Been riding my 28 mph unlocked e-bike for years. And yet it’s still unnerving when I reach that speed, and that’s riding alone on an empty greenway. IMO, even 25 mph is too fast for bike paths or shared use paths that aren’t basically empty.
The situation has degraded even in the short time I’ve had my bike. I have to pedal to go fast and it requires sustained exertion to max it out and keep it maxed, so typically I’m not riding at full speed. When I slow down I have to pedal even harder to accelerate up to speed again. So you would think that would encourage dangerous behavior because the cyclist is incentivized not to slow down.
But now I’m seeing scooters and e-bikes where they’re not pedaling at all. They’re just holding down a throttle and they seem to have no concept of braking.
The throttle jockeys wouldn’t have to put any effort in at all when they slow down, yet they never do, while those of us actually pedaling do slow down. They also are rather unfriendly as far as a typical bicyclist will wave at you or nod their head or even say hello sometimes, but not with that crowd. They’re typically zoned out with earbuds or whatever.
To me they’re a different type of rider and they don’t seem to have any desire to adopt bicycle culture or norms. I’d imagine they are responsible for most of the dangerous behavior.
Meanwhile UK is the other way round, limits are so low that legal ones are almost useless for a healthy adult to have much reason to bother with.
E-trikes are useful for elderly or disabled users, so at least there is some use. But otherwise you pretty much need an illegal one for it to be worth bothering with.
One idea I have heard that sounds interesting is to limit the power OR top speed, rather than both. So you could either have +250w all the time regardless of speed, or as big a motor as you like but always limited to 25kmh. The bigger motor can be useful for steep hills or heavy cargo bikes, small motor at any speed is useful for commuters who would already be cycling at the current cut off speed limit.
As you mention the motor is great for hills and weight, like my heavy chain and not-so-Litelok. It’s also good for wind.
I was looking around a city in France (forgot which one, but not Paris) on street view and was noticing that there were not really any bike lanes, hardly even any painted on. Bicycles were mixed in with the traffic on the street. Seemed really scary! And then I noticed the speed limit was 30 kph (~18 mph). And suddenly it all made sense and I was jealous. Around town I have to ride all these crazy routes through residential areas and such in hopes of a little safety, often doubling (or more) the distance I have to ride to get somewhere. Would gladly have an 18 mph speed limit if I could ride on safer streets and just go directly there, it’d be much faster. Although, from what I’ve read, 30 kph isn’t universal in France, as the standard seems to be 50 kph (which is still only 31 mph) and I’d imagine those areas probably do have bike lanes.
I experience the same problem in the Netherlands, and I’ve seen it close up in France and Germany as well.
Those throttle-only capable things need to go or be regulated like ICE scooters. They are ruining it for all of us. But, the cops have only so many resources and, at least here, not ACAB (probably most given the chance , but certainly not all as in the Anglophone sphere).
How big is your assist motor?
I have a class 3 cargo bike with a 750w hub motor and 0 through 5 for “assist level”. At level 5 it accelerates as fast as a car and holds 28mph with minimal exertion on my part. Level 5 is only used in traffic: level 1-2 is “rides like a regular bike” and 3-4 are for heavy cargo, head winds, or nasty hill climbs.
500 W sustained, 750 W peak. By default it’s class 2 and limited to 20 mph (which is what the label on the stem says). I typically ride between around 18 and 22 mph. Only really go above that on flat or slightly downhill sections, where the motor isn’t really as needed anyhow. I ride on assist level 1 (minimum), although sometimes I’ll switch to 0 (no motor assistance) on a downhill to give myself a little more exercise.
Been riding my 28 mph unlocked e-bike for years. And yet it’s still unnerving when I reach that speed, and that’s riding alone on an empty greenway.
I go 28 mph all the time and it feels slow as shit
My e-scooter is limited to 32km/h and that’s frankly more than fast enough imo. It feels a whole lot faster when there’s nothing separating me from my surroundings. A crash at that speed could already injure me a lot and I wear protective equipment while doing so, and I see most people going without even a helmet while riding the same scooter as mine. No brain within those skulls to protect, I guess.
I’ve been to NYC. Once they’ve dealt with the much larger problem they have with cars, maybe it will then make sense to “crack down on e-bikes.”
You can do both. At the same time.
No. To fix the car problem, biking needs to be attractive, and fast e-bikes ruin bike safety for regular bikers. This is at least my experience in Amsterdam (Holland), the so-called bike city of the world
Normally I’d be sympathetic to this view, but dealing with misclassified motorcycles at the same time as you deal with cars is not a problem I think
I live in the GTA. This shit along with motorized scooters needs to be licensed and on the fucking road. I run. I hate that the trails used to have walkers, runners and pedal bikes and no we have fuckwads in motorized vehicles endangering people on pedestrian paths.
