E-bikes remaining as vulnerable users.

[classic33]

Have I stepped into a thread from a different multiverse ?

Something along the lines of a welsh version of the twilight zone?

 

[Alex321]

Have I stepped into a thread from a different multiverse ?

Just a troll.

Who got some bites, very much including from me

 

[mjr]

All good I suppose but what about all this stuff you can buy to derestrict them.

Literal whataboutery!

The ruling follows previous ones. All unassisted bikes weren't reclassified as motorcycles when someone strapped a motor on and made the first moped.

 

[Jody]

I cycle every day sometimes twice

They deserve to get abused by car drivers in my opinion.

No you don't and no they don't.

 

[Alex321]

All his posts about the speed he rides at should probably be re-evaluated in light of the fact that according to his latest thread he rides a recumbent trike.

Definiktely trolling, as he would have mentioned that here rather than just letting us respond on the basis he was riding an upright bike. It was quite a while before he evne mentions it was a trike, and he never said anything about it being a recumbent in this thread.

 

[cougie uk]

I'm faster all round on my ebike. When you hit the assistant limit switch the motor to off
mode and the drag stops.
I go just as fast above 16mph as a normal bike

Kind of defies physics there. You're carrying more weight with you.

If you had a normal bike but without all the motor gubbins you'd be faster on that once the motor has cut off.

I'm all for legal ebikes though. The more cyclists we get on the road the safer it is for us all.

 

[cougie uk]

Class 1
You try driving a lorry with stupid bikes on the road doing 15 mph

Driving isn't for everyone. Clearly you can't cope. Hand your licence in and happy cycling.

 

[bonzobanana]

Kind of defies physics there. You're carrying more weight with you.

If you had a normal bike but without all the motor gubbins you'd be faster on that once the motor has cut off.

I'm all for legal ebikes though. The more cyclists we get on the road the safer it is for us all.

I really think it depends on the rider and the ebike itself. Geared hub motors have a freewheeling clutch so almost no drag at all and can be only 3-4kg heavier than a normal bike if the battery capacity isn't huge. You cycle up hills much faster and can achieve similar speeds on the flat and downhill. A standing start can be faster on an ebike. I think a super fit road bike user will be faster than most legal ebikes but for Mr or Mrs Average I'm not so sure. By not exhausting yourself going up hill you have more energy to put into cycling on the flats. I just think there are too many variables to just come up with a single answer that fits all situations.

 

[cyberknight]

Just to add some balance to this thread. I can honestly say that some of the best driving I experience on the roads comes from professional and hgv/lgv drivers.

I might be reading more into this than there really is, but I always feel that the way I behave around commercial drivers is picked up by the drivers? I will always make the extra effort, that little push of speed if holding them up, just hang back at the lights if I see they will likely be needing to pass me soon afterwards, pull into a layby or gateway if it looks like being a long haul on a narrow road before they can safely pass me, etc. Treat them the way I would want to be treated etc. I will raise my right hand off the bars in a little gesture of thanks for their patience and often get a little toot toot of recognition for the consideration. In that moment it always feels like we have somehow bonded, somehow they know I'm one of them and they are maybe one of me, later to be riding home from work after a long, frustrating day behind the wheel.

This seems a long way away from the world squirrel chaser is portraying?

i am seriously not even getting involved in the whole thread, it makes interesting reading
Like you i find people paid to drive are the better ones and like you if i am holding people up and i know they will not get past safely i will get out of the way .
EG single track country lane like the one shown up hill for maybe half a mile ish so i will be slogging at around 10 mph if im lucky I will pull over in a farm gate etc if i can see i will be holding traffic up and they generally wave thanks .Another road and another hill i purposely pulled over to let a lorry go by as he was stuck behind me and was waiting to overtake safely but nowhere for the driver to do so .
We also encourage this on club rides , we all share the road and have the same rights to use it so a bit of give and take works both ways .

 

[classic33]

I really think it depends on the rider and the ebike itself. Geared hub motors have a freewheeling clutch so almost no drag at all and can be only 3-4kg heavier than a normal bike if the battery capacity isn't huge. You cycle up hills much faster and can achieve similar speeds on the flat and downhill. A standing start can be faster on an ebike. I think a super fit road bike user will be faster than most legal ebikes but for Mr or Mrs Average I'm not so sure. By not exhausting yourself going up hill you have more energy to put into cycling on the flats. I just think there are too many variables to just come up with a single answer that fits all situations.

It's not your legal e-assist bike though. Does 40mph with ease.

 

[Mike_P]

i am seriously not even getting involved in the whole thread, it makes interesting reading
Like you i find people paid to drive are the better ones and like you if i am holding people up and i know they will not get past safely i will get out of the way .
EG single track country lane like the one shown up hill for maybe half a mile ish so i will be slogging at around 10 mph if im lucky I will pull over in a farm gate etc if i can see i will be holding traffic up and they generally wave thanks .Another road and another hill i purposely pulled over to let a lorry go by as he was stuck behind me and was waiting to overtake safely but nowhere for the driver to do so .
We also encourage this on club rides , we all share the road and have the same rights to use it so a bit of give and take works both ways .

I would also question cycling at 20mph being safer in urban areas as most motorists are IME incapable of correctly judging a cyclists speed and I often find myself having to slow further from my already noticeably slower than 20mph speed to avoid colliding with a vehicle turning on front of me.

 

[mjr]

I would also question cycling at 20mph being safer in urban areas as most motorists are IME incapable of correctly judging a cyclists speed and I often find myself having to slow further from my already noticeably slower than 20mph speed to avoid colliding with a vehicle turning on front of me.

Ride holding a contact-triggered petard out in front of you. The motorists won't make the same mistake twice! 😈

 

[fossyant]

This is Spiderman and the Multiverse !

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

This has probably be raised before somewhere on this forum but
is there any proper data on stopping distances for bikes compared to cars?
especially bikes with more weight such as ebikes
and also - bike whose rider may be "somewhat heavier" than any given Yates twin this increasing momentum rather a lot

I also wonder about the effect of different tyres on this
for example - smooth narrow road bike tyres compared to smoothish 700c tyres on a hybrid and all that stuff



Before someone else says it
CLEARLY a bike (ebike or not - fat git or not) causes far less damage and if far less likely to cause serious injury than a car
so a direct comparison is not relevant for all areas of discussion

but the raw data might be interesting

 

[Dadam]

It would be interesting to see the data. I don't have time to find the best sources now but a quick google suggests the maximum braking deceleration of a typical road car is around 0.8-1g and a bicycle around 0.5g but usually a fair bit less. The limiting factor of a bicycle being the rider going over the bars. With 4 wheeled vehicles it is usually tyre adhesion.