The guys at that bike shop said that for example if I want to ride to Lake Merritt and walk around for a while, I could lock it near the boat house and leave it for a couple hours as long as it’s daytime. They said don’t leave it overnight which I would never do. If I’m going to the grocery store, there’s so many people coming in and out, it’s just not the kind of environment where a bike thief is super likely to come in with an angle grinder and start attacking my chain lock. It’s interesting because we imagine this place to be high theft and I guess on some level it is, but having a lot of people around does feel like a decent deterrent, along with a good lock. I’m more worried about my panniers, which aren’t locked to my bike and lift right off with no tools. I wouldn’t use those if I was leaving my bike for a while, but again at the grocery store people are coming and going so often it would be pretty risky for a thief to come and mess with bikes.
Or if I'm going to a coffee shop, I'm always within 20 feet of it and I can see it, and it’s locked. That’s fine. If I’m riding to a friends house, I leave the bike inside their house when we go do stuff. At the bike shop, I just bring the bike inside the shop with me.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to start with a cheap bike, and use the cheaper BBS02 motor and a cheaper battery. Then if it gets stolen, as much as that sucks, it’s easier to recover. Though cheap batteries present a fire risk. A lot of people on Reddit stand by the the UPP batteries, but Louis Rossmann had his catch fire so opted for the EM3EV battery at twice the price. I also got a big battery which isn’t strictly necessary, though it’s nice.
If you don't use something like an ABUS 37/80 + 14KS, your shit is going to get jacked in Oakland because of zillions of thieves with portable angle grinders in backpacks and teams riding around in vans looking for easy marks.
Don't leave anything valuable outside in Oakland unless you want it to disappear because people on drugs are always looking for property to convert into their next fix.
[1] https://www.kryptonitelock.com/en/products/product-informati..., note the big final ring that the whole chain fits through to get more reach.
#12 https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-most-dangerous-cities-i...
I have a 4kW standing scooter that I use in another city that goes 50 mph easily. The concept of a power limit is nanny state government control: to hell with that. Scooters have no power restrictions and no limits. I wouldn't take one out on a highway, but anything short of that is fine.
Statistically, helmet wearing in the US encourages drivers to pass wearers at an unsafe distance (too close). They also provide a false sense of security and look stupid. If they were useful, the Dutch would be all over them. Experienced riders with coordination in good urban planning areas don't need them.
I’ve been a cyclist my whole life and I would never ride without a helmet. This isn’t the Netherlands. My bike goes 30 MPH and as experienced as I am, accidents still happen.
Your comment was particularly condescending and I don’t think it fits the tone of this discussion. You didn’t have to comment, and you didn’t have to be rude if you wanted to participate.
You'll probably experience less of these if you stop calling people "naive foreigners".
/s (sadly needed)
Then lately I've started to think: Why don't more people use bikes? Cars in my city are noisy, the big and fast roads makes it more miserable to walk around etc. At the same time StrongTowns, NotJustBikes, r/fuckcars etc have grown big, and it has become more of a movement. Make the cities for the people, not cars.
I'm now spending lots of time as a bicycle advocate. Going to public meetings, making sure bicyclists' points of view are included in new infrastructure plans, reporting cars parked in the bicycle lane, videotaping and putting things on Twitter to now quite a big following, talking to media etc.
So my goal would rather be that you don't need what's basically an electric motorbike to cycle safely as you do, instead more dedicated infrastructure and lower speeds on the roads in the city. But end goal is the same, make it safer to bike.
Powered assistance has a lot of value, and using electric power on a bicycle is orders of magnitude more energy efficient than anything in a car. I think there’s a lot more people interested in cycling now that e-bikes are more popular, and this means more support for that improved bike infrastructure and more people willing to travel by ultra low emissions means.
So yes, better safety is absolutely important. But I still think e-bikes and in particular 1500 watt e-bikes have a lot of value.
EDIT: I want to emphasize one point which might interest people. As I said the speed helps me feel safe as I move with the flow of traffic. I run my bike at 1500 watts. This is twice the legal limit of 750 watts, but this isn’t well enforced. In the UK, the legal limit is just 250 watts. I think policy makers assume that a smaller number is safer, but I’m not convinced this is true. While higher speed means more risk of high speed collisions, lower speed means more risk of being hit from behind. It’s worth looking at raising the legal power limits, and whether this would increase safety for bike riders. I think it might.