Yeah, but that is already illegal in 90% of the places, which makes it an issue not really related to the concept of an e-bike.
I have been living in Europe for quite a while now, and e-bikes here are limited to about 15mph, e-scooters can go up to 12mph. While you can buy modding kits just fine, I haven’t seen a single modded bike in regular traffic in the last 9 years.
There are higher powered devices that can legally go faster, but that means you need a helmet and a license plate.
Let’s not claim that e-bikes and cargo e-bikes do not make a huge difference in cities and rural areas (for completely different reasons). It’s legislation and enforcement of the existing laws that suck, not the idea of a vehicle that can assist its driver.
In the US, class 1 and 2 ebikes have assist up to 20mph (class 2 is allowed a throttle, whole class 1 is only peddle assist). Class 3 can go up to 28mph (no throttle allowed), but is usually not allowed on bike paths.
IMHO, there is too much legal fragmentation and a discrepancy between the federal classification and the treatment of e-bikes as regular bikes. I also prefer the slower speed limits and simplified classification most EU member states adopted (15mph, 250W continuous motor power)
Almost everywhere, ebikes (pedal assist) have speed limiters. What are effectively mopeds are what people complain about. Imo the real issue is there is insufficient infrastructure for them to blend into car traffic safely. When there are 80km/h stroads with SUVs and pickup trucks, they feel unsafe and choose to ride on sidewalks and bike paths. Additionally, they’re more noticeable when we’re fighting for the scraps of narrow, unsafe bike infrastructure.
My general stance though is that if you get hit by one of those, it is incomparible to getting hit by even a small car going at a slow speed. So, there are bigger problems to solve and directing hate towards them would be better directed at fixing car-centric infrastructure. We don’t need more pedestrians, people on bikes, and people on ebikes fighting. Let’s fix the infrastructure first because they’re another person who understands what needs to be improved.
e-Bikes are crazy nowadays. Their original concept of “you get a little motor in your pedals to help you climb hills” has been killed by an arms race of “hey, our motors are the strongest! Our bikes are the fastest!”
My parents recently bought new ebikes with the “best” specs and they’re awful. You basically can’t touch the pedals without being catapulted forward, even at the lowest setting. And they drive them set to the highest speed all the time because more speed === better ???
I get that when you’re driving to work or something you want to be fast, but they’re only using those bikes for leisure… so like who cares whether the bike goes 25 km/h or 15 km/h? God forbid your morbidly obese ass gets some actual exercise
Which is why the eBike I bought recently is a 2010 Raleigh Pedelec. The supporting motor is super gentle (people in 2010 would have been freaked out by today’s ebikes) and it doesn’t really go over 20-25 km/h. It belonged to a 80 year old woman originally. That’s exactly the kinda vibe I’m going for haha
My brother was building ebikes back in college back when companies were just starting to sell them, so this was somewhere around 2010(I’m not so good with numbers). When he built his it was more of a moped. It had a throttle and a hub motor and could go pretty darn fast, though technically counted as an experimental vehicle.
I believe back then there were still laws about how fast a bike could go before it was considered a motorcycle, at least in New York. But I think going fast was part of the appeal of early ebikes.
There was a very hacky feel to the community then. I remember visiting my brother and seeing a guy ride an ebike with a trailer that carried all his batteries.
I don’t know what an e-bike is, but here in Cleveland we have an issue of dirt bikes that can go fast, but are loud. Gang members travel 80 people in a flock, and drive real slow. They block the whole street, going both directions.
Cops have given up even trying to enforce any laws with them. These aren’t people with drivers liscenses. These are 15 year olds. But if a cop tries to pursue, they scatter, and shoot guns on the streets.
Cops have realized it’s more dangerous than not to even attempt to arrest them.
They don’t stick to the bike lanes. They drive into oncoming traffic at 10mph, but if you do anything against them, there’s a swarm of kids with guns all targeting you.
It’s a real problem. So, yes, fuck cars, but also fuck these dirt bikes which are loud, and can go up to 80mph on a dime, all being driven illegally by unliscensed teens with automatic machine guns. It’s a collective of problems actually. Gang violence, gun control, unliscensed drivers, street driving violations. The list goes on.
It’s a bicycle which got a small electric motor, which assists you while driving and is typically limited to a speed of 28 km/h or so, at least in the EU.
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Yeah, but that is already illegal in 90% of the places, which makes it an issue not really related to the concept of an e-bike.
I have been living in Europe for quite a while now, and e-bikes here are limited to about 15mph, e-scooters can go up to 12mph. While you can buy modding kits just fine, I haven’t seen a single modded bike in regular traffic in the last 9 years.
There are higher powered devices that can legally go faster, but that means you need a helmet and a license plate.
Let’s not claim that e-bikes and cargo e-bikes do not make a huge difference in cities and rural areas (for completely different reasons). It’s legislation and enforcement of the existing laws that suck, not the idea of a vehicle that can assist its driver.
In the US, class 1 and 2 ebikes have assist up to 20mph (class 2 is allowed a throttle, whole class 1 is only peddle assist). Class 3 can go up to 28mph (no throttle allowed), but is usually not allowed on bike paths.
Yeah, in general, that’s true. Unfortunately, that’s not the whole truth, as usual. I found these sites helpful:
https://www.velotricbike.com/blogs/story-landing/electric-bike-laws-by-state
https://www.peopleforbikes.org/electric-bikes/state-laws
IMHO, there is too much legal fragmentation and a discrepancy between the federal classification and the treatment of e-bikes as regular bikes. I also prefer the slower speed limits and simplified classification most EU member states adopted (15mph, 250W continuous motor power)
Almost everywhere, ebikes (pedal assist) have speed limiters. What are effectively mopeds are what people complain about. Imo the real issue is there is insufficient infrastructure for them to blend into car traffic safely. When there are 80km/h stroads with SUVs and pickup trucks, they feel unsafe and choose to ride on sidewalks and bike paths. Additionally, they’re more noticeable when we’re fighting for the scraps of narrow, unsafe bike infrastructure.
My general stance though is that if you get hit by one of those, it is incomparible to getting hit by even a small car going at a slow speed. So, there are bigger problems to solve and directing hate towards them would be better directed at fixing car-centric infrastructure. We don’t need more pedestrians, people on bikes, and people on ebikes fighting. Let’s fix the infrastructure first because they’re another person who understands what needs to be improved.
Let’s separate out illegal modded ebikes from legal pedal assist ones that, around here, top out at 20 mph.
e-Bikes are crazy nowadays. Their original concept of “you get a little motor in your pedals to help you climb hills” has been killed by an arms race of “hey, our motors are the strongest! Our bikes are the fastest!”
My parents recently bought new ebikes with the “best” specs and they’re awful. You basically can’t touch the pedals without being catapulted forward, even at the lowest setting. And they drive them set to the highest speed all the time because more speed === better ???
I get that when you’re driving to work or something you want to be fast, but they’re only using those bikes for leisure… so like who cares whether the bike goes 25 km/h or 15 km/h?
God forbid your morbidly obese ass gets some actual exerciseWhich is why the eBike I bought recently is a 2010 Raleigh Pedelec. The supporting motor is super gentle (people in 2010 would have been freaked out by today’s ebikes) and it doesn’t really go over 20-25 km/h. It belonged to a 80 year old woman originally. That’s exactly the kinda vibe I’m going for haha
My brother was building ebikes back in college back when companies were just starting to sell them, so this was somewhere around 2010(I’m not so good with numbers). When he built his it was more of a moped. It had a throttle and a hub motor and could go pretty darn fast, though technically counted as an experimental vehicle.
I believe back then there were still laws about how fast a bike could go before it was considered a motorcycle, at least in New York. But I think going fast was part of the appeal of early ebikes.
There was a very hacky feel to the community then. I remember visiting my brother and seeing a guy ride an ebike with a trailer that carried all his batteries.
I don’t know what an e-bike is, but here in Cleveland we have an issue of dirt bikes that can go fast, but are loud. Gang members travel 80 people in a flock, and drive real slow. They block the whole street, going both directions.
Cops have given up even trying to enforce any laws with them. These aren’t people with drivers liscenses. These are 15 year olds. But if a cop tries to pursue, they scatter, and shoot guns on the streets.
Cops have realized it’s more dangerous than not to even attempt to arrest them.
They don’t stick to the bike lanes. They drive into oncoming traffic at 10mph, but if you do anything against them, there’s a swarm of kids with guns all targeting you.
It’s a real problem. So, yes, fuck cars, but also fuck these dirt bikes which are loud, and can go up to 80mph on a dime, all being driven illegally by unliscensed teens with automatic machine guns. It’s a collective of problems actually. Gang violence, gun control, unliscensed drivers, street driving violations. The list goes on.
It’s a bicycle which got a small electric motor, which assists you while driving and is typically limited to a speed of 28 km/h or so, at least in the EU.
Guess it does make sense to shift to the traffic lanes if you are going faster, motor or no motor.