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That makes sense if e-bike speeds are as high as those of motorcycles in urban traffic. The video narrator mentions reaching a top speed of ~60 (km/h?) on a com

by Delk 5y ago

That makes sense if e-bike speeds are as high as those of motorcycles in urban traffic. The video narrator mentions reaching a top speed of ~60 (km/h?) on a commute, which would be similar to a motor vehicle and much faster than what you'd reach on a bicycle. Top speeds going from ~30 to ~60 would make it an entirely different game. At least in some countries in Europe, e-bikes are limited to much lower speeds. Where I live, e-bikes must stop providing power at 25 km/h. If they don't, they're legally considered motorized vehicles and require a driver's license, are not allowed to be ridden on bicycle paths, etc. I can imagine there may still be a higher rate of accidents on e-bikes, as the article says, but the comparison to motorcycles probably doesn't make as much sense in countries where e-bike speeds are much slower.

porknubbins 5y ago
I did not know that. 25kph is indeed very slow as road bikes regularly go well above those speeds just being peddled. When I lived in NYC it was a mess- all kinds of custom ebikes electric mopeds and delivery drivers blasting around on the sidewalks endangering pedestrians. But the city would kill the food delivery business if it banned them.
- mburee 5y ago
  Yes, but the vast majority of commuters ride around 20km/h or even slower, as it seems to be a lot of elderly people around my place.
- Delk 5y ago
  Yeah, e-bikes seem to be a rather different deal in different countries in practice. The way the legislation sees e-bikes here is that the motor should be for assistance and comfort, and to enable somewhat longer commutes etc., not for being able to go at speeds of motorized traffic. (You can also go faster than 25 on an e-bike, just like you could on any bike, but it has to be on human power.) 25 km/h is IMO a reasonable maximum powered speed in urban bicycle traffic. It's a speed you can reasonably reach on a traditional urban bike by just pedalling, so it's not wildly above the speeds of other bikes in the same traffic, but it's high enough to be useful in a city environment. I can imagine that somewhat higher powered speeds would be nice to have when riding in car traffic, or on roads or paths outside of urban areas where you might ride much faster than that on road bikes. As a compromise it's fairly reasonable from my city-dwelling point of view, though. The legislation here probably wanted to prevent exactly the kind of a mess you'd get from having what are effectively motorized vehicles running on sidewalks and other paths that are explicitly not meant for motorized vehicles.

by Delk 5y ago

porknubbins 5y ago

I did not know that. 25kph is indeed very slow as road bikes regularly go well above those speeds just being peddled. When I lived in NYC it was a mess- all kinds of custom ebikes electric mopeds and delivery drivers blasting around on the sidewalks endangering pedestrians. But the city would kill the food delivery business if it banned them.

mburee 5y ago
Yes, but the vast majority of commuters ride around 20km/h or even slower, as it seems to be a lot of elderly people around my place.
Delk 5y ago
Yeah, e-bikes seem to be a rather different deal in different countries in practice. The way the legislation sees e-bikes here is that the motor should be for assistance and comfort, and to enable somewhat longer commutes etc., not for being able to go at speeds of motorized traffic. (You can also go faster than 25 on an e-bike, just like you could on any bike, but it has to be on human power.) 25 km/h is IMO a reasonable maximum powered speed in urban bicycle traffic. It's a speed you can reasonably reach on a traditional urban bike by just pedalling, so it's not wildly above the speeds of other bikes in the same traffic, but it's high enough to be useful in a city environment. I can imagine that somewhat higher powered speeds would be nice to have when riding in car traffic, or on roads or paths outside of urban areas where you might ride much faster than that on road bikes. As a compromise it's fairly reasonable from my city-dwelling point of view, though. The legislation here probably wanted to prevent exactly the kind of a mess you'd get from having what are effectively motorized vehicles running on sidewalks and other paths that are explicitly not meant for motorized vehicles.