bikes are for "lazy people." Call me lazy, I'm just biking more than I ever have or would.
Last one: We haven't had the snowiest winter. But this is 100% accurate. I've biked every day I'm not out of town. Never let someone claim you can't bike through winter in Salt Lake City or other northern climates if you want to. Build the infrastructure. https://twitter.com/TaylorWAnderson/status/1340811096987299842?s=20
One more thing on this: My grocery trips have gotten more frequent and smaller. Instead of stocking for a 5-7 days at a time, I'll often get one or two meals, knowing I'll happily come again soon.
It keeps going (sorry): But I've had more close calls with dirtbag drivers than ever. It may be that I'm biking more frequently. It might be that I'm traveling faster. But this seemed like an important thing to note.
