Is a Bike Friday the safest bike on the road?

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We just read a really interesting blog post about how E-Bikes are now more dangerous than cars.  Though this isn’t actually true it made us think about our design and what we could be doing better as well as what are we doing right.

Well the good news is the decitions we made in choosing the electric assist options we offer also made our electric assist safer than many others on the market.

Our key decitions that improved the safety were:

  1. To only offer pedal assist as you must be pedaling, engaged with the speed of the bike, in order to get any e-assist. A throttle allows e-assist with out pedaling and the disconection with the motion of the bike requires differnt handling skills for safety than cycling
  2. To only offer electric assist that boosts up to 20mph. This is a speed that a very fit cyclist can sustain for a long time handling the bike safetly. Electric assist that boosts faster than that require the rider to have additional special handling skills to be safe while moving at the pace a car or motorcycle moves (with out the protections).

These two decitions along with other benafits that come with Bike Friday designs end up with a wonderful folding electric bike that has kept safety in mind.

Bike Friday Electric pakiT with front hub motor

Our bikes have a low step-over height which makes it much more accessible and we also make the lightest folding bike on the market which makes it the easiest to carry so you don’t have to worry about hurting your back hefting a heavy bike up stairs.

Bike Friday Electric Haul-a-Day with Mid-drive

We are curious to see what you think after reading the article.  Know that at Bike Friday we care about your safety so you can ride long miles for many long years.  We even strongly suggest helmets as it’s a simple way to improve your chances at protecting your most important asset, which is your brain which makes everything else in your body function.

Stay safe and again, please comment below with your thoughts.

Happy Bike Month!

The Blog Post in question here:(just click the image)

 

5 Responses

  1. I was wondering if you used the Bafang BBSHD. WHY would you get rid of the throttle? That is a safety feature to get through intersections with traffic. I unfortunately have a folding bike with a Bionx hub; because they have gone into receivership, that motor is toast when the battery dies. I will never buy another proprietary motor again. I thought that I’d like the BBSHD on a Haul A Day, but not if you’re limiting it, either the max speed or by not including the throttle. I’d rather get a Luna kit and put one on myself, maybe. I’ve never done anything like that before.

    1. The main reason…we first and foremost are a cyclist company and the throttle goes against what we believe in. It’s a big one for us and it’s important to keep peddling which in the end is actually safer when on two wheels. We are very excited how well the E-Bike Assist system is working not only for us but for so many who have bought the system from us and using it. If you have not tried one yet then we encourage you to do this as you will find that the E-Assist system works perfectly in intersections with traffic among so many other situations you would hope to have a little help in. Hope this helps clarify our thoughts and again we hope you can try one out for yourself to see that we chose this system for many great reasons.

  2. Because of the 11.5″ high BB on my P Llama, in a fast stop (disc brakes that’s real fast) I could not get a foot down* ,
    so fell off to the side and in stopping my fall cracked a bone in my wrist..

    * Normally I shift my weight onto one foot and put the other down, as I get off the saddle..

    Or stop with 1 foot on the curb.

  3. Due to a motorcycle accident my legs don’t work as well as they used to. Until recently, one of the things I missed most was bicycling. That is no longer an issue, however, due to a (cheap) e-bike I purchased. My found-again freedom brings me great joy!
    Having now put many miles on my e-bike, I realize I want and need something of higher quality and reliability. It was Bike Friday’s reputation on those fronts that brought me here. And with great excitement, I was happy to see you offer an e-bike. That happiness was crushed, however, after reading this blog.
    For many of us, a throttle is not the ‘cheat’ that you’ve presumed. Rather, it’s a necessity that allows us to put the bike in motion, and to safely cross intersections. Quite frankly, I find your anti-throttle creed to be pretentious, sanctimonious and close minded.
    I do want to thank you for posting this blog, however. You’ve saved me from wasting further valuable life exploring the purchase of one of your bikes.

    1. Good afternoon Charles. It is clear that you have not tried one of the E-Assist systems that we offer yet as you would know that this actually works as well if not better than the throttle system. If you have the chance to try a bike with E-Assist on it you will understand how it works better and fairly certain you will change your mind. We as a cyclist driven company, have to stay true to our hearts when building bikes and who we build bikes for. If you wish to just sit and push a button, our bikes are not the right choice for your needs. We hope you find what you are looking for and all the best!

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