OP
OP
AlBaker
Bikel-ist
America WAS great until a year ago.
E-bikes and electric motor bikes are two different things. E-bikes are also called by that name in the UK.
Licensing of e-bike riders
- Thread starter AlBaker
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America WAS great until a year ago.
E-bikes and electric motor bikes are two different things. E-bikes are also called by that name in the UK.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
If the assistance is no more than 15.5 mph, and only works if you pedal etc. no resting the feet, and turning a throttle. The other requirements to do with power etc as well. If it doesn’t meet the requirements it’s an electric motorbike requires licence, insurance, number plates, a motorbike helmet etc.
OP
OP
AlBaker
Bikel-ist
Mopeds were once heavy duty bikes with a 49cc engine, and pedals. "Mo-ped" derived from motor and pedals. At least that how they were defined sixty years ago. Americans call motor scooters such as the Vespa or Lambretta, mopeds. They're not mopeds because they don't have pedals.
Here, e-bikes fall into three classes, the first is 20 mph, no throttle allowed.
The 2nd, Throttle-Capable, max speed 20 mph, doesn't need to be pedaled.
The third is pedal-assist only, max speed 28 mph
All 750W
The rules also pertain to age. There are no age restrictions on any of them, in Florida. Other states may have other restrictions. Helmets are required for all classes, for riders under 16. Some cities may not allow any of them on sidewalks.
If Florida passes a licensing law, it might cause some people to respect them a bit more.
Language is fluid and words change meaning.
Over here moped also originated in motor + pedal, but now just refers to twist and go type scooters and in fact is used in the legal definition in preference to motor scooter.
E-bike (ebike, eBike, electric bike) is a word that is now being widely used for anything with 2 wheels and an electric motor that you sit on. If people are using it to mean that, that's what the word now means. There's no changing that now, the cat's bolted from the stable and the horse is out of the bag.
Legally here we have "EAPC" - electric assisted pedal cycle, motor up to 250w continuous power, motor only operates while the pedals are turning and up to 25 km/h, no throttle except for "walk assist. EAPCs are legally considered a bicycle except you need to be 14 to ride one.
Any electric two wheeler that doesn't comply with the above is legally either a "moped" or an electric motorcycle depending on power.
The article in the OP seems to be just talking about restrictions on the "class 3" bikes, which seems reasonable to me.
Over here moped also originated in motor + pedal, but now just refers to twist and go type scooters and in fact is used in the legal definition in preference to motor scooter.
E-bike (ebike, eBike, electric bike) is a word that is now being widely used for anything with 2 wheels and an electric motor that you sit on. If people are using it to mean that, that's what the word now means. There's no changing that now, the cat's bolted from the stable and the horse is out of the bag.
Legally here we have "EAPC" - electric assisted pedal cycle, motor up to 250w continuous power, motor only operates while the pedals are turning and up to 25 km/h, no throttle except for "walk assist. EAPCs are legally considered a bicycle except you need to be 14 to ride one.
Any electric two wheeler that doesn't comply with the above is legally either a "moped" or an electric motorcycle depending on power.
The article in the OP seems to be just talking about restrictions on the "class 3" bikes, which seems reasonable to me.
OP
OP
AlBaker
Bikel-ist
Perhaps the UK actually requires drivers to learn the things that accompany driving. When I took my UK driving test sixty years ago, I had to be able to do a three-point turn, back into side road and remain parallel with the kerb and no more than a foot away from it. Also had to know the highway code. I remember one question I got stumped on: "How many kinds of halt sign are there?" There were three. Had to know braking distance at various speeds. Also had to know following distances at certain speeds. Here in the US, they just have to know how to press the pedals and turn the steering wheel.
My UK motorcycle test was gruelling, too. One part of it I had to keep riding around a block of streets, and at some point the examiner would step out from between parked cars right in front of me. I had to prove I could stop quickly and maintain control. He picked a tar and chip road which resulted in locking up my back wheel, but I stayed upright and didn't put my feet down until I was stopped. He commended me for that. The motorcycle test, here, was a written one and a quick jaunt around a parking lot. I wasn't satisfied with that so I took the experienced rider course, three times in ten years. I learned defensive riding which has stood me well on a bicycle. S.I.P.D.E. Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide, Execute. Perhaps car drivers ought to be taught that.
OP
OP
AlBaker
Bikel-ist
That goes to prove how bad American drivers are. I really mean that. Generally, they are much too fast, not well-trained, and don't take any notice of speed and other signs. Case in point: A local road is a half-mile long and ends in a cemetery. GPS sends drivers down that road, every day, when they should have continued along the boulevard and turned onto an on ramp for another highway. To help drivers, the state put a sign up to tell them it's a dead end, but they all miss the sign, so another sign was erected halfway down the road, and they miss that, too, ending up at the cemetery where they have to turn around and go back to a traffic light where they came in. Signs don't mean much to US drivers unless they're lost.
oldandslow
Guru
What Drago said. In UK (and European) law, ebikes are not a thing in any useful sense. Rather, the law sees electrical assistance on pedal cycles, which aren't subject to licensing and insurance requirements, and electrically-powered cycles, which are motorbikes like any other powered cycle, and therefore are subject to those requirements already.
Given that the law doesn't really recognise ebikes as a (single) thing, you couldn't really make them subject to requirements without dismantling other aspects of road law.
Just for anyone landing here out of context. The motor spec is maximum continuous rated power, meaning the maker wouldn't put it in the 350-ish watts group, and throttles can assist up to full speed (25kph) provided assistance stops when you stop pedalling, if doing over 6kph. Nit-picky but can be a big deal when the police get it wrong.
classic33
Leg End Member
If in the UK, that bit of information would be incorrect.
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
I was wondering
but you can get single vehicle approval for a throttle on UK legal bikes - but it seems to be very rare
and good luck explaining it to a local copper who has been told to go and check on every suspicious bike he sees
with mine I can just flip it over and point to the plate on the bottom (after brushing the mud off it!)
and point out that there is no throttle
then the copper should be fairly happy
If I had a throttle - even a legal one on a pre-2016 bike - I reckon it would take some explaining!
Punkawallah
Veteran
Patience. Darwin will sort the problem out if you wait long enough.
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
Looking at some threads on FaceBook that I replied to recently I am not sure that evolution works especially well in many areas
I do wonder quite often if our ancestors should have been more selective about who came down from the trees with them!
The federal rules are 3 classes adopted by virtually all states or very closely. These are classed as bicycles
Class 1 and 2 are either pedal or throttle assist, limited to 20mph and 750W motor
Class 3 is pedal assist only, upto 28mph 750W motor. Requires speedo, helmets and restricted on some cycle paths.
Anything above those falls into motorcycle laws.
I've always thought 20mph and 750W motor being a near perfect set of limits for 99.9% of users without getting into legislative registration malarkey
