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Electric Bikes Won Over China. Is the US Next? (bloomberg.com)
Sales of electric-bike is growing in many parts of the world. Asia-Pacific region, for instance, is estimated to see 32.8M of them sell this year, and 1.6m of e-bikes are expected to be sold in Western Europe by the end of this year. In China, in particular, the ban on motorcyle has lead to massive e-bike adoption. Over the years we've seen many companies such as BG and Pedego dish out models after models, offering bikes ranging from elegant folding versions to flat-tire variants. Despite all the growth elsewhere in the world, North America and Latin America are estimated to see less than 250,000 inventories move this year. But going forward, the number is likely to see a major growth. From a Bloomberg article: Electrics "finally have legs to be able to take off in the U.S.," because cyclists are feeling safer on the roads, battery and motor technology is improving, and retail prices are dropping, says Todd Grant, president of the National Bicycle Dealers Association. However, e-bikes have been banned in some U.S. cities because of safety concerns. [...] The U.S. market could develop "way faster" than Europe's did, says Claus Fleischer, who heads Bosch's e-bike division. The German multinational began selling motors and batteries for electric bikes in 2011 and now supplies more than 60 brands, primarily in Europe. It opened a subsidiary in Irvine, Calif., in 2014 and is sponsoring e-bike expos across the U.S., including one in Portland, Ore., that ran for three days in late May.
... the much better trend for the US would be an increased use of non-electric, traditional bicycles.
Professional cycling races.
Pretending this is my office full of bitter coworkers..
Tell that to the stack of traffic behind you, ass-hat.
The only traffic behind me in the bike lane is other bikes. If a car chooses to drive in the bike lane, he should drive at bike speed.
Another self-entitled cyclist who believes that cars shouldn't be in the bike lane, eh? What next you selfish person? Are you going to disallow cars from driving on the sidewalk also?
/s
(The article below indicates that NYPD was not going to take action against a driver who did just that, mowed down a pedestrian, and drove away, however the driver has turned herself in.)
http://www.streetsblog.org/2016/06/03/driver-who-injured-woman-on-manhattan-sidewalk-pleads-to-two-felonies/