A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:
If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.
Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.
Enginecycles? If you specifically refer to internal combustion engine (ICE) then it'd make sense to call them icecycles. It sounds weird, maybe icicles?
But seriously EU has a definition of what an ebike is, it's not just a bicycle with motor, there's max allowed power, max assistance level, and importantly it should only assist when pedalling. Anything beyond that, yes, is classified as a motorbike.
I'm a bit triggered by this, so let me apologize in advance for the incoming rant.
You might be kind of right etymologically, but bikes, e-bikes, motorcycles, and likely in the near future e-motos, are specific things defined by law. The confusion between these vehicle classes is causing harm.
An e-bike is a pedal powered bicycle with an electric motor that assists the rider while pedalling up to 25km/h. You might be able to switch modes between more assistance and less assistance but there is no throttle.
If you purchase a cheap walmart / k-mart bike, swap the rear wheel with a powered hub from alibaba and strap on a battery from temu, that's not an e-bike. They have a throttle and no limiter and in most cases can propel a 12 year old idiot at 50km/h but some times more than 70km/h. This is not an e-bike and more accurately described as an unregulated electric motorbike.
The frame isn't built for this kind of stress, and the riders often have no capacity to understand the danger they're imposing on themselves and others - zipping past kids playing and so on.
It's an emerging disaster in Australia and I imagine other places as well. It's turning the population against e-bikes when they're not the problem.
We urgently need more appropriate legislation drafted to clearly define the classes of vehicle, and we need police with the right skills and equipment to enforce those laws.
This is the correct take.
My feeling is that if it's controlled by a throttle, then it's a motorbike and it should be registered and require a driver's licence to operate, and it shouldn't be on bike paths or footpaths.
Yeah that's the implication, but it's complicated.
e-scooters are controlled by a throttle, so I think there's a debate to be had as to whether that's a defining factor.
IMO the throttle is less critical than speed limiting. Anything you can pilot without a license should be restricted to 25km/h.
The problem is these limitations can easily be removed.
That's why I say it really needs proper policing. You need cops on bikes, and some kind of strategy to establish whether a bike is compliant.
Your statement is only partially true. In Florida, where I live, yes Florida, I know . . .there are three classes of ebikes. Class 3 ebikes must have pedals but can have a throttle and can operate without pedaling. By law, it IS still an ebike. So I believe it comes down to jurisdiction.
The rest of what you said is pretty much true and it's a problem here too. I absolutely love riding my ebike. Mine has gears and is every bit a bike. For me the assist helps with hills (yes we have a few small ones here) and mostly wind. But it also serves another purpose. Making the ride either easier since I'm getting older or faster means I'm more likely to use the bike than a normal bike. I believe for these reasons I actually get MORE exercise with my ebike than my normal bike, at least until someone hits me with a car. So yeah, these guys with their over-powered "ebikes" are going to ruin it for the rest of us by getting us banned from trails and such.
Your definition is just yours - I see ebikes doing 35mph+ on the sidewalk all the time.
How do I know they're going that fast? Because that's how fast I'm going on the street, and I'm not passing them.
Sorry you may not have understood me correctly.
In Australia and most other jurisdictions an "e-bike" is defined by law as a bike with pedal assist up to 25km/h.
If a bike has an electric motor which is propelling it faster than that, then it is by definition not an e-bike. It's most likely an unregulated electric motorbike, or e-moto. They're incredibly dangerous for everyone involved.
In Australia and most other jurisdictions an “e-bike” is defined by law as a bike with pedal assist up to 25km/h.
I'm pretty sure they're intentionally conflating them to either downplay the risks of unregulated electric motorcycles, or as some odd kind of anti-bike push, depending on the person making the argument.
The news is constantly bemoaning the dangers of e-bikes, while actually talking about motorcycles, too many times for it to be accidental.
I think it's just a news story that the people who watch news (boomers) like to hear as it confirms their world view.
Yeah the entire nomenclature does a terrible job of differentiating what really matters in vehicle type as a law regulation category. As far as i can see the main factors should be:
Upvote for the main thought, but
It’s not a four-cycle engine. It is a four-stroke engine: each piston makes four strokes each complete engine cycle.
“A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine”
Touché
I didn't know what to say but you nabbed it.
Also reminds me of the motor effect: electromagnetism causing motion. Perhaps that's why the name 'electric motor' became so dominant...
Multiple decades on this earth, decent schooling, undergraduate degree in history, and yet today is the day I discover why the cotton gin is called that. Wild. Thank you for sharing.
Really? Because I don't remember pedaling my Honda 750.
I don't remember pedaling my eBike, either. With a big enough motor, they're all but completely vestigal.
It's true that there are different classes of ebikes. Class 3 ebikes with enough power can be basically motorcycles disguised as bikes. Mine is a class 1 and very much a bicycle. If the distinction can be made that some ebikes do not require pedaling and are therefore motorcycles, by extension it is equally valid to say that ALL ebikes must have pedals so all ebikes are bikes. The truth is really somewhere in-between. Not sure how important that is to a shower thought though.
The Honda Goldwing is a six cylinder outdoor Campervan Winnebago.
Does it smell like a steak and seat 35?
Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!
This is actually a really good one.
Don’t tell that to e-bike fans. They’re very vocal and easily triggered.
And don’t dare suggesting helmets or licenses. They will crucify you.
Ebike fan here. Can confirm. My pitchfork is already out.
Upvote for the thought.
There's definitely two stroke/cycle motorcycles out there. They're less popular nowadays due to emissions but have lasted quite a bit longer than 2 stroke cars or trucks have...
Really unfortunate this classification system has happened. What you're thinking of is an electric moped, but it's all getting lumped together. Check this out.
The differentiator is max speed in Canada. Regardless of how they are built. If you can exceed a certain speed, license required.
Not all motos are 4 stroke. My buddy rides a two stroke KTM and that thing cooks.
Is an e-scooter a motorcycle?
In Australia at least, e-scooters are classed as 'personal mobility device' which is the same classification that motorised wheelchairs are in.
Huh, I guess that makes sense. I don't think they fit into any category in Denver, CO. They aren't allowed on the sidewalks so that makes them a vehicle. But they really aren't a vehicle and are sort of pedestrians in the road.
Not actually sure on this one, because the terminology for motorcycles is... Weird.
Motorcycles are what we're all thinking of, Harleys, Kawasaki's, Yamaha's, etc. Mopeds and scooters look the same, and both usually have manual transmissions, but have a floor in them. I don't know that there's a word that encompasses both, much less including ebikes? Maybe motorbike
Motorbike has been used interchangeably with motorcycle for most of their existence.
My friend said something similar to me a long time ago. I said, General Motors.....?