瞪羚式的荷蘭式電動自行車會代替汽車

瞪羚式的荷蘭式電動自行車會代替汽車

These are not just bikes with motors, they are an entirely different mobility platform.

這些不僅僅是帶有馬達(dá)的自行車，它們是一個完全不同的移動平臺。

About the Bike

關(guān)于自行車

First, let's talk about the bike. Gazelle has been making bikes in the Netherlands since 1892, and their e-bikes have all the attributes of classic dutch-style bikes: solid, heavy, durable, with a comfortable upright riding position. The Medeo, which I have been riding, is their lowest priced model, starting at about US$2500. It has a 250 watt Bosch mid-motor churning out 50 Nm of torque and a 400 watt-hour battery that will push it about 59 miles in ECO mode. I have been using it mostly in Tour mode, which will go approximately 33 miles.

首先，我們來談?wù)勛孕熊?。Gazelle公司自1892年起就在荷蘭生產(chǎn)自行車，他們的電動自行車具備了傳統(tǒng)荷蘭風(fēng)格自行車的所有特點:堅固、笨重、耐用，直立騎姿舒適。我騎過的Medeo是他們價格最低的車型，起價約2500美元。它有一個250瓦的博世中置馬達(dá)，產(chǎn)生50納米的扭矩，400瓦時的電池可以推動它在生態(tài)模式下大約59英里。我大部分時間都是在旅行模式下使用它，大概能跑33英里。

Gazell Medeo on the Bentway Park/ Lloyd Alter/CC BY 2.0

It is a step-through design which at first I had to force myself to use. In fact, this is much easier. The bike is substantial and has real inertia, taking a push to get going but then never stops. It feels solid, stable, confident. In Tour mode I play nicely with others in the bike lane, going at about the pace of the 25 year old commuters, getting passed by the speedsters.

這是一個一步一步的設(shè)計，起初我不得不強迫自己使用。事實上，這要容易得多。這輛自行車很結(jié)實，有真正的慣性，需要推動才能開動，但永遠(yuǎn)不會停下來。它讓人感覺堅實、穩(wěn)定、自信。在游覽模式下，我和自行車道上的其他人玩得很愉快，以25歲的上班族的速度前行，被那些超速駕駛者超越。

Battery and brakes/ Lloyd Alter/CC BY 2.0

The battery is up high too, built into the carrier. I thought this might be a problem, that perhaps it would be better to keep the weight low, but it's a great carrier and I never noticed issues of centre of gravity.

電池的位置也很高，內(nèi)置在載體上。我認(rèn)為這可能是一個問題，也許它會更好地保持低重量，但它是一個偉大的承運人，我從來沒有注意到重心的問題。

There are a couple of caveats. For e-bikes really to eat cars, they need two things that drivers of cars take for granted: a place to drive and a place to park. We need good, safe and separate bike lanes and routes so that people feel comfortable. That's why Egbert Brasjen can ride his e-bike at age 96. With the right infrastructure, you can ride this forever.

這里有幾個警告。如果電動自行車真的要代替汽車，它們需要駕駛者認(rèn)為理所當(dāng)然的兩樣?xùn)|西:一個開車的地方和一個停車的地方。我們需要好的、安全的、獨立的自行車道和路線，這樣人們才會感到舒適。這就是為什么埃格伯特·布拉斯揚在96歲的時候還能騎電動自行車的原因。有了正確的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，你可以永遠(yuǎn)駕馭它。

$250 worth of Abus locks/ Lloyd Alter/CC BY 2.0

We also need safe, secure places to lock our bikes. I have been very nervous, leaving a $2500 bike on Toronto streets, where 3700 bikes were stolen last year and only one percent recovered. I paid more for the 2 Abus locks than I have paid for some bikes, and including the AXA lock that comes with the bike, I am following the lock-per-hour rule I learned from an Abus rep from Chicago: "If I go to a three-hour movie, I put three locks on the bike."

我們還需要安全的地方來鎖我們的自行車。我一直很緊張，因為我把一輛價值2500美元的自行車丟在了多倫多的大街上，去年那里有3700輛自行車被盜，只有1%被找回。我花在兩把車鎖上的錢比我買一些自行車的錢還多，包括車上的AXA鎖，我遵循的是我從芝加哥的Abus代表那里學(xué)到的每小時上鎖的規(guī)則:“如果我去看一場三個小時的電影，我就給自行車上三把鎖。”

Riding in Toronto's always lovely and safe Harbord Street bike lane a few days ago, I pulled up beside a blue 1990 Mazda Miata, identical to the one I sold last fall. I started talking to the driver, a guy about my age, about how I sold mine and was now riding this e-bike; it was faster in the city, and I didn't have to put the top down to get sun and air, and I was using it much more than I ever used the car. We talked at every light for a number of blocks, about how I no longer felt safe in the car mixing in traffic with big SUVs, and actually feel safer in the bike lane on the Gazelle.

幾天前，我在多倫多一向可愛而安全的海港街自行車道騎車，停在一輛1990年產(chǎn)的藍(lán)色馬自達(dá)旁邊，它和我去年秋天買的那輛一模一樣。我開始和司機聊起我的年齡，聊起我是如何賣掉自己的車，現(xiàn)在騎著這輛電動自行車的;在城市里，它的速度更快，我不需要把車頂放下來獲得陽光和空氣，我用它的次數(shù)比我用汽車的次數(shù)多。我們在幾個街區(qū)的每一盞燈前交談，談?wù)撐以谂c大型suv混在一起的汽車中是如何不再感到安全，而在瞪羚大道的自行車道上實際上感到更安全。

Virginia Block at Amego/ Lloyd Alter/CC BY 2.0

The Gazelle Medeo is not just a bike with a motor. It's a model for an entirely different mobility platform, a different way to get around cities, and perhaps more importantly, around suburbs that are too diffuse for a regular bike. It's a transportation revolution and it will eat everything.

Gazelle Medeo不僅僅是一輛帶馬達(dá)的自行車。這是一種完全不同的移動平臺的模式，一種不同的城市出行方式，或許更重要的是，在普通自行車無法使用的分散郊區(qū)出行。這是一場交通革命，它會吞噬一切。