Preppers Seeing The Value Of E-Bikes - CleanTechnica

cleantechnica.com

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Peppers help lower the cost of solar panels and a lot of other cool gadgets, so I'm cool with that.
I mean, they're just apocalypse-cosplayers.
- There's a good chunk of them who are looking for a legal excuse to kill someone. You can tell when they talk about elaborate traps for "defending" them and their's.
Wait till they find out about a vehicle that doesn’t use fuel and doesn’t even need recharging!
- To be fair, it's powered by food
Why? Aren't they prepping for the lack of an energy grid?
- A ebike would make great use of energy gathered from a solar array, generator, or wind turbine.
  Off grid doesn't mean no electricity
  
  You can literally charge them by pedalling too. And use their battery for power if you really have to.
- Wouldn't relying on the petrochemical industry's oil refining supply chain be worse than choosing an electric bike that can be charged via off grid solar, diy hydro, or a homemade wind turbine? Making your own gasoline seems a lot harder.
  
  I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Everything I know about the upcoming apocalypse I learned from the 1995 movie Waterworld, and Dennis Hopper’s gang seemed perfectly capable of generating their own renewable supply of gasoline with nothing more than a decades old leaky oil tanker, so it can’t be that hard.
- The article answered this question.
  He gets back into the lack of need for fuel. Even if gas isn’t available and the grid is down, being able to get around anyway makes it a great backup to regular vehicles. It can be charged on solar, giving independence from anything. He even mentions that he uses about 200 watts of solar to charge his bikes up off-grid.
- Solar is cheap. 100W foldable panels that fit in a backpack are common. Preppers aren't necessarily preparing for Armageddon. They take lessons from history, where social breakdown caused shortages. They prepare to not be able to buy food, fuel, and have water supplies interrupted or contaminated. An efficient electric off-road vehicle like an e-bike fits into this thinking. , Many preppers have a "beta" site if their home is overrun or unlivable. Being able to travel 30 miles stealthily, avoiding public roads where desperate people will try to take what you have is a desirable option.
  
  Damn, you make it sound sensible to have atleast basic prepper facilities and stockpiles.
I've long held that the bicycle is the ultimate prepper vehicle. Doesn't rely on potentially unavailable fuels, fairly easily reparable at home or on the go - all very valuable qualities.

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