Who's the numpty chasing the E Bike :-)

[jowwy]

No motor 'drag' on my front wheel motor.

Thats not pedal assist mid drive though raleighnut

 

[raleighnut]

Thats not pedal assist mid drive though raleighnut

True, maybe that's why I'm a fan of front wheel drive kits. The wheel on mine does not use any type of speed sensor either, the top speed is governed by the control unit only driving the 3 phase 'Hall effect' motor to a certain maximum RPM (I assume it is frequency limited)
The wheel will certainly spin faster un-powered downhill (that can get scary on an 'upwrong' Trike though) and if you lift the front wheel into the air and spin it up on thumb throttle it freewheels better than some standard wheels once the power is switched off.

 

[steveindenmark]

I was in Holland on an ICE trike a few years ago, fair blasting along. When a woman passed me on a shopper type bike , complete with basket with flowers on the outside. I was deflated as I was trying hard and she was riding without any effort. This was in the early days of electric bikes.

I think it took about 2 years before the penny dropped and I realised she was riding an electric bike.

Well at least I hope she was.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.

I was riding my carbon road bike into a strong headwind when a guy on an electric MTB passed me. I can spot an electric bike in a nano second now. He was bedecked in SKY team lycra and even had the audacity to wave.

Well I think it was an electric bike but he could have been on drugs because all the SKY team are.....allegedly

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I think the law is a bit silly. 20 or 25mph would be more reaistic, we can all blat along at those speeds anyway even if it is just for a short distance.

The legal assistance speed is deliberately set low in order to prevent cycle tracks and shared paths becoming infested with reckless chavs on two wheels tearing about irresponsibly carving up other road users. Fast cyclists mixed up with slow cyclists and even slower pedestrians does not do anything to improve road safety It's bad enough now with 100% human-powered bikes being ridden far too fast for the amount of other road users in close proximity, but fortunately the fact that most cyclists aren't sufficiently fit or strong to hit warp speed on the flat or uphill at least limits the problem. Introduce the e-bike into the equation, and you multiply the potential for irresponsible riders on doctored machinery to ride in a more dangerous and inconsiderate manner than they would be capable of purely using leg power alone. More accidents, more aggro between different road users, more anti-social behaviour, more negative publicity for cycling.

 

[Jimidh]

I’m all for people riding ebikes if that’s their thing but I what I don’t buy is the narrative that all us roadies are somehow jealous of your easy ascent on hills because

A. We know you are on an ebike.

B. And this is the important bit - we like going up hills even though our demeanour may say differently.

 

[Smudge]

The legal assistance speed is deliberately set low in order to prevent cycle tracks and shared paths becoming infested with reckless chavs on two wheels tearing about irresponsibly carving up other road users. Fast cyclists mixed up with slow cyclists and even slower pedestrians does not do anything to improve road safety It's bad enough now with 100% human-powered bikes being ridden far too fast for the amount of other road users in close proximity, but fortunately the fact that most cyclists aren't sufficiently fit or strong to hit warp speed on the flat or uphill at least limits the problem. Introduce the e-bike into the equation, and you multiply the potential for irresponsible riders on doctored machinery to ride in a more dangerous and inconsiderate manner than they would be capable of purely using leg power alone. More accidents, more aggro between different road users, more anti-social behaviour, more negative publicity for cycling.

Totally agree...... For Ebikes to have the privilege of using cycle paths/lanes/tracks and canal paths, their power and max motor mph should be kept as it is.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

The legal assistance speed is deliberately set low in order to prevent cycle tracks and shared paths becoming infested with reckless chavs on two wheels tearing about irresponsibly carving up other road users. Fast cyclists mixed up with slow cyclists and even slower pedestrians does not do anything to improve road safety It's bad enough now with 100% human-powered bikes being ridden far too fast for the amount of other road users in close proximity, but fortunately the fact that most cyclists aren't sufficiently fit or strong to hit warp speed on the flat or uphill at least limits the problem. Introduce the e-bike into the equation, and you multiply the potential for irresponsible riders on doctored machinery to ride in a more dangerous and inconsiderate manner than they would be capable of purely using leg power alone. More accidents, more aggro between different road users, more anti-social behaviour, more negative publicity for cycling.

I agree with this, but imo banning ebikes is not the answer.
There will always be conflict among road users.
I can't get to 10mph on a good day, still, I have had grannies in parks calling me a "menace".

 

[jowwy]

The legal assistance speed is deliberately set low in order to prevent cycle tracks and shared paths becoming infested with reckless chavs on two wheels tearing about irresponsibly carving up other road users. Fast cyclists mixed up with slow cyclists and even slower pedestrians does not do anything to improve road safety It's bad enough now with 100% human-powered bikes being ridden far too fast for the amount of other road users in close proximity, but fortunately the fact that most cyclists aren't sufficiently fit or strong to hit warp speed on the flat or uphill at least limits the problem. Introduce the e-bike into the equation, and you multiply the potential for irresponsible riders on doctored machinery to ride in a more dangerous and inconsiderate manner than they would be capable of purely using leg power alone. More accidents, more aggro between different road users, more anti-social behaviour, more negative publicity for cycling.

Fast and slow cyclists on cycle tracks and shared paths are already mixed up with pedestrians everyday......thats not got nothing to do with ebikes or their use.

And as for calling them chavs, whos the one that dives around in skips taking other peoples rubbish.......

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I agree with this, but imo banning ebikes is not the answer..

I'm not actually in favour of banning e-bikes either, but I see them as something for use by "marginal cyclists" who might not otherwise be able to ride anything. I don't think they should be promoted as a labour-saving device, range extender, or a way of going up hills faster.
Whilst there is always going to be conflict between road users, e-bikes are certainly not going to help matters. Fortunately I don't yet see many of them around, no doubt due to cost, but it's clear a lot of the ones that are on the roads have been tampered with to turn them into electric mopeds capable of being ridden in a pretty antisocial and dangerous manner with little or no effort from the rider. An assisted bike is supposed to be just that, not a means of trying to circumvent road traffic law by running an unlicensed, unregistered, and uninsured moped. The danger here is that illegally doctored e-bikes will be taken up in large numbers by people with no licence, a driving ban, or enough convictions or accidents to make them uninsurable on a vehicle covered by the Road Traffic Act. A lot of those people are already cyclists under duress, since they can't get away with driving anything with a number plate on it, and they are not really the sort of people you want to go faster and further on bikes by giving them any help!

 

[jowwy]

I'm not actually in favour of banning e-bikes either, but I see them as something for use by "marginal cyclists" who might not otherwise be able to ride anything. I don't think they should be promoted as a labour-saving device, range extender, or a way of going up hills faster.
Whilst there is always going to be conflict between road users, e-bikes are certainly not going to help matters. Fortunately I don't yet see many of them around, no doubt due to cost, but it's clear a lot of the ones that are on the roads have been tampered with to turn them into electric mopeds capable of being ridden in a pretty antisocial and dangerous manner with little or no effort from the rider. An assisted bike is supposed to be just that, not a means of trying to circumvent road traffic law by running an unlicensed, unregistered, and uninsured moped. The danger here is that illegally doctored e-bikes will be taken up in large numbers by people with no licence, a driving ban, or enough convictions or accidents to make them uninsurable on a vehicle covered by the Road Traffic Act. A lot of those people are already cyclists under duress, since they can't get away with driving anything with a number plate on it, and they are not really the sort of people you want to go faster and further on bikes by giving them any help!

More drivel

 

[Pat "5mph"]

but it's clear a lot of the ones that are on the roads have been tampered with to turn them into electric mopeds capable of being ridden in a pretty antisocial and dangerous manner with little or no effort from the rider.

Sorry, but there are many fast (20mph+) cyclists on the shared paths now, on ordinary bikes.
Anyone, on any bike, is capable of riding in an antisocial or dangerous manner, you don't need an ebike for it!

 

[Levo-Lon]

Happy Birthday for Tuesday.

i dont tell the wife how tough it is keeping up on any climbs around here,there not steep but i struggle to do 12-15 mph on a long slow hill.

best thing ever for our cycling outings was the ebike .
keeps mrs lon interested and to be fair she uses the tour setting and not the sport or turbo so gets a reasonable work out without feeling destroyed after a ride.
There not cheap as hers was £2k but i think she will go for a lady specific specialised levo fs next as that was her want bike after test rides, but their 3.5-4 k but so much better than a 2k model. And her bike is a small mans due to female specific choice being rare last year.

 

[Smudge]

So far, riders of non road legal Ebikes, have easily gotten away with riding them on the road and other non legal places. They've managed to stay under the radar of the police and the authorities. But these non road legal Ebikes are getting more common.
Sooner or later the authorities and the police will start getting more aware of this situation and start taking an interest in Ebike power and motor cut off speed restrictions being ignored. When that happens, there's a possibility that any clamp down on these Ebikes with further restrictions could affect road legal Ebike riders.

 

[biggs682]

So happily riding Hardwater this morning came over the double bridges and stopped to take a picture , i noticed out of the corner of my eye that the lady i had overtaken a while back had come past me and was heading up the hill , so i set of thinking that i would soon catch her up or at least hold the gap , but by the time i had got about a 3rd of the way up she was still steaming along and if anything pulling away from me ...... yes it was an electric assist bike and no i didn't close the gap at all up the hill

 

[si_c]

I can't get to 10mph on a good day, still, I have had grannies in parks calling me a "menace".

For some reason, I don't even know why, but I've got a mental image of you chasing Grannies in the park waving a baguette.