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Not surprised. They are a lot cheaper, easier to own than a car in cities, and are a lot of fun to ride. A loud contingent view them as a scourge, calling for

Not surprised. They are a lot cheaper, easier to own than a car in cities, and are a lot of fun to ride. A loud contingent view them as a scourge, calling for ebikes to be banned, or otherwise licensed, registered, and insured, which would eliminate them as a common mode of transport. Most of the people I see riding them around here are high-school aged who probably don't care enough to deal with that. The next step up (moped) licensing requirements are more onerous than those of a car.

asdff 5y ago
The moped licensing process definitely has a quieting effect on the amount of mopeds you see. I tried to get one thinking I would just take a little written test since I had a drivers license already. If the state was letting me drive a multiton vehicle it should be trivial for me to be allowed to drive a vehicle I could lean back up up with my own strength. Boy was I wrong. Several hundred dollars for the moped safety course ran by a private company sanctified by the state and I would have to rent their moped for the test, since it would be illegal for me to buy my own and practice with it since I don't have a moped license. Chicken and egg. It only works with cars because literally everyone has a car you can borrow and you don't have to go to driving school once you are an adult, but with mopeds and motorcycles you are beholden to these for profit schools that have lobbied themselves into regulatory permanence.
- gnarcoregrizz 5y ago
  Yes, mopeds and scooters would have been a lot more popular if it weren't for those requirements. I'm sure the class is great for safety knowledge, but seems half irrelevant to electrics and mopeds since its taught on a heavy gas bike with manual transmission. I tried to register a popular but overpowered ebike with no success. The solution for now is to ride slow, slap some pedals on and say "yes officer, it's a class 3 ebike", and hope I don't get a ticket.
bagacrap 5y ago
I mean, they do have a motor, so I don't see why they should be less regulated than other motorized vehicles. They're just as dangerous to the user as a moped.
- tonyedgecombe 5y ago
  >They're just as dangerous to the user as a moped. In the UK (and the EU) they are restricted to 15 mph so no different to a traditional bike. If you want a speed pedelec (28 mph) then it needs to be registered like a moped and mostly can't go on bike paths.
  - bagacrap 5y ago
    The speed limit is higher in the US, but I don't think the top speed per se is the main factor that contributes to danger. E bikes are dangerous because they empower novice users (teenager with a ferrari type of deal), and because they slot in somewhere between cars and normal bikes/peds in terms of speed, meaning their users wind up on roads, where they're vulnerable to cars, or on paths, which are often poorly engineered with tight/blind curves and where pedestrians aren't expecting someone to fly by at 22mph. I find the average motorist expects to be able to save themselves from any dangerous situation by simply slamming on the brakes. With traditional bikes piloted by neophytes, this works alright since the top speed is probably ~15mph. But this doesn't work as well for two wheeled vehicles traveling at high speeds, where slamming on the brakes can cause a loss of traction and ultimately balance. Mopeds and motorcycles require special certification in the US (beyond a normal driver's license) because they are not just tiny cars, and the same should apply to ebikes.

asdff 5y ago

The moped licensing process definitely has a quieting effect on the amount of mopeds you see. I tried to get one thinking I would just take a little written test since I had a drivers license already. If the state was letting me drive a multiton vehicle it should be trivial for me to be allowed to drive a vehicle I could lean back up up with my own strength. Boy was I wrong. Several hundred dollars for the moped safety course ran by a private company sanctified by the state and I would have to rent their moped for the test, since it would be illegal for me to buy my own and practice with it since I don't have a moped license. Chicken and egg. It only works with cars because literally everyone has a car you can borrow and you don't have to go to driving school once you are an adult, but with mopeds and motorcycles you are beholden to these for profit schools that have lobbied themselves into regulatory permanence.

gnarcoregrizz 5y ago
Yes, mopeds and scooters would have been a lot more popular if it weren't for those requirements. I'm sure the class is great for safety knowledge, but seems half irrelevant to electrics and mopeds since its taught on a heavy gas bike with manual transmission. I tried to register a popular but overpowered ebike with no success. The solution for now is to ride slow, slap some pedals on and say "yes officer, it's a class 3 ebike", and hope I don't get a ticket.

bagacrap 5y ago

I mean, they do have a motor, so I don't see why they should be less regulated than other motorized vehicles. They're just as dangerous to the user as a moped.

tonyedgecombe 5y ago
>They're just as dangerous to the user as a moped. In the UK (and the EU) they are restricted to 15 mph so no different to a traditional bike. If you want a speed pedelec (28 mph) then it needs to be registered like a moped and mostly can't go on bike paths.
- bagacrap 5y ago
  The speed limit is higher in the US, but I don't think the top speed per se is the main factor that contributes to danger. E bikes are dangerous because they empower novice users (teenager with a ferrari type of deal), and because they slot in somewhere between cars and normal bikes/peds in terms of speed, meaning their users wind up on roads, where they're vulnerable to cars, or on paths, which are often poorly engineered with tight/blind curves and where pedestrians aren't expecting someone to fly by at 22mph. I find the average motorist expects to be able to save themselves from any dangerous situation by simply slamming on the brakes. With traditional bikes piloted by neophytes, this works alright since the top speed is probably ~15mph. But this doesn't work as well for two wheeled vehicles traveling at high speeds, where slamming on the brakes can cause a loss of traction and ultimately balance. Mopeds and motorcycles require special certification in the US (beyond a normal driver's license) because they are not just tiny cars, and the same should apply to ebikes.