How Often And How Long Are Class 3 E-Bikes Traveling At More Than 20 MPH?

[RunForTheHills]

The fact is that a class 3 ebike is legally allowed motor assist to 28mph. Some people feel that makes them safer in high speed car traffic. I try to route around roads like that, usually on a MUP, so my average speeds are 12-15mph. If you feel like you need more speed than that, buy a motorcycle, but don't kid yourself that will make you safer. The average weight of a passenger car is 4400 lbs. Your best bet is to stay away from them even if it takes you a few minutes longer to get to work.

 

[edobici_forza]

takes 650w to go 28mph. same 100 from the rider, 550w from the motor, 700 from the battery. 500wh battery wouldn’t even last an hour, range 20 miles.

physics is a cold, hard mistress.

The fact is that a class 3 ebike is legally allowed motor assist to 28mph. Some people feel that makes them safer in high speed car traffic. I try to route around roads like that, usually on a MUP, so my average speeds are 12-15mph. If you feel like you need more speed than that, buy a motorcycle, but don't kid yourself that will make you safer. The average weight of a passenger car is 4400 lbs. Your best bet is to stay away from them even if it takes you a few minutes longer to get to work.

As meschwett states above you to get to the 28mph speed, with an ebike providing pedal assist, the cyclist needs to put out a decent amount of wattage to the pedals for the bike to provide a minimum of approximately twice the wattage. But my Class 3 Creo 2 only has 320W maximum. I know I have momentary peak outputs between 500 - 650 watts, and average about 100 -130 watts on varied elevation routes. I only know this from the power meter built into the Creo, as I never had a power meter on my manual bikes. FWIW, on the elevation profile image I posted above, I ride that route about once a week, and get passed by cyclists on manual road bikes by a good 5-10mph! when I am going about 18mph on the Creo! It has a good wide shoulder.

MUPs in my area, like most, have 15mph speed limits, as they should. I only go there occassionaly for the scenery usually with friend. But I barely can keep up a decent pace in the low teens, with the number of users on foot, etc. And I usually ride one of my manual bikes anyway. And there are so few of these MUP nearby. But great that you found favorable MUPs to ride.

I gave up riding motorcycles on the road after 30 years, and still have one in the garage though. It is not even the same thing. But, yeah it was the distracted drivers on their phones that did it for me.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

The reality is the finest class system can be devised, but if black market devices are allowed to proliferate, it's all for naught

The automotive industry is a good counterexample. New car dealers generally don't sell street-illegal cars, and manufacturers generally don't make them. Why was it any different with emotos?

 

[RunForTheHills]

Four wheel vehicles are sold that are not street legal. ATVs, golf carts, and offroad vehicles like the Polaris. And there are quite a few of them being driven on the roads in my mountain resort community. Half the time by kids not old enough to have a license.

 

[stompandgo]

And there are street legal golf carts as well. Lots of people have them around here. So should they be banned because some kids get a hold of an estate-only cart and raise havoc on the streets? Certainly not.

I only work 2 days/week at the shop, but every week since it warmed up, a kid or kids either call or bring in a generic e-motorcycle that needs brake work. They have no idea what they are doing when they take apart the system to swap the levers to make the left side the rear brake. It lets them use the throttle and rear brake at the same time for wheelies and other tricks. Last year, it was hacked wiring to de-restrict them. Now that the cheat codes are everywhere, this year it's brakes. Next year, who knows. Dual motor conversions? All of these abortions are being ridden on the streets or rail trails.

 

[PCeBiker]

,.. Next year, who knows. Dual motor conversions?

I should write a how-to for the next generation of hooligans?

All of these abortions are being ridden on the streets or rail trails.

Abortions ??!!

I'm giving birth to twins.


PS,.. I never ride over 32 kph.
And there's no hills around to use to speed legally.
(A 40 mph tail wind might allow me to legally speed, but I'm not sure about that?)

 

[Jim1348]

On my ride this morning, I saw two women on a surrey quadricycle. Are they legal to ride on trails and bicycle paths in your areas?

 

[PCeBiker]

Where I'm from, ICE quads are allowed on the road (except main highways) and are licensed and insured like snowmobiles.

If they want to go faster than 50 kph (32 kph in town) then the "vehicle" needs to be licensed and insured like all other road vehicles.

I didn't want to bother with all that, and I didn't want a quad.
(doesn't apply to two-wheeled ICE bikes)

I'm OK with only going 32 kph, so I bought an ebike.

 

[mcdenny]

I had a class 1 bike (turbo como 3.0) and now a class 3 (turbo Vado SL2). Both have same motor power and I find I ride about there same speed. - 12 to 18 mph depending on my mood and traffic. On some MUPs I get passed by acoustic road bikes going much faster.

A related question: has anyone ever had a cop or park ranger check the class of your bike?

 

[Catalyzt]

My usual average speed on my 4.1 mile sprint loop is about 11 to 12 MPH, highest average speed is 15 MPH on my run to my weekend AA meeting. That is also the run where I do have a stretch of road where, for about five blocks or so, I run around 28-30 MPH, and I do enjoy that a lot. The assistance takes me to about 29 (indicated) and adding my own power, 30 MPH feels very easy for brief stretches under these conditions. It does feel safer to be closer to the speed of cars; among other things, they approach me at a slower relative speed from behind, which give me more time to consider options if they are driving discourteously.

So I'd say, I never exceed 20 MPH on the trail, never exceed 20 MPH on gravel/bad pavement on level ground, though I'll hit 30 or so going downhill, but routinely break 20 or even 25 MPH (with assist, on level ground) on the street.

View attachment 211168
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Lots of digging around, so many different sources, so some specs may be slightly inaccurate. But, my main point is: these specs show there is a wide variety of power ratings for eBikes with a Class 3 designation. Of course, ebikes that are only a few years old are less powerful than those above.

Damn, this forum tool does not like Tabs, it was nice and neat on my screen but all formatting was lost so. edited to insert a screenshot of what I see on my screen. HAHA

The Canyon Grizl ON series is now up to 60nm of torque with the latest update. As I've noted in other threads, this bike gets hard to handle on rough pavement over 36 MPH. I've had it up to 38, but chickened out at that point. On smooth road, I'm sure it would be fine over 40, but I have no place to test that theory.

 

[PedalUma]

I am normally taking it easy at 12-15 around town. On an empty rail trail I will do about 24. Crashing at 24 mph is like falling 19.3 feet off the edge of a two story roof onto pavement. I have no urgency to break a leg. There is a woman I am tracking who is riding with all her camping gear from Seattle to Maine. She is currently in Idaho and has made 7,600 feet of elevation gains. She was chased by a pack of seven dogs and got away without going into Sport mode. She is 72 and has the Rockies soon ahead as she moves into her second time zone. She is not a speeder but I programed it for 864 watts max for climbs in bear country. She is riding a Pashley Prospero gravel adventure bike.

 

[PCeBiker]

Crashing at 24 mph is like falling 19.3 feet off the edge of a two story roof onto pavement.

Only if you run into a brick wall or get hit head on by a truck.

I only have to worry about falling 2-3 feet to the ground.

If I can skid to a stop before skidding off the road, I should be OK.
It's not much worse than falling over, and I do that all the time.

There is a woman I am tracking who is riding with all her camping gear from Seattle to Maine.

How is she liking her Schwalbe Hurricane tires?

And flats or anything??

Are you guaranteeing the tires for the full duration of her trip?

 

[PedalUma]

Only if you run into a brick wall or get hit head on by a truck.

I only have to worry about falling 2-3 feet to the ground.

If I can skid to a stop before skidding off the road, I should be OK.
It's not much worse than falling over, and I do that all the time.






How is she liking her Schwalbe Hurricane tires?

And flats or anything??

Are you guaranteeing the tires for the full duration of her trip?

Honestly, If I had known at the end of last Summer, I would have used FlatOut. The Pashley has Muc-Off tube sealant that was just recharged with a shot of Stans by a top Pro eBike Mechanic in Ft. Collins, CO during her pre-ride check. He said to her that it is an A+ Pro Machine. A kid recently hit a curb with his head in OC, CA at 35 and died. She has a Turbo SL in the stable and says this bike is five-times better. There have been no problems with the bike. Just weather and huge climbs in loose sand. She has a second lager battery to swap to the same external holder and it also looks to most people like a touring water bottle. Those double Kevlar 57 Hurricanes are sweet.

 

[Taylor57]

Hey Pedaluma! Who is left of us old posters?

 

[PCeBiker]

,.. Those double Kevlar 57 Hurricanes are sweet.

I bought my Hurricane tire March 10/2024 and it has yet to see the road.

I screwed up and bought it off Amazon after seeing a picture of the tread design, and thought it made sense.

I ended up with a 29x2.0 Hurricane that I thought was the largest size.
I didn't know that there was a 29x2.4 available.


So when you say "57" I assume you mean either the 57-622 or 57-544?
Does she have 27.5" or 29" wheels?

 

[PedalUma]

Hey Pedaluma! Who is left of us old posters?

About nine. We private message. Some bikes are better than others. The hand tailored are the very best; like going to Milan for a handmade suit, and not an off the rack at Ross-like Specialized. Pashley Prospero's are handmade from Reynolds 631 tubes in Stafford-upon Avon upon order. It will outperform any bike from any store and be more comfortable. It is tailored and optimized just for her. Go to T-Jay-Max if you want something off the rack. It is 622x57. Off the rack bikes kinda suck.

 

[PedalUma]

About nine. We private message. Some bikes are better than others. The hand tailored are the very best; like going to Milan for a handmade suit, and not an off the rack at Ross-like Specialized. Pashley Prospero's are handmade from Reynolds 631 tubes in Stafford-upon Avon upon order. It will outperform any bike from any store and be more comfortable. It is tailored and optimized just for her. Go to T-Jay-Max if you want something off the rack. It is 622x57. Off the rack bikes kinda suck.

It is not at all like a sucky Indonesian, and Cambodian/Vietnamese bike that is really made in a poisoner work camp in China and shipped. With child labor, like Specialized.

These are real bikes.

 

[Biplaneguy]

New car dealers generally don't sell street-illegal cars, and manufacturers generally don't make them.

All new cars are easily capable of exceeding the speed limit on any road they're likely to encounter.

 

[stompandgo]

All new cars must meet safety requirements, be registered and insured, and the operator must be licensed. Kids on e-motos do not have any of those requirements.

 

[PedalUma]

Last weekend a mom brought in her eight-year-old's bike with zero stopping power. I replaced the pads and cables. Then I went to test and bed the sintered pads. The chain was off the ring and on the BB. I took it to 40 mph. Crashing at that speed is like falling over 16 meters on to a car or curb or lamp post.