Two wheels good

What's wrong with, you know, a regular bicycle? Everyone says people need to get more exercise, and many people spend hours at the gym when they could just combine their workout and commute.<p>OK, so it's not so great to show up to work smelly. More and more workplaces are offering showers and such, and many gyms offer cheaper "shower-only" memberships.<p>The main problems with a regular bicycle (cargo/passenger capacity and exposure to weather) are just as present on electrics.

There are problems with biking (and e-biking) up here in Wisconsin that pretty much eliminate it as a primary mode of transport.<p>Riding a bike in the rain is dangerous, but riding in snow is downright insane. Also, things tend to be pretty spaced out around here. Several of my friends work ~40 miles from where they live--even at 20mph, two hours to get to work is simply not acceptable (not to mention e-bikes running out of charge).

One thing that I see wrong with our current city model<p>- Big houses with big yards. This makes cities way bigger, expensive to build infraestructure for, and makes us depend on cars.<p>I bet that, If we all lived on smaller houses our living expenses would be way lower. Has any city tried this?

I've noticed a lot of electric scooters lately. I'm curious if they're gaining in popularity elsewhere. Because it technically meets the province's definition of a power assisted "e-bike", you get a slow speed scooter without the hassle of licensing and insurance requirements. They allow a lot of freedom because you can legally ride in both bicycle and car lanes, and park almost anywhere. People are also illegally removing the 32km/h regulator (among other hacks), which is difficult for the police to enforce. It's probably a reasonable way to travel if you live downtown and don't need to climb any steep hills. Of course, the government has caught on now, so I expect the game will change when the e-bike pilot program ends this fall.<p><a href="http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/vehicle/emerging/e-bike-faq.shtml#a27" rel="nofollow">http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/vehicle/emerging/e-bi...</a>

I'm pretty sure by far the biggest win in energy savings can be made in smarter spatial planning.<p>A good city plan keeps the vehicle roads long, bicycle lanes short, has facilities close to housing (shops, schools..)<p>Or specific for bicycles: here is an interesting document about (re)designing cities for cycling.<p><a href="http://www.fietsberaad.nl/library/repository/bestanden/CyclingintheNetherlands2009.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.fietsberaad.nl/library/repository/bestanden/Cycli...</a>

....four wheels better?<p>Joking aside, biking is actually a good option here in Vancouver. I actually see it as a form of multi-tasking; Commuting and exercising at the same time.

just imagine Los Angeles after widespread adoption of electric bikes...<p>... nah, neither could I.