Yeah but production of the battery causes alot of harm to the environment so a classic bike is still far better as it doesn’t damage the environment as much
I’m having a hard time finding a source but I read an article claiming that unless you’re vegetarian, a traditional bicycle will have a higher carbon footprint (even taking into account the battery manufacturing) than an ebike, due to how inefficient it is to grow and transport food when compared to production of electrical power.
Ebikes are way more efficient than electric cars, too. I calculated that my bike uses about 40 watt hours per mile, compared to about 250-350 for an electric car.
If you are having a hard time finding a source, it’s probably because there is none. Riding short distances burns very little calories and most calories the body needs are from idle consumption. Which the battery has to solve degree too
A watt hour is equal to 0.86 nutritional calories.
My estimate of 40 watt hours per mile converts to about 35 kcal.
Estimates of the energy taken to pedal a bike are about 30-40 kcal/mile.
That checks out!
But I also pedal my bike while the motor pushes. What about all that energy? Well, I’m going about 28mph as I do this. It’s probably all going to wind resistance, compared to the slower analog bike.
1 kilowatt hour is equivalent to 860 kcal.
1 kilowatt hour from a coal power plant generates about 1.0-1.1 kg of CO2.
For a typical Western diet, studies suggest that the average emissions associated with food production and transportation can range from about 0.5 to 2.5 kg of CO2 per 1,000 kcal of food consumed. (0.4-2.1 kg of CO2 per 860 kcal)
The ebike generally has a smaller environmental footprint than the analog bike, as most sources of power produce less CO2 than coal power plants and most people eat more meat than necessary, putting them in the higher range of the food CO2 production range.
i mean I dont blame the usage of cargo e-bikes for grocery travel by for example a 4 headed family.
thats literally best possible option, isnt it?!
Or are you saying you could always use a non motored one for for weekly groceries for a family in for example a hilly area too. I dont know, to me e-bikes are pretty essential in that sense and therefore the final solution for mobility. and you can always use a non motored one for other lighter travels but theyre build… so usage with ie self-hosted solar panel on your roofs, i dont see the issue… they use like 2% of total materials a e-car does.
Yeah but production of the battery causes alot of harm to the environment so a classic bike is still far better as it doesn’t damage the environment as much
In practice, e-bikes open up cycling to more people and for more trips, likely making them far more net positive than regular bikes.
And this is coming from someone who bikes like mad on non-ebikes
I’m having a hard time finding a source but I read an article claiming that unless you’re vegetarian, a traditional bicycle will have a higher carbon footprint (even taking into account the battery manufacturing) than an ebike, due to how inefficient it is to grow and transport food when compared to production of electrical power.
Ebikes are way more efficient than electric cars, too. I calculated that my bike uses about 40 watt hours per mile, compared to about 250-350 for an electric car.
If you are having a hard time finding a source, it’s probably because there is none. Riding short distances burns very little calories and most calories the body needs are from idle consumption. Which the battery has to solve degree too
TIL ebike riders don’t need food.
A watt hour is equal to 0.86 nutritional calories. My estimate of 40 watt hours per mile converts to about 35 kcal. Estimates of the energy taken to pedal a bike are about 30-40 kcal/mile. That checks out!
But I also pedal my bike while the motor pushes. What about all that energy? Well, I’m going about 28mph as I do this. It’s probably all going to wind resistance, compared to the slower analog bike.
1 kilowatt hour is equivalent to 860 kcal.
1 kilowatt hour from a coal power plant generates about 1.0-1.1 kg of CO2.
For a typical Western diet, studies suggest that the average emissions associated with food production and transportation can range from about 0.5 to 2.5 kg of CO2 per 1,000 kcal of food consumed. (0.4-2.1 kg of CO2 per 860 kcal)
The ebike generally has a smaller environmental footprint than the analog bike, as most sources of power produce less CO2 than coal power plants and most people eat more meat than necessary, putting them in the higher range of the food CO2 production range.
i mean I dont blame the usage of cargo e-bikes for grocery travel by for example a 4 headed family.
thats literally best possible option, isnt it?! Or are you saying you could always use a non motored one for for weekly groceries for a family in for example a hilly area too. I dont know, to me e-bikes are pretty essential in that sense and therefore the final solution for mobility. and you can always use a non motored one for other lighter travels but theyre build… so usage with ie self-hosted solar panel on your roofs, i dont see the issue… they use like 2% of total materials a e-car does.
would love to hear your thoughts after that