[sustran] Re: Guangzhou bans electric bicycles

[Jimmy Tan KocAun]

But.. Chris, A 700C bicycle or a 26inch is a much practical commute
around the city with it's uneven road and pot holes. And not to mention
it gets you from point A to B much faster. But then again the situation
I'm in whereby I can get around the block with my bike without the help
any mix-mode of transport. I feel that whether a 700C, a folding bike or
recumbent bikes has it's place in our daily grind. 

 On the Electric bicycles and luxury bikes, as a cyclist on sports
circuit and off (commuting to work and off to the park/coffee on
Sundays). Yes I do own a number of bicycles for it's different usage. As
of all bicycles whether is $10,000 or $100 it's still a bicycle to the
naked eyes of the policy makers. It this sense there are still some
guild lines in the road policies that cover a cyclist and in some
instances you are insured as well. But for Electrical bicycles as it
still new mode of transport for most places, hence a lot of road polices
hasn't been drawn up to cover them. Electrical bicycles are still in the
'grey area' whereby they are in between a bicycle and a motorbike. For
instance the speed of the Electric Bicycle is much higher then that of a
bicycle and lower then a motorbike. And do keep in mind, that Electric
bicycle is also a motorize transportation. This in most cases falls
under the motor vehicle licensing board, which one must own a license to
operate this vehicle. In the worst case, maybe it easier for policy
makers to ban them, then to start a whole new study to in cooperate then
in ones road transport system. Sad indeed. 

Jimmy Tan
Just A cyclist

 
  

-----Original Message-----
From: sustran-discuss-bounces+jimmy.tan=komag.com at list.jca.apc.org
[mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+jimmy.tan=komag.com at list.jca.apc.org] On
Behalf Of Chris Bradshaw
Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 1:26 AM
To: Global 'South' Sustainable Transport
Subject: [sustran] Re: Guangzhou bans electric bicycles

Thanks for the references.  I have heard that bikes are now being
offered as 
an accessory to some new car models.

I viewing the sites, I was surprised to find no folding bikes in the
lot.

Carrying a bike on the outside of a car, or dissembling it to carry it 
inside (and taking up all the space behind the front seats) seems to not

make sense.

I have been a folding-bike owner (and user, as I haven't used
700-mm-wheeled 
bikes for 40 years) for this reason: a full-sized frame and large wheels

reduce the utility of a bike, reducing its ability to fit into
mixed-mode 
trips, reducing its cargo carrying capacity (one can hang bags from the 
front handle bars without them rubbing the front tire), and they usually

come with a full set of accessories.

My latest, a Brompton, has fenders with mud guards, a rear carrier with
two 
double bungie cords, a chain guard, a full generator-run light set
(which is 
not turning out to be very reliable), a pump, and a bell.  And it has
3x2 
gears (internal/external) and rear suspension.  It folds in 12 seconds
into 
a 20"x20"x10" locked shape that can be carried over one's shoulder.

Yes, this one is high end ($1200 U.S., bought in June from a shop in 
Manhattan).  But our Wal-Mart sells an off-shore Next model for $150
Can.

Chris Bradshaw

p.s. re: "positional goods": Litman's reference to this neglects to
point 
out that the concept shows up in people who use their lack of a car or
their 
folding bike as a "prestige" acquisition (the term was first coined by
Fred 
Hirsch in his 1978 book, _The Social Limits to Growth_).


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