It’s a new year, and yet we’re facing the same old problem as last year: electric bike fear-mongering from irresponsible journalists painting an overblown risk of e-bike fires.
This time, we’ve got a doozie of a headline from Men’s Journal: “E-bike Batteries: A Leading Cause Of Death In NYC”.
The only problem is it’s wrong. As in, completely wrong. The premise is not even close to aligning with reality.
This isn’t to say that fires from improperly constructed or tampered with electric bike lithium-ion batteries is a non-issue. It is an important matter requiring increased regulation – something NYC has already begun. The issue is acutely essential in NYC, where bike couriers rely on e-bikes to deliver food and goods to city residents, and are often forced to buy the cheapest e-bikes available due to the low wages of these critical…