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30 mph ebike this morning

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30 mph ebike this morning

Old 10-24-19, 07:17 AM
  #26  
Milton Keynes
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Originally Posted by GlennR
A E-Bike that does 30mph is a motorcycle and should require insurance and be registered.
I tend to agree. It's not much different from a Tesla motorcycle. Both are electrically powered, just one is a lot more powerful than the other. But I think this probably tends to be a legal grey area in most states. In my state, gasoline powered cycles are allowed on public roads without requiring registration as long as the size of the engine is 50cc or less (as long as you're not in a class C city or larger)*. I don't know that it says anything at all about electric powered motorcycles or bicycles since the technology has moved forward faster than the laws have been able to keep up.

But the real problem is that you have to define what is or isn't an electric-powered motorcycle. An E-assist bike could technically fall into this category unless you spell out specifically in the law what type of bike you're legislating.

*There was a big issue with this in the city I worked for about 10-15 years ago when those small 49cc motorcycles from China became all the rage. People were riding them all over town before the PD started cracking down on them due to this part of the law.

Last edited by Milton Keynes; 10-24-19 at 07:21 AM.
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Old 10-24-19, 07:25 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Milton Keynes
An E-assist bike could technically fall into this category
My understanding of E-assist is that you still need to pedal them. So they can't do 30mph on motor alone. If they can then it's no different than an electric bike.
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Old 10-24-19, 07:30 AM
  #28  
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Like I said, in order to pass laws regulating them, they're going to have to first come up with a legal definition of them.
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Old 10-24-19, 07:50 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by Milton Keynes
Like I said, in order to pass laws regulating them, they're going to have to first come up with a legal definition of them.
We have Limited Speed Motorcycles (LSM) defined in our area. It applies to bikes with a motor less than 49cc or 1.5kW, max speed of 79kph and max weight of 95kg. They can travel on the roads but the rider needs a driver's license and the vehicle needs to be registered and insured. The license requirements are the same as a vehicle whereas a normal motorcycle requires an additional drivers test.
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Old 10-24-19, 07:53 AM
  #30  
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Most e-bikes come from the factory with a built-in speed limiter, as most jurisdictions have a speed limit for an electrically assisted bike. Here in Ontario, Canada, they can't do more than 32km/h(20mi/h). If you convert your own bike to an e-bike, or somehow reprogram or trick the control system to ignore or remove the speed limiter, you can go much faster I am sure.
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Old 10-24-19, 07:57 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by one4smoke
You explained it fine. I got that you were in a car. How else would you take two kids to school?
Through cargo bike or helping shepherd kids riding their bikes to school. This is an international bike forum, where some parents/relatives from the western coast of the U.S. or in Europe, for example, have said they took their kids to school while riding their cargo bike or with all of them cycling.

It is possible for cyclists to cycle 30+ miles per hour (that's what pro cyclists who race reach), so I though OP decided to cycle faster on their way back, after dropping off the kids.
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Old 10-24-19, 08:22 AM
  #32  
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Yep. 30 mph or even 28 mph in CA without pedaling is breaking the CA Ebike law. Can only go 20 mph here on a throttle. 28 mph Class 3 you need to pedal.
I call it dangerous. People are used to seeing a bike and they know it''s a bike, and can gauge their speed because it's a bike.... until it's going really fast, silently.... all of a sudden there is an accident.

So many new ebike riders think they want the speed, but in reality you get the best battery mileage at 15 mph. Over that and the wind resistance hogs your battery down fast.
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Old 10-24-19, 08:31 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by burnthesheep
Same here. Open road no care.

Other night I did see a guy on an ebike with fatbike tires screaming along that had just exited the gravel state park where they aren’t allowed and heading down an MUP with runners. Headphones on, no hands, about 25mph up a grade not pedaling (how he do that? No hands and no pedaling? Cruise control?) Piece of trash. Here I was legally on the road that followed the MUP on my pedal bike because I would have exceeded the speed limit on the MUP. Then here’s this mierda plowing along the MUP.

Lazy entitled people these days, just scoff at the rules.
I see a lot of people doing things that my own personal moral sensibilites consider 'wrong'. I just watch and see what happens, or go about with what i was doing.
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Old 10-24-19, 08:56 AM
  #34  
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Is this a e-bike?

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Old 10-24-19, 09:02 AM
  #35  
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modified e-bike on roadway going 30mph is, in my view, not that big a deal. It may violate the local e-bike rules but since there's little enforcement, the risk of penalty is very low. However, for every bicyclist riding on roadways with cars, the laws of physics favor the heavier vehicle so every cyclist, e-bike or not, is at risk of injury and death in a cycle-automobile encounter. It's not that much different for motorcyclists as well.

Now, on bicycle and multi-use pathways, my view is not quite as lenient toward e-bikes. If the riders have to pedal and are speed limited, they're tolerable even though my personal experience is that e-bike riders often travel at unreasonable speeds in crowded conditions.

I was really hoping the OP was a superman pulling the kids in a trailer at 30mph without motorized assistance.
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Old 10-24-19, 09:06 AM
  #36  
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OMG! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
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Old 10-24-19, 09:19 AM
  #37  
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Why is going 30MPH on an e-bike more dangerous than you going 30MPH on a human powered bike? If they should be licensed and insured, then all bikes/riders capable of 30MPH should be also. In my estimation, it comes down to being responsible. You may say that e-bike riders are more likely to be irresponsible but there are plenty of bike riders that are as well. Punish the bad actors and leave the responsible people alone.

Not sure if it is still true but years ago, mopeds did not require a license in most places. The e-bike is the moped of today. Should there be some rules and guidelines? Of course.
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Old 10-24-19, 09:24 AM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by GlennR
Is this a e-bike?
Equipped with a line of code in the electronic vehicle management system or even a small plastic part on the throttle when sold which prevents speeds above 20mph, it's a Class 2 e-bike.

Unlicensed, uninsured, coming soon to a MUP near you.
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Old 10-24-19, 09:28 AM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by Ogsarg
Why is going 30MPH on an e-bike more dangerous than you going 30MPH on a human powered bike?
Most e-bikes weight 40+lbs and can do 30mph for miles.

Not many humans can propel a 40+lbs bike faster than 30mph for very long.
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Old 10-24-19, 09:28 AM
  #40  
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50cc scooters are able to be ridden, unlicensed and unregistered, pretty much everywhere, and that has been the case for a long time. I didn't hear [m]any people moaning about that, so why do e-bikes have so many knickers in a twist all of a sudden?

EDIT: Missed the second page, where others have already covered this.
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Old 10-24-19, 09:32 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by cb400bill
Interesting timing of this thread.

Driving on a fairly busy rural road on my way home from work tonight, I came up behind a cyclist. As I got closer I noticed he wan't pedaling so I assumed he was on an ebike. Hard to gauge his speed but he was going around 30 mph. I looked over as I passed him and the bike was a modern hybrid equipped with a gasoline engine, like a Whizzer.
I have seen a lot of those. When I was living in St. Louis you could see many of them. Every time I see one, I think that they look like a blast.
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Old 10-24-19, 09:33 AM
  #42  
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Some of them even took their bikes to the local velodrome:

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Old 10-24-19, 09:41 AM
  #43  
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Since the e-bikes are restricted by law to 20 mph I suggest this:
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Old 10-24-19, 09:42 AM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by GlennR
Most e-bikes weight 40+lbs and can do 30mph for miles.

Not many humans can propel a 40+lbs bike faster than 30mph for very long.
When you look at the weight including the rider, the difference in bike weight isn't that significant and if weight is the concern, then a 140 pound rider on a 40 pound e-bike is less dangerous than a 200 pound person on a 16 pound non e-bike.

As far as how long the speed can be maintained, I don't see that as being all that relevant.
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Old 10-24-19, 09:45 AM
  #45  
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e-bikes are getting CHEAAAAAAP too! I just read a review for an Aventon 500 this morning. Basically $1400 for a 500W class 3 e-bike. Can't go over 20 without pedaling, 30 mile range.

I guess one concern would be that people who buy e-bikes as a first pedal powered mode of transport haven't developed the bike handling skills that they would have by the time they could get a human powered bike up to 30 mph. And there will be shenanigans, but I like 'em. More people on bikes is better for all of us.
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Old 10-24-19, 09:48 AM
  #46  
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Originally Posted by Ogsarg
Not sure if it is still true but years ago, mopeds did not require a license in most places.
In the USA, mopeds never made the Uniform Vehicle Code. Of the 50 states, there is a thatch of probably 35 different legal takes on mopeds. This always confounded the adoption of mopeds into the American transportation mix.

E-bike manufacturers are approaching the American market in a much smarter way, pushing for adoption of uniform legislation across as many states as possible. This will create a uniform market for uniform products to be sold across the country.

Whether or not it represents a 'good' for society, e-bike manufacturers of course are going to be against registration, licensing and insurance requirements for using their products.
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Old 10-24-19, 09:52 AM
  #47  
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Originally Posted by Sy Reene
Isn't this just about a there being a right to use motorways with a motorized vehicle with some sort of verified ability to do so? Otherwise I could imagine that all suspended-license DWI drivers just go to something called an "e-bike"
In some areas, if you see someone on a motorized bicycle, that's exactly why. The small gas powered (and ridiculously loud, give me a nice quiet e-bike anytime) bikes are all over the place in AZ. Most of those are only limited by displacement, not power, and they can usually run ~30 mph pretty easily.
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Old 10-24-19, 09:57 AM
  #48  
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Originally Posted by tcs
Whether or not it represents a 'good' for society, e-bike manufacturers of course are going to be against registration, licensing and insurance requirements for using their products.
And hopefully things stay that way. Making them a hassle will just ensure that more people stick to cars.
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Old 10-24-19, 09:59 AM
  #49  
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Originally Posted by PepeM
50cc scooters are able to be ridden, unlicensed and unregistered, pretty much everywhere...
Uh, actually:

https://drivinglaws.aaa.com/tag/mopeds-other/

https://www.mopedarmy.com/wiki/Moped_Laws:_Europe

Asia is a little more complicated, varying from 'nobody cares' to 'locked up abroad'.
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Old 10-24-19, 10:23 AM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by Ogsarg
When you look at the weight including the rider, the difference in bike weight isn't that significant and if weight is the concern, then a 140 pound rider on a 40 pound e-bike is less dangerous than a 200 pound person on a 16 pound non e-bike.

As far as how long the speed can be maintained, I don't see that as being all that relevant.
Can you ride 30mph for any distance on a flat road?

I can't unless i'm going down an incline.

But everyone can do 30mph on a e-bike.
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