Ebikes + renewable energy is more efficient even than a human riding a traditional bike! The energy has to come from somewhere.
How does a bike emit CO2
A person riding a bike has to consume extra food to burn energy in their muscles to propel them. The energy has to come from somewhere. There are CO2 emissions associated with producing food.
Thought so. Would love to see their calculations and bicycle be split into meat / no-meat categories :)
@bonkerfield I really need to go back to biking (also just testing if my reply on Mastodon bubbles up there 🚲)
Why should regular bikes use more energy, given they’re only manufactured once (as are bikes), have no degenerating batteries and don’t need electricity are less efficient than ebikes?
I don’t think this is true. Ebikes are actually not very sustainable: https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2023/02/can-we-make-bicycles-sustainable-again/
But if it replaces a car, it is still very nice!
It’s strange that they didn’t include the food offset by the ebike though. This link tries to give a comparison between the two accounting for a typical European diet (which is also far more sustainable than the typical American diet).
https://www.bikeradar.com/features/long-reads/cycling-environmental-impact/
I think it is reasonable to ignore food, since it will be more or less equal to the energy you would spend exercising in other ways (jogging, gym, …). Especially when commiting in a city (<10km).
But your link still shows a nice overview when taking that into account specifically!
Yeah, doesn’t quite make sense unless it’s implying that it’s within the average lifespan of the vehicle. Maybe then you can get further on an eBike than you can on an equivalent regular bike before it falls apart?
Doubtful, given that it is much more sustainable replacing cogs and chain wheels only than to also replace the motor…
But you also pedal way less on an eBike. Not sure if it’s enough to offset that though.
You mean while putting more force on cogs and chain?
Does it though?
Edit: Yes it does:
“Because of the added weight and torque, e-bike systems do produce more wear and tear on “consumable” parts. You’ll likely have to replace things like chains and brake pads more frequently, and you’ll want to keep an eye on tire wear and wheel parts like spokes, which are under more stress from the torque of the motor.”
So yeah, no clue how they got to the conclusion that eBikes are more energy efficient than regular bikes.
