Article on the Mighty Bafang Ultra
- Thread starter TForan
- Start date
TForan
Well-Known Member
That's true but I sure don't worry about it. Police around here ride ebikes and all they have said to me is "Cool bike" .
JRA
Well-Known Member
Another bike with the Ultra:
www.wattwagons.com
Ti frame is a nice touch as well as the belt drive, rack and fenders for commuting but not sure about the three speed hub having enough gear range for keeping your desired cadence/input consistent.
www.wattwagons.com
Ti frame is a nice touch as well as the belt drive, rack and fenders for commuting but not sure about the three speed hub having enough gear range for keeping your desired cadence/input consistent.
Last edited:
JRA
Well-Known Member
Fixed
J.R.
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
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- Piedmont Highlands
Try:
https://wattwagons.com/
Awkward choice of names as there's been a wattwagon (no s) powered pusher trailer for several years. Unless they dropped the trailer and introduced a bike instead. Nice looking bike though.
https://wattwagons.com/
Awkward choice of names as there's been a wattwagon (no s) powered pusher trailer for several years. Unless they dropped the trailer and introduced a bike instead. Nice looking bike though.
Given the US federal regulations imply that the motor just has to be rated at less than 750W and that there is no assist speed limit when the rider is engaged the Ultra is street legal right out of the box.
I know there will be alternative opinions on this but I suggest anyone that doesn't agree to spend 5 minutes actually reading the federal regulation and not just drink the koolaid they have been told.
There is ample information on Grin Technologies website as to why the US motor rating is ambiguous but it's technical so most people will not want to read it.
TForan
Well-Known Member
Drink the koolaid ? Do you live somewhere that you think you would be hassled by law enforcement ? I sure don't . They simply don't care.
SirJonathan
Active Member
I think you two are on the same side.
TForan
Well-Known Member
Yes, I think you're right. Apologies.
Correct....we were on the same side. It's almost impossible to enforce the current regulations being passed by most states. I understand the desire to worry about public safety but I don't think an ebike going over 20mph is an appreciable social safety risk (I don't believe there is any data to support anyone claiming it is). We need solutions for human scale transportation a lot more than we need license, registration, and insurance money from ebike riders.
I will add that I have no clue why People for Bikes is so convinced the Class 1/2/3 legislation they are promoting is the best solution. I'm convinced the states can only regulate ebike use and not re-define what a compliant ebike is. I'm 99% sure the federal specifically states this.
It's the best solution for putting the same ebike laws in place in all 50 states so the bike companies can sell ebikes.
It makes sense to advocate the same ebike regulations in every state, but they should focus on "USAGE" not actual specifications of the ebike itself (it's also the easy way out to just promote the EU regulations that benefit mid drive manufacturers for a reason). The federal regulations, per CPSC, restricts states from redefining ebikes so litigation is virtually assured to resolve this conflict and most of the work done by People for Bikes will be defeated because the federal definition is crystal clear.
There are legal interpretations of the federal law that conclude that the federal ebike regulations do not limit assist speed so long as the rider is pedaling (there is a clear assist limit under throttle only) so I have no idea how People for Bikes can advocate Class 1 & 3 state regulations that are not consistent with the federal regulation.
I think some of the problem is that few people will spend the time to actually read the complete regulations and focus on understanding the full context.
steve marino
Active Member
I wouldn't worry about being hassled by the police, what I would be worried about is the drivers of cars. They see a bike and they expect it to be traveling at a certain max speed (electric or not). On an ebike that is traveling considerably faster than they are used to, bad things could happen. It was this thought that made be put the brakes on getting a more powerful and faster bike.
I live in Albuquerque, and we have some notoriously bad and reckless drivers. Whatever you expect them to do, they will probably do the opposite. There are tons of white bikes on the sides of streets w/ garlands on them. When I first moved here I thought "oh, cool. They have art bikes here". Only later did I understand that these are ghost bikes, and they all have the birthday and deathday of the rider that was run down at that particular location.
I was almost killed a month ago by a student near the university that was looking straight at me and continuing to turn right at me in the middle of an intersection. Only when I yelled at the top of my lungs did he wake up, and then he turned even more towards me before catching it and going around me. I thought I was dead for sure. There was zero time to do anything defensive w/ this truck headed directly at me and head on. The next day I was at the same intersection waiting for the light to change and I looked to my right only to see a ghost bike. Some guy had been killed a few months ago right where I was.
I live in Albuquerque, and we have some notoriously bad and reckless drivers. Whatever you expect them to do, they will probably do the opposite. There are tons of white bikes on the sides of streets w/ garlands on them. When I first moved here I thought "oh, cool. They have art bikes here". Only later did I understand that these are ghost bikes, and they all have the birthday and deathday of the rider that was run down at that particular location.
I was almost killed a month ago by a student near the university that was looking straight at me and continuing to turn right at me in the middle of an intersection. Only when I yelled at the top of my lungs did he wake up, and then he turned even more towards me before catching it and going around me. I thought I was dead for sure. There was zero time to do anything defensive w/ this truck headed directly at me and head on. The next day I was at the same intersection waiting for the light to change and I looked to my right only to see a ghost bike. Some guy had been killed a few months ago right where I was.
I rode a motorcycle for many years and it's a MUST to drive defensively because most car drivers are not dialed-in to see motorcycles and some don't care to respect motorcycle riders. This is certainly even more the case with bike and ebike riders.
I rode over 6,000 miles on an ebike last year and I did have a couple close calls with cars but nothing that would have serious hurt me. I am always on the lookout for them not paying attention. If you ride like that you can avoid 99% of potential risks. I think many bike riders feel they deserve special consideration which ends up getting them killed (while they may not have been at fault they may have been able to have avoided the accident which is what is far more important). I have good friends that were seriously hurt in motorcycle accidents and that was their attitude. You are the one at risk on a bike so you MUST ride defensively with respect to car drivers - right or wrong you will be the one that gets hurt.
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