Petition for law change - Ebike Assist Limit

[snorri]

IIt

some ebikes weigh less than fully loaded touring bikes........so again your argument is mute in this case

Again, the number of fully laden touring bikes travelling in excess of 15mph is so low as to allow them to be tolerated in law.

 

[snorri]

dedicated cycle paths or mixed use paths???

Both.

 

[Venod]

Road users on two wheels need to be fast to keep up with cars.
Shared paths users need to be slower for mine and the park's squirrels safety.

I think the point most are trying to make is that if e-bikes want to increase the limit to 20 mph then they need to stay on the road - an effective banning from dedicated cycling paths and MUPs

Just as normal bikes its not compulsory to ride them to their limit on cycle paths or anywhere else, ebikes and normal bikes should be ridden at speeds that are appropriate to the conditions, 20mph sounds reasonable to me, there are crazy riders on normal bikes and there will be crazy riders on ebikes.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

the cars are not limited to those speeds........and its upto the police to enforce them and not the manufacturers, so yet another non arguement

But you said you regularly ride above 15.6mph on your ebike so the restrictions clearly aren't working on your ebike. How do we gte a change in law so ebike brakes come on at 15.7mph?

 

[glasgowcyclist]

some ebikes weigh less than fully loaded touring bikes........so again your argument is mute in this case

Even if they can occasionally and briefly reach it, fully loaded tourers will not be maintaining anything near the current top speed of an assisted e-bike, let alone the 20mph that you claim you are not seeking support for. And I think this is where some of the other posters have concerns on shared use paths; e-bikes can chug along with little comparatively little input (depending on settings) at their top speed for hours. A self-propelled average Jo Bloggs can't do that so the tendency is for the pace of these routes to be fairly slow and therefore predictable and safe. A 20mph e-bike would turn that on its head.

And the word you're looking for is moot, not mute which means something else entirely.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Irrelevant. As is the paths argument. The Highway Code advises using the road if you are riding 18mph+

Can you specify where? I can't find any reference to 18mph in realtion to cycling anywhere in the HC.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/rules-for-cyclists-59-to-82

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Just as normal bikes its not compulsory to ride them to their limit on cycle paths or anywhere else, ebikes and normal bikes should be ridden at speeds that are appropriate to the conditions, 20mph sounds reasonable to me, there are crazy riders on normal bikes and there will be crazy riders on ebikes.

But..... my craziness is limited by my physical ability on my regular bike. That's not the case on an E-bike.

I live in Holland - Ebikes everywhere. Most are not a problem - they tootle along at a regular speed. The problems are with the high speed commuters. They deserve to be regulated.

 

[CXRAndy]

Im converting my wife's bike to an ebike. It will be customised for variable speed cutout. I ride around 17-18 mph solo so I will set her bike for 19 mph to cut assist, so we can ride together.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

the cars are not limited to those speeds........and its upto the police to enforce them and not the manufacturers, so yet another non arguement

The police enforce the law not manufacturers. I'd have thought that was obvious.

 

[jowwy]

But you said you regularly ride above 15.6mph on your ebike so the restrictions clearly aren't working on your ebike. How do we gte a change in law so ebike brakes come on at 15.7mph?

the law states it can only assist upto 15.6mph, after that the motor cuts out and you can pedal upto any speed you want under your own power. therefore i'm not breaking any laws as regards to ebikes....i thank you

 

[youngoldbloke]

Can you specify where? I can't find any reference to 18mph in realtion to cycling anywhere in the HC.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/rules-for-cyclists-59-to-82

Apologies, it was proposed in a code of conduct for the use of shared facilities

 

[derrick]

I think more people would sign a petition to reduce E bike speed to 12mph. I would sign that one.

 

[jowwy]

The police enforce the law not manufacturers. I'd have thought that was obvious.

thats what i'm saying....police enforce speed laws not manufacturers...so why are manufacturers being enforced to govern ebike limits??

 

[jowwy]

Even if they can occasionally and briefly reach it, fully loaded tourers will not be maintaining anything near the current top speed of an assisted e-bike, let alone the 20mph that you claim you are not seeking support for. And I think this is where some of the other posters have concerns on shared use paths; e-bikes can chug along with little comparatively little input (depending on settings) at their top speed for hours. A self-propelled average Jo Bloggs can't do that so the tendency is for the pace of these routes to be fairly slow and therefore predictable and safe. A 20mph e-bike would turn that on its head.

And the word you're looking for is moot, not mute which means something else entirely.

they cannot chug along at 15.6mph with little to no input and they couldnt do it for hours n end either, as battery size is the limit here........unless they are the old style throttle ebikes, not the new ebikes governed by the speed limit and pedal assist

 

[Ming the Merciless]

ebike cycle speed limits should be reduced by at least 15 mph (25 km/h)