Scooter V electric bike

[Conal]

Today I was overtaken by a scooter near the beginning of my journey and stayed with it for six miles though town traffic. I have often made a note of a car or lorry whilst cycling and wondered if, 15 miles later, I would beat it into, or out of, London. Trouble is, I always get involved with the journey and forget to look out for familiar vehicles as I pass traffic queues.

Have any of you actually noticed that you can keep up with the traffic over distance, or even beat a car to your joint destination?

I wasn't racing by the way, just realised that I kept catching the scooter up.

 

[Ultra Motor]

Hi Conal,

I notice this all the time, both in London and my home town in Bristol. The car stays on the drive unless I am traveling out of town and can't use the train. It is by far the quickest and most convenient way

Thanks
Mark

 

[Mussels]

A lot of filtering is about technique rather than speed and I've left motorbikes for dust on occasion but I need a bit of luck or a complete numpty on the motorbike to manage it. I've noticed a few times in really heavy London traffic that pushbikes have a huge advantage on PTWs.
A common 'win' for me is buses, the pedelec is easily faster even out in the suburbs.

 

[HarryB]

I work in London and live in North London. I met a colleague on her scooter on the way to work at about 8 or 9 miles away. At the end of the journey she was coming into the front door just ahead of me - some of that time was her looking for parking space while I could park up right outside. Not bad going on an Ezee Torq.

 

[Psycosis]

I personally think the bike is a better win for city commuting.
As mentioned:

You can use cycle and bus lanes
You don't have to pay for tax, insurance etc..
You don't have to worry about finding a parking bay
The running costs are lower due to using elec, even though mopeds are quite econimical.
The gear for cycling is a bit cheaper (unless you go for expensive brands)

I looked at a moped, but decided the parking was the biggest issue, there is none free when i walk to work in the morning.

 

[Conal]

Bus lanes are a winner

Psycosis

I agree that bus lanes are very helpful to cyclists. The scooter rider I kept pace with was alternately driving along the lane marking and on the (quieter) wrong side of the road.

I have heard somewhere that moterbike and scooters are going to be allowed the share some cycle lanes so I supposed that advantage will go. I don't like the idea of a motor bike shooting past me in the bus/cycle lane - a liitle close for comfort!

 

[Mussels]

I have heard somewhere that moterbike and scooters are going to be allowed the share some cycle lanes so I supposed that advantage will go. I don't like the idea of a motor bike shooting past me in the bus/cycle lane - a liitle close for comfort!

It happens in most bus lanes I use and doesn't cause any problem, most motorbike riders are more aware of what's around them than car drivers and tend to stay away from pushbikes.

 

[simonbarnett]

I figure this perhaps really only works for bikes in congested cities.

I have good evidence as half the time I drive (roughly the same route of 6 miles across inner London) because of needing a suit for meetings, crap weather or indolence. Driving takes usually about 30-35 mins unless there's a big traffic jam. The other half of the time I cycle, which is always 30-35 mins there (downhill) and 30-40 back (uphill). So if I could race myself, I'd be catching and losing myself a lot.

Slight caveats- in the car, I can take calls, listen to music/radio but strictly observe traffic rules. On the bike, I won't use earphones as I feel too vulnerable to be distracted. Oh and on the bike, I'm less strict about red lights, etc.

But neither is anywhere near as quick as when I had a nice Ducati

 

[flecc]

But neither is anywhere near as quick as when I had a nice Ducati

Was it this Ducati Simon, the Cucciolo?

 

[simonbarnett]

Was it this Ducati Simon, the Cucciolo?

I thought I'd seem them all but reckoned without your weird knowledge. As a lad I wanted a 250 Desmo, but had to wait until I was 30 for a Monster. it went the way of all fun things when more kids arrived.....

 

[dilus]

I have just replaced my 50cc Yamaha scooter with a Powabyke Classic Euro 2006 model. I live in the sticks and commute to work 4 miles each way, it used to take me 7-8 minutes on the scooter and now takes me 15-17 minutes on the Powabyke but that includes 3 hills. It might be slower out in the sticks but when the weather is nice it is so much more enjoyable and you don't frighten off any wildlife along the way.
If I lived in a built up area with lots of traffic the electric bike would be my choice every time, I'm saving £100 on insurance, £35 on MOT, £15 on tax and a gallon of fuel every two weeks, why I never thought of it sooner god only knows!

 

[Conal]

Epping Forest

Dilus

I agree re: the wildlife. Today I rode back from work at 8pm through Epping Forest and and baby rabbits (kits, kittens, kindles?) were everywhere. Eight miles through "town" and eight 1/2 miles through the forest. The last half of the journey is the best and the car drivers would not have seen any of them apart from the roadkill.

Conal