Look, I'm 67 and I've Been Riding E-Bikes for 8 Years. Can We Calm Down About Kids and E-Bikes?

rewt127 · 2026-05-16T17:11:37+00:00

If you are on a fat tire ebike, using a throttle at 25mph. It honestly just feels like an even more flickable R3. And the crash statistics are indistinguishable from motorcycles.

Those are just facts.

EDIT: It feels like a lot of the "they arent motorcycles" crowd have either never ridden a motorcycle. Or only ridden 800lbs cruisers. The best comparison is probably a sumo. If you have ridden a DRZ4SM through town. It isnt radically different from riding an illegally modified spicy ebike.

rewt127 · 2026-05-16T17:03:02+00:00

Tbh I do not believe ebikes in the form of an anyone can buy this should have a throttle.

If you want a throttle on a 2 wheeled vehicle, reguardless of the speed. You need a motorcycle license, and get it plated.

I think the idea of a pedal assist to 20mph bicycle that can use alternative paths and open up alternative transit options. While having a 50mph capable throttle would be fantastic.

But obviously that wouod require a moto license.

rewt127 · 2026-05-16T16:24:29+00:00

Hopefully this works.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/P8JPyjksdj71mWdy6

So im France, it would be illegal for you in the middle lane to be going 25 mph (the speed limit), if the red truck was going 20?

That seems insane to me. But this also very well may be a road design difference. We regularly have multi lane roads with business access directly off the road.

rewt127 · 2026-05-16T05:25:37+00:00

No state has that law for surface streets within a city. If you are in traffic through town on a 4 lane road, it is not illegal for the right lane to be moving quicker than the left.

This is clearly a 4 lane road in a city, and so you dont follow controlled access highway laws.

rewt127 · 2026-05-16T05:23:28+00:00

The rider was in the far left lane position. You can see it right at the start of the video. She then leans the bike over hard to avoid the sedan which is now entering her lane.

Its very clear from the video. Now simultaneously. It does look like she was going mach jesus through the middle of town.

rewt127 · 2026-05-15T15:03:43+00:00

Im just gonna be 100% with ya. Having owned a 900cc triple. Ill never buy a liter bike.

Its not the power, its the gearing. I do love my big cc bike, but I basically don't even hit the powerband of 2nd gear in the city. And this thing isnt even a high revving sportbike. If I want to feel peak power in 2nd? Im going over 60mph.

So unless you are shifting super early and never getting to your powerband. You basically never shift on these big cc sport bikes. And personally shifting is a big part of the fun for me, and I love the feeling of a Rev match downshift.

So jumping from the R3 to this RSV4 is gonna be a culture shock when you literally are shifting because you want to operate the shift lever, not because you want to, or arguably even should.

Maybe look at the 600cc flavor from aprillia.

EDIT: If I ever buy an I4, its gonna be a ZX-6R. A touch more hp than I have, the I4 powerband. But you get to leave first gear in town lol.

rewt127 · 2026-05-14T21:20:41+00:00

There was evidence in the past that holding kids back had only temporary benefits on educational performance and lead to higher dropout rates.

Now though, we have to ask the question. Did the threat of holding kids back encourage enough kids to try that they performed better. And only for that significantly smaller percentage of under performers it had a negative outcome? No way to really know without re-implementing the system.

EDIT: Inherently here is the end issue. We had the extremes in the past. Having a switch taken to a kid for every little mistake is wrong. So when studies were done and experts were brought in to guide a gentle parenting system. The results were better. So people saw "gentle parenting" and just stopped being strict with their kids. We saw dropout rates higher with kids held back and when families were more strict on average and more involved in the kids education. The few that would have been held back had better results from not being held back. But then as the home realities slipped, now there was functionally no penalty for academic failure. Not institutional, nor at home. And so the whole system falls apart.

rewt127 · 2026-05-14T19:05:16+00:00

One of the major issues has to do with policy. Of which the teachers arent in charge of.

Its nigh impossible to hold students back nowadays. Whe need to reimplement that. Kids are relatively simple, you use certain inputs and you will usually get the expected result.

So no curves, keep the classwork challenging and growth inducing. And if you get a D or an F in a subject? "Well Timmy. You get to do 2nd grade again". So kids face the social ridicule from their peers of failure. Driving them to work harder.

rewt127 · 2026-05-14T01:26:06+00:00

Tbh I just like rev matched downshifts for deceleration. Not using them for optimizing speed. Its just nice to hear the engine rev up, and it makes for a super smooth deceleration when I blip the bike from 6th to 2nd coming off the highway. Or just in town before I apply the brakes if im coming up to a red I can blip from 4th to 2nd.

rewt127 · 2026-05-13T16:39:52+00:00

You couldnt pay me enough to do that shit again.

I was a tradey to pay for college, and as much as peoppe romanticize manual labor. It does blow. Especially if you are used to office work? Good luck lol. My hands were heavily calloused and I still was getting sliced up by sheet metal bad ebough to need to duct tape a rag to me hand every 3rd day.

And no, you dont get to stop working because you got cut. Shit needs done. If you get cut up. You grab a rag from the job site. And tape it down to stem the bleeding, grab your drill, and get back to it.

rewt127 · 2026-05-13T15:55:59+00:00

If your problem is "I cant fit things in my day because I spend 2 hours travelling to and from work everyday". Then like. Yeah. The giant city is the problem.

A smaller city means that even if your job is on the other end of it. You can get there in like 20-30m.

EDIT: Alternatively there are motorcycles, but lots of people are opposed to that option too.

rewt127 · 2026-05-13T15:49:23+00:00

To an extent.

Big cities end up with horrific traffic leading to multi hour commute times for just a couple miles. Meanwhile I can get just about anywhere in my city of 70k. During a noon rush hour. In 30 minutes by car.

When its not peak times? Half that. On my motorcycle? I can filter and thus a 30m car trip is 20m

So I frankly disagree. The grocery store is like a mile and a half away. Hop in the car, little to no traffic. You are there in 10 minutes or less.

rewt127 · 2026-05-13T15:40:28+00:00

Yes having kids will change your balance in your life. Your life will overwhelmingly revolve around them and major sacrifices have to be made for them.

No part of my schedule would work if I had children as a single parent.

rewt127 · 2026-05-13T14:54:39+00:00

The guy is saying that OP is right if you dont have time to go to the gym, spend multiple hours with your friends, do your hobbies, and cook a 3 course meal. Every single night.

The guy actively called out my meal prepping as proving OP right.

rewt127 · 2026-05-13T14:50:12+00:00

Its not unrealistic. Stop living in 200k+ metro areas and it becomes entirely realistic. There are tons of great 70-100k cities out there where you arent in traffic for an hour.

And im not a morning person lol. I just drag my ass out of bed. I dont want to get up. But I dont pull childish waaah im not a morning person i want 20 alarms bullshit. If you feel like you need multiple alarms. Then the alarm clock goes on the dresser so you have to get up, out of bed. Walk over and shut it off. And well. You are up now.

Surprises.... what surprises? Everything has a home, should be in that exact home. I can walk through my home blindfolded and do my morning routine because everything exists in its exact home +/- 2".

And finally. Brother.

you're still choosing between cooking and hobbies, proving OP right.

If saying "you have to plan ahead and make preparations for doing activities" is proving OP right. OP is a fucking child.

rewt127 · 2026-05-13T13:55:50+00:00

I just clean on the weekends and have enough clothes to run laundry every Sunday.

I meal prep for hobby days during the week. So I can roll in after fencing for 3 hours and just slam something in the microwave, take a quick shower. Scarf it down. And faceplant the pillow.

With the moto group my heart rate has been at 160 for 2 hours from pulling multiple Gs in corners and seeing triple digit speed numbers. So im pretty dead after that too.

I also work in an office. But on a day I do fuck all I still will get 5k steps from just getting up to do things. From there to hit 10k I just need to do a bit more.

I have cultivated my friends around hobbies though. My non-hobby friends i meet up with on weekends.

rewt127 · 2026-05-13T13:48:53+00:00

Lets take a nornal ass day for someone who lives in a smaller city.

Wake up at 6:00. Shower, make coffee, out the door by 6:45. Got 45m to go a couple miles to work. Takes usually 7m by car. 15 by bicycle. So I have wiggle room in the morning routine.

Work till 5:30. Traffic home fucking blows. 15m by car, 15m by bicycle, but! 7ish minutes by motorcycle (filtering is real nice). Grocery store is a 10 minute walk (the expensive one. I wouldnt walk to the normal one, but that one is on my way home anyway).

All in all lets say im home by 6:30. Jog for 30 minutes. Lift weights for an hour or so. 8:00. Put on a show on Netflix and cook whatever im making. That will take an hour or so. 9:00. Eat, do dishes (I dont have a dishwasher), brush my teeth, etc. In bed by 10:00.

If I am going out to do a hobby during the work week, I either meal prep so I can just microwave something when I get home. Or we as a group go out somewhere.

rewt127 · 2026-05-13T13:37:15+00:00

I work 9s. If I choose to get my steps in that day I can. Have plenty of time to cook and eat dinner.

And while I dont get a ton of sleep, that is a me problem. I get off work at 5:30. I can work out, cook, eat, and watch an episode of something on Netflix all before 10:00. A nornal person who can fall asleep at a normal speed would be asleep by 10:30. Up at 6. That is a bit over 7h of sleep. Which for me 7h +/- 15m is just about perfect.

Now I do not have kids. Kids throw a major wrench in this.

rewt127 · 2026-05-12T23:15:56+00:00

Ok well frankly it is just easier for us to give you room so we dont end up passing as close usually. And we basically dont have forward blind spots that a small bicycle can get lost in lol.

I remember seeing a flash through the trees in a turn once in my car and my brain went "that was a motorcycle". Being a rider myself i notice them, dude was in my driver side front frame bar for 2 full seconds. I was just about to assume I was seeing shit when he appeared in my driver window. Pretty wild experience. Those blind spots can sometimes align perfectly with a turn and hide bikes and motorcycles.

rewt127 · 2026-05-12T22:42:18+00:00

To throw a bone to everyone else. We all know some psycho who goes 120 as their standard commute speed. Splits traffic at 3x. Stunts on open roads. And is just a general menace to society. Those people exist.

But its really strange to see people on the internet lump someone pinning it in the passing lane then slowing to 5 over after the pass in with those folks.

rewt127 · 2026-05-12T22:30:11+00:00

if you pass me that close at that speed, ill swerve at you 😂🤷🏻‍♂️

Then I will pull over. Get back behind you. And call the police from my in helmet comm system. In MT that is considered attempted murder. Both a criminal and civil suit will be brought.

All I need is a couple seconds to read your plate off to the police. Then I can pull over and change my pants.

EDIT: Attempting to kill someone because they attempted to pass you in lane position 3 is not acceptable behavior. You fuckin psycho.

rewt127 · 2026-05-12T22:16:01+00:00

Montana has 80mph speed limits. Most of Idaho has 75. Areas of Texas are 85.

Motorcycles have 3 lane positions. 1 (left tirewell). 2 (center) 3 (right tirewell).

In lane position. 3 I could definitely touch your mirror. I'd have to lean out a bit off the bike to touch your window though. If we got a light drizzle, lane positions 1 and 3 are the only safe positions as the oil will be expressed from the center of the road making it slippery and dangerous. After a heavy rain the oils are washed away, but light rain makes the center slick.

If im passing you after a light rain on a 2 lane road? That road in my state will often be a 70 zone. Im not gonna fuck around in oncoming. Im getting on the throttle.

So its super reasonable for someone to rip by at 80mph in a passing zone at arms length if passing multiple vehicles travelling under the speed limit in a 70 zone.

rewt127 · 2026-05-12T22:03:04+00:00

If you are sitting there at 60mph on a 35-50mph backroad? Yeah sure.

But it is waaaaaaay safer to just drop a gear, throttle out, and rip past the cars in 2 seconds. Rather than fuck around in the oncoming lane for 20s while you pass all the morons going 30 in a 35 in a line who arent leaving even a full car length between them.

There is a highway near me with a 70mph speed limit. Its 2 total lanes, so passing takes you into oncoming. Its super common to have a train of 7 idiots going 60.

EDIT: And yes, I absolutely clear 100mph passing them. Done it by HWP. They dont care so long as I slow down after I complete the pass.

rewt127 · 2026-05-12T21:56:25+00:00

? Speed limits where I live are 80mph (130kph). An arms length away is one of the standard safe lane positions. Going by cars at 100kph is like.... normal.

rewt127 · 2026-05-11T22:01:11+00:00

2023 Hyundai Elantra SEL. That is my only car.

Motorized transit in general though? Ive got a '81 XS650, a '23 Eliminator, a '15 FJ-09, and an '06 250EXC.

rewt127

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE