3 ms·

veering off-topic, that's one of the problems I have with electric bikes - they stop being bicycles and become another kind of vehicle - a faster vehicle that n

veering off-topic, that's one of the problems I have with electric bikes - they stop being bicycles and become another kind of vehicle - a faster vehicle that needs longer stopping distances and now has a highe r fatality rate when colliding with a pedestrian. We see this in London cycle lanes. Some cycles are doing a commute, some are trying out for the olympics, some people are doing 25 on a electric scooter and these are alien - hard to predict because they don't obey our intuition about physics. A guy on a scooter does 10mph tops and puts his foot down a lot.

rohansingh 5y ago
What blows my mind is that in New York, we've decided to deal with this by requiring speed governors on pedal-assist bicycles to limit them to around 20mph... while they're required to share the street with cars that are free to travel at almost any speed.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- u801e 5y ago
  Traffic rules basically give drivers a way to deal with other vehicles going different speeds. So a the driver of a scooter going 20 mph and the driver of a car going 40 mph can share the same road, just like a driver of a truck going 40 mph can share the road with the driver of a car going 60 mph.
  - rohansingh 5y ago
    And yet, that same car can go 80 or 90 or even over 100 mph, which would be illegal on any road. Why?
    - u801e 5y ago
      Most motor vehicles could attain those speeds, and 100 mph isn't illegal on all roads. On a steep enough descent, a cyclist could get up to speeds beyond 50 mph, which really isn't safe given the equipment.
- gene91 5y ago
  The key difference is whether a motorcycle driver's license is required. The electric bicycle manufacturer can choose to forgo the speed governors and be subject to motorcycle safety/licensing/etc regulations.
dharmab 5y ago
Motorcyling channel Fortnine did a video in depth on this topic: https://youtu.be/wM8Xli2KTzI https://youtu.be/wM8Xli2KTzI (They've also done some more motorized cycle and electric content lately. A recent video showed how to rebuild an old motorcycle's frame into an electric motorcycle using a kit.)
- dncornholio 5y ago
  An e-bike that goes 60kph seems a bit out of the ordinary. Most are limited to 25kph or 45kph. But even 45 is still fast with only a bicycle helmet though I see, your own peddling can make them go faster. Ok these things should be illegal!

rohansingh 5y ago

What blows my mind is that in New York, we've decided to deal with this by requiring speed governors on pedal-assist bicycles to limit them to around 20mph... while they're required to share the street with cars that are free to travel at almost any speed.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
u801e 5y ago
Traffic rules basically give drivers a way to deal with other vehicles going different speeds. So a the driver of a scooter going 20 mph and the driver of a car going 40 mph can share the same road, just like a driver of a truck going 40 mph can share the road with the driver of a car going 60 mph.
- rohansingh 5y ago
  And yet, that same car can go 80 or 90 or even over 100 mph, which would be illegal on any road. Why?
  - u801e 5y ago
    Most motor vehicles could attain those speeds, and 100 mph isn't illegal on all roads. On a steep enough descent, a cyclist could get up to speeds beyond 50 mph, which really isn't safe given the equipment.
gene91 5y ago
The key difference is whether a motorcycle driver's license is required. The electric bicycle manufacturer can choose to forgo the speed governors and be subject to motorcycle safety/licensing/etc regulations.

dharmab 5y ago

Motorcyling channel Fortnine did a video in depth on this topic: https://youtu.be/wM8Xli2KTzI https://youtu.be/wM8Xli2KTzI (They've also done some more motorized cycle and electric content lately. A recent video showed how to rebuild an old motorcycle's frame into an electric motorcycle using a kit.)

dncornholio 5y ago
An e-bike that goes 60kph seems a bit out of the ordinary. Most are limited to 25kph or 45kph. But even 45 is still fast with only a bicycle helmet though I see, your own peddling can make them go faster. Ok these things should be illegal!