this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2023
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utility cycling

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It’s Time To Subsidize E-bikes (archive.ph)
submitted 1 year ago by splendid to c/utilitycycling
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[–] ansik@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

A couple of years back I saw some napkin math claiming e-bikes has a lower CO-2 impact than normal bikes or walking since power plants and motors are more effective than your body at energy conversion. Couldn't find the same source (and it was in my language anyways) but did find this (with a ton of other sites claiming similar things when searching)

[–] sping@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 year ago

... and I'm deeply skeptical of that. Bodies use a lot of energy sitting still and when we do work it's not all additional energy burnt.

On top, if you start bike commuting it's not necessarily extra exercise in your day. For a lot of people it'll be more a case of shifting how and when you get exercise. My commute's up to 7 miles with some hills now and I am absolutely doing less physical work the rest of the time as a result. I'm getting a great amount of exercise and having shorter commute time and saving a lot of money and getting healthier. Perhaps I eat more as a result of doing this commute, but I don't perceive it. I just eat the same meals at the same size as ever.

... and ... I don't remember the article justification for sure, but I seem to recall they were comparing the full lifecycle energy cost of the ebike, including ultimate disposal and reuse of motors and batteries. All in all, I frankly flat out don't believe it, though I freely admit this mostly my gut feel.