Petition for law change - Ebike Assist Limit

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

dodgy

Guest
Or the non-ebike rider could just slow down a bit. Surely friendship is worth more than a few Strava PRs?
Over my cycling career, riding partners have come and gone, but we're still mates. :smile:
I don't think the answer to all this is an arms race for the ebiker to add more watts until they can keep up.
 

Spinney

Bimbleur extraordinaire
Location
Back up north
When did asking a question become combative.......
When you add something like 'or is that forbidden' to the end.

Hope that helps.

Liking to continue riding with their buddies is fine. There is no entitlement to have the law changed to allow this to happen via ebikes.
 
OP
OP
J

jowwy

Can't spell, Can't Punctuate....Sue Me
Why not add a poll to this thread and see the actual split here?
I personally don’t think it’s required as this is about a petition raised by another person. Not a popularity poll of cycle chat users about ebike speeds.
 
OP
OP
J

jowwy

Can't spell, Can't Punctuate....Sue Me
Over my cycling career, riding partners have come and gone, but we're still mates. :smile:
I don't think the answer to all this is an arms race for the ebiker to add more watts until they can keep up.
But nobody is asking for more watts.....250w motors are allowed by law. It’s the speed to which the motor assists is what is being asked to be risen. Not motor size
 
OP
OP
J

jowwy

Can't spell, Can't Punctuate....Sue Me
When you add something like 'or is that forbidden' to the end.

Hope that helps.

Liking to continue riding with their buddies is fine. There is no entitlement to have the law changed to allow this to happen via ebikes.
Or is that forbidden, is the question. It’s not a combative question.....just a question
 

youngoldbloke

The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
I have read #20 (and all the others) This is one post that supports your view.
While I can totally see the posters view (who I know quite well from this forum) this does not change my opinion.
This situation will affect a small percentage of e-bike riders. i.e drop-bar, e-bike riders, riding in a group with others riding
non-assisted bikes. We have to be realistic and accept that the law cannot cater for (suit) all riders. If you raise the assist level to
20mph to suit club riders riding in mixed groups there are still going to be many on these 'faster' e-bikes who still cannot keep up.
In fact I'm sure most club riders are well capable of averaging over 20mph. So you have fulfilled the wishes of a small minority
of e-bike riders. The downside ? you now have potentially unlimited numbers of irresponsible riders (no age limit) charging about
on 20+Kg of projectile, a menace to themselves and others.
So if I want to squeeze out the extra couple of mph looks like I'll have save up and buy one of the lighter carbon framed versions of my bike. Due to health issues (which I've posted about elsewhere on CC) it's not really possible anymore for me to maintain the extra leg power needed to keep much above the cut-off speed - If I could I wouldn't be riding an ebike anyway. It's not for want of trying - up to 28mph with the training group on a closed circuit, but staying with them is another thing altogether. Its not a big deal - but it would be good to have just a little more assistance above that 15.5 mph cliff edge.
TBH I can't see the petition being anymore successful than previous ones ….
 
OP
OP
J

jowwy

Can't spell, Can't Punctuate....Sue Me
And what’s your analysis of the comparison that you present? Anything significant there?
None at all
 

dodgy

Guest
So if I want to squeeze out the extra couple of mph looks like I'll have save up and buy one of the lighter carbon framed versions of my bike. Due to health issues (which I've posted about elsewhere on CC) it's not really possible anymore for me to maintain the extra leg power needed to keep much above the cut-off speed - If I could I wouldn't be riding an ebike anyway. It's not for want of trying - up to 28mph with the training group on a closed circuit, but staying with them is another thing altogether. Its not a big deal - but it would be good to have just a little more assistance above that 15.5 mph cliff edge.
TBH I can't see the petition being anymore successful than previous ones ….

Have you thought about a Speed Pedelec? The bike you apparently need is already available, no petitions required.
 

Ananda

Active Member
Location
Athens, Greece
This an interesting topic. I definitely believe that 15mph is too slow.
However I have some comments to make:

1. Some people here say they are not signing since they dont feel they need to go faster. Even if I believed that 15mph is enough for me, I would not impose this opinion of mine on others, in other words, I would say, "yes raise the limit to 20 or even 25mph, but I would still keep it to 15mph for myself because thats the speed I feel comfortable at."
Do these same people believe that a fit cyclist who rides a normal bike at 25mph is too fast and dangerous?

2. The lawmaker should explain to us, the public, the logic behind the 15mph limit. Where does it come from? What was the scientific process through which this specific number came into being?
 

glasgowcyclist

Charming but somewhat feckless
Location
Scotland
I would totally remove the upper assist speed altogether......and allow the bikes to assist to any speed, but that would still require a huge input from the rider if you governed the motor and torque settings.....therefore if a rider has the ability to get more speed out of the motor by pedalling more, then good on them. But for people who lack that ability would still be fully supported.

That would increase their viability of use for the commuter market, get people out of cars, less congestion, pollution...more people getting excercise and lower the burden on the nhs.

But i cant see that happening.


Okay, I think I get your meaning now.
Would that be like setting up the motor so that it delivered a preset level of assistance as a factor of the rider's input? I can see the attraction of that but still think you'd need to have either an assistance cut off point or a maximum permitted speed for the vehicle.
 

youngoldbloke

The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
Have you thought about a Speed Pedelec? The bike you apparently need is already available, no petitions required.
Too heavy, too ugly. I want to continue to ride a bike that gives me as close an experience as possible to the type of bike I've ridden for the past (almost) 60 years - a lightweight road-bike.
 
Top Bottom