157
Parents Are Accidentally Buying Their Kids Electric Motorcycles Instead Of E-Bikes
(www.jalopnik.com)
this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2025
157 points (98.8% liked)
micromobility - Bikes, scooters, boards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
3186 readers
310 users here now
Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles, heelies, or an office chair: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!
"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
Recall warnings available here.
Feel free to also check out
It's a little sad that we need to actually say this, but:
Don't be an asshole or you will be permanently banned.
Respectful debate is totally OK, criticizing a product is fine, but being verbally abusive will not be tolerated.
Focus on discussing the idea, not attacking the person.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Personally I don't understand why anyone would need even 750W for an electric bike, let alone multiple kilowatts.
Mine is an EU-regulation 250W and I never even use the top power level. In fact sometimes I forget to turn on the battery and (on the flat) don't even notice.
This really looks like the same story of macho horsepower inflation that's been at work with combustion motorbikes for a century. Look at those giant BMWs with 1.4-litre engines that are enough to power a sedan. Completely unnecessary and irrational (and non-existent just a few decades ago) but the biker-dude owners will always find a reason that they "need" it. And let's face it, this really is a story about dudes.
I live somewhere mountainous.
By road, it’s 4km to the grocery store, which is 150m lower in elevation. My nominally 750w middrive claims 140nm of torque, and shows a ~1300w pull when climbing. This level of power is only sufficient to make climbing feel like I’m riding flat ground unassisted. Cutout is 32kph, but flat ground is so rare I don’t hit it, I’m mostly climbing at <25kph or coasting downhill.