Chased an electric assist bike yesterday

[peejay78]

I haven't had one yet I haven't caught and passed. Allbeit most of them where I live seem to be ridden by the less fit looking individual and I am happy holding 25 mph on the flat for quite a few miles at a time.

well done.

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Yes, I've now reached the next plane of the commuting hierarchy. Heading home last night, and a man on an average mountain bike caught up with me at the lights. Got some clear space from him up a slight hill through the park, but as I relaxed down the other side, he caught up. Had a decent cadence, but his bike was clearly not built for speed. He wasn't much out of breath, but after keeping alongside me for a fair distance, I noticed LED lights on his handlebars.

Yes, I'd been busting a lung to keep up with an electric bike! On the positive side, it was a good target to help me keep my effort going. On the down side, a lot of energy wasted proving nothing!!

How many other members in this club?

I have fallen for the same trap once, on the road bike doing 23 mph, passed him, but he never left me. I could not understand it. Then next time his battery had run out and I laighed my head off as he was doing about 8 mph at a push !!!!

 

[ComedyPilot]

I have fallen for the same trap once, on the road bike doing 23 mph, passed him, but he never left me. I could not understand it. Then next time his battery had run out and I laighed my head off as he was doing about 8 mph at a push !!!!

Karma

 

[Tynan]

Sure it gets people onto bikes and riding them but a great deal if not all of the benfit of riding a bike to body and mind and spirit is exerting yourself, often when the weather is against you, when you're tired or it's a horrid great hill

electric is there to save people from just those things, their loss I suppose but so many people have learnt those thing aren't necessarily bad things and are good for their character

 

[summerdays]

But what if you can't exert yourself too much because of a medical condition - doesn't mean that the assisted exertion won't give you both a mental and physical boost, in fact the sense of freedom can be all the greater.

 

[Cyclopathic]

*waves hand in the air*

Been caught out a couple of times. once up a mile long hill. (Bromley Hill for those who know it, not steep but a long drag). I was trying my darnedest to catch up with the lardy chap on a MTB. Only when I got to the top I realised it was an electric assisted bike.

Another time I could sense a cyclist in my slip. So upped the cadence but he was sticking to me. He then over took to turn right and yep, he was on an electric bike...

like thanks for making me bust a gut people..

To be fair nobody makes you compete with everybody who overtakes you. Besides if you do take on one of these electric assisted (or should they be called leg assisted) and win or even keep pace then you can feel especially pleased and if you don't then no shame is attatched.

 

[Cyclopathic]

[quote="CopperCyclist Plus there's nowhere to pull off on a towpath!

Coppercyclist= You're very wrong there. As a 13 year old fishing on the Shropshire union canal I witessed someone doing it, he'd earlier offered to strip and swim for a stuck float for me & my mate...[/quote]

Honestly what is it with towpaths?

 

[Bman]

 

[ComedyPilot]

He wasn't even pedalling, and you were breathing like an asthmatic in a kipper factory.

I've wrote it before, but I will reiterate - sitting on your @rse and pushing a button is NOT cycling.

Just how green are those things? Batteries/charging/production?

 

[summerdays]

CP ... please can you not agree that they have a place for those who medically are unable to cycle. I went on a very short cycle ride with someone who loved cycling but due to heart problems is not allowed to over exert herself. She was having such a great time that she did over exert herself (on a ride which for you or me wouldn't have even got us breathing heavily). And we then had to get her to stop and rest and nearly had to get her oxygen. Afterwards we were thinking about how an electrical assist bike would enable her to still experience the fun of cycling and a bit of pedalling without over exerting herself.

 

[ComedyPilot]

I understand the assisting old people or those with health issues angle - and do not have a problem with that. I just don't like the way a good thing (helping old and infirm people) can be hijacked by the feckless and idle.

Can you agree that the video by Bongman shows a fit capable cyclist being overtaken by someone on one of those contraptions (at speed) up hill and being left for dead (exuse the pun) despite Bongman's best efforts to catch up? I didn't see much (if any) effort being put in by the bloke on the electric bike. Hardly assisting is it?

Looks to me like the restriction (if any) has been taken off and it can now do more than 15mph. If so, then I am sure it should be classified like all powered road vehicles and taxed/tested/insured and registered.

Unless your understanding of the word 'assist' is to see someone struggling along a street with bags of heavy shopping, and you 'assist' them by carrying a satsuma and a roll of toilet paper to ease the load?

 

[Riding in Circles]

I understand the assisting old people or those with health issues angle - and do not have a problem with that. I just don't like the way a good thing (helping old and infirm people) can be hijacked by the feckless and idle.

Can you agree that the video by Bongman shows a fit capable cyclist being overtaken by someone on one of those contraptions (at speed) up hill and being left for dead (exuse the pun) despite Bongman's best efforts to catch up? I didn't see much (if any) effort being put in by the bloke on the electric bike. Hardly assisting is it?

Looks to me like the restriction (if any) has been taken off and it can now do more than 15mph. If so, then I am sure it should be classified like all powered road vehicles and taxed/tested/insured and registered.

Unless your understanding of the word 'assist' is to see someone struggling along a street with bags of heavy shopping, and you 'assist' them by carrying a satsuma and a roll of toilet paper to ease the load?

That bike has to be illegal as well as it is obviously still assisting over 15mph.

 

[ComedyPilot]

http://www.croydon-lcc.org.uk/downloads/200412_DfT_ElectricAssistPedalCycles.pdf

And I quote:

"The electric motor must not be able to propel the machine when it is travelling at more than 15mph."

"The Directive includes within its scope low powered mopeds that may also be similar in definition to EAPCs. These are vehicles with pedals and fitted with an auxiliary electric motor having a continuously rated power output not greater than 1.0kW, capable of speeds not exceeding 25km/h. However, there are certain vehicles in this category which may be regarded as EAPCs and are exempt from both ECWVTA and MSVA. These are cycles with pedal assistance and an electric motor having a maximum continuous rated power output of not more than 0,25kW where the electrical assistance is cut off when the machine reaches a speed of 25km/h or where the cyclist stops pedalling. The exemption applies to two, three and four wheeled vehicles."

We obvously need Bongman's input on this, but the bloke on that 'thing' hardly looked like he was making any effort, and pulled away very quickly - I would hazard that he was travelling well above 15mph to drop Bongman like that, and to be doing so sat nonchanately on a bike barely making effort would suggest the bike is either derestricted, or fettled in some way to bypass the regulations.

 

[summerdays]

I understand the assisting old people or those with health issues angle - and do not have a problem with that. I just don't like the way a good thing (helping old and infirm people) can be hijacked by the feckless and idle.

Thanks - I thought you were completely anti them. I am against people not making any effort on them. One of the teachers at my son's school is of the lazy types and presumably bought the bike to get fit and yet she doesn't put in any effort when I see her on the flat bit by school, so doesn't get any fitter/slimmer.

 

[ComedyPilot]

When Bongman is overtaken, the rider of the 'thing' passes a lamp post at 15 seconds. He goes out of sight on the video about 1 min 16 seconds after exiting a roundabout. 1 minute and 1 second later. Having located the road and measured it using Bikehike, it shows the distance to be 0.44 miles. To do that in 1min 01 secs the average speed is 25.96mph.

Bongman did the same distance in 1 min 08s secs - 23.29mph.

Are we really to believe someone is capable of creating 10mph+ of speed (over the 15mph limiter) on a heavy electric (upright) bike with little visible effort?