Investigating a teen’s death on an ebike and the Rad brand’s safety

Re:Investigating a teen’s death on an ebike and the Rad bran... by analog31 on Friday September 29, 2023 @07:31PM (#37711329)

I realize this is a quibble, but two people riding down a steep hill on a single bike would have been a really rare -- if not practically impossible -- occurrence before the advent of e-bikes. Very few conventional bikes were ever sold with capacity for a second rider, and getting to the point of trying that stunt would have involved more endurance than most kids are likely to possess.

On the other hand, many of the the newer motorcycle-style e-bikes are being designed, marketed, and sold, as two-seaters.

One of the rules for the "progressive drivers license" in my state, for teenagers, is that they can't have more than one teenager in the car at a time.

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Re:Investigating a teen’s death on an ebike and the Rad bran... by taeric on Friday September 29, 2023 @07:52PM (#37711498)

May be uncommon, but so are deaths from bicycle falls. Doesn't make them not exist. I know we would file friends on bikes going down hills from time to time. Usually stopped when we got hurt.

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Re:Investigating a teen’s death on an ebike and the Rad bran... by michaelteter on Friday September 29, 2023 @07:54PM (#37711520)

I would argue that pair riding down a hill on a bike would be very common for kids, regardless of whether they would be able to ride back up together or not. Firstly, it's fun and a bit crazy/wild. And the return trip back up might just be two kids walking and pushing one bike. After all, a non-e-bike would get used exactly like this by kids.

Really, giving a kid any kind of moving vehicle means new risks. Even if everything is right, crashes happen. I seriously doubt the one girl bought her e-bike with the strong consideration of it being a "two person bike". Besides, there are plenty of teens or adults who might weigh the same as those two girls together. The second seat is irrelevant.

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Re:Investigating a teen’s death on an ebike and the Rad bran... by analog31 on Saturday September 30, 2023 @05:58PM (#37720304)

That's fair. Maybe I've air-brushed my childhood experiences. Also, we didn't have any hills.

Here's one of the latest Trek ebikes. Roughly half of the marketing pictures show two riders. Naturally, the e-bike market is changing rapidly, and whatever I say could be wrong next week.

https://electra.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/electra-bikes/e...

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Re:Investigating a teen’s death on an ebike and the Rad bran... by hotpotamus on Saturday September 30, 2023 @07:23AM (#37714408)

Back in the old days you could easily fit two on a banana seat. Or if you wanted to up the danger a bit, your friend could sit on the handlebars.

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Re:Investigating a teen’s death on an ebike and the Rad bran... by sbierwagen on Saturday September 30, 2023 @05:33PM (#37720067)

>but two people riding down a steep hill on a single bike would have been a really rare -- if not practically impossible -- occurrence before the advent of e-bikes

Really? Ten seconds on google: https://www.vintag.es/2015/11/lovely-vintage-photos-of-coupl...

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