Canada to restrict class 3 ebikes to 20mph

[kevinmccune]

I learned three years ago not to respond to Ken. Every time I would knock down the living dead, the zombie threads would drag themselves along whilst missing appendages or even a head. I can go fast in Class 3 but mostly don't, I am normally around 13-15 mph. I just have that backup stuff there for emergency, like money in the bank. The real problem is when a non-riding tourist gets on an overpowered throttle bike in the US. In the EU there is collective social medicine, high speed crashes are painful and expensive; so, who pays? That is who gets a say. Around here the big downhills have rusted barbed wire fences on both sides. That is motivation enough for me to take it easy.
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On these little goat paths around here I average between 8-12 mph and I am happy to be able to cover a mile in about 5 minutes, I can hear approaching traffic better, can see the sights and most important smell the scents with a dose of imagination and nostalgia odors can be a wonderful experience.

 

[m@Robertson]

I go faster on an ebike because I have things to do, and the bike is transportation to let me do those things. And because the equipment lets me (and because the equipment lets me do it safely). If the speed of life is 15 or 20 mph to every destination, set the auto speed limit to that number. See how many people call you a hero vs. a meddling moron.

 

[kevinmccune]

I go faster on an ebike because I have things to do, and the bike is transportation to let me do those things. And because the equipment lets me (and because the equipment lets me do it safely). If the speed of life is 15 or 20 mph to every destination, set the auto speed limit to that number. See how many people call you a hero vs. a meddling moron.

Not an issue around here, because everything is spread so far apart, its about 45 minutes to the nearest town of any consequence, the next Villa about 25-30 minutes has a couple of real high priced shops with a steep mtn grade frequented by trucks, bears and Whitetails( one registered Bigfoot sighting on the less steep straight stretch between the steep grades) No bike lanes. I couldnt imagine doing any shopping by bike, one brave soul( down on luck) went to little gas station the other week on His riding mower took Him quite awhile to get there and back, the local constubulary was alerted( a bit of amusement followed this,I imagine the next time He won't be so lucky)

 

[TPEHAK]

I can go fast in Class 3 but mostly don't, I am normally around 13-15 mph. I just have that backup stuff there for emergency, like money in the bank. The real problem is when a non-riding tourist gets on an overpowered throttle bike in the US.

Meanwhile pro riders on acoustic bikes with no throttle in the US

 

[PedalUma]

Cars are so slow and cumbersome, then they need to drive around again and again to find parking, that mess all takes up so much real estate to support, then drivers need to walk five blocks from parking. I laugh at the poor suckers stuck in those cages. They rev to get to the next red light only to wait the longest. Stuck in a cages. Aretha Franklin, Think; Freedom, Freedom! I love it when someone drives a half-mile to the gym and walks across the the huge life-desert parking lot and then takes the gym's elevator up to the stair climbers and stationary bikes! The Saudi princes love it too, so does Putin.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Cars are so slow and cumbersome, then they need to drive around again and again to find parking, that mess all takes up so much real estate to support, then drivers need to walk five blocks from parking. I laugh at the poor suckers stuck in those cages. They rev to get to the next red light only to wait the longest.

I fully agree with you.

• The junction through which I would need to leave my neighbourhood is something I call the "Doomsday Traffic Jam". For that reason, I never drive my car to Warsaw even if I am tempted at times
• When I had to visit a customer in Warsaw recently (twice), I was painfully aware I would not find a parking lot space at my destination
• On our last long e-bike trip, I and brother could overtake a 4 km (2.5 mi) long queue of cars (returning from the weekend) jammed before the nearest narrow bridge. Just fancy how many cars we could pass!

The place I live at now has hardly any public transport. Riding an e-bike is the best thing that occurred to me in years.

I can't remember where I could read that: "A truly environmental aware person will not buy an electric car as the latter is a pollutant during the manufacture and later at it's disposal. They will keep their old diesel car in the parking lot and ride a bike instead" How true!

 

[kevinmccune]

Cars are so slow and cumbersome, then they need to drive around again and again to find parking, that mess all takes up so much real estate to support, then drivers need to walk five blocks from parking. I laugh at the poor suckers stuck in those cages. They rev to get to the next red light only to wait the longest. Stuck in a cages. Aretha Franklin, Think; Freedom, Freedom! I love it when someone drives a half-mile to the gym and walks across the the huge life-desert parking lot and then takes the gym's elevator up to the stair climbers and stationary bikes! The Saudi princes love it too, so does Putin.

What gets Me are the athletic types that buy a farm or old property in the hills and ride around in ATVs( I know one Guy who is a dedicated MTB'r( nice Guy owned a sport shop in "Witchduck") even MTB'ed in Meso America, He and His pal came to "Hardscrabble" and loves it.Pretty nice area in the summer not so much in the winter.( of course they are not around during that period usually) I didnt really like working on that property so steep and I apparently have some sort of O2 intake problem( Dr sez I am borderline anemic and have low T, doesn't matter I keep chuggin, hyperventilated on a steep hill climb so bad I thought I was going to die, so no the acoustic bikes are riden on the level and slight inclines( I am not too good to push the stinkin' bike) the weight of the ebike became apparent the other week when I run Her out of juice- To bring it all together" Ebikes are wonderful!"

 

[Roamers]

After reading posts 205 and 206 I'm fortunate to have made great life choices and have never lived where that is true.

 

[jabberwocky]

Meanwhile pro riders on acoustic bikes with no throttle in the US

Urban fixie races/alleycats are basically for people who want to deliberately ride like idiots. The whole thing grew out of bike messenger culture, where time is money and they would take every shortcut possible to complete deliveries as quickly as they could. The mythos is they liked track bikes because fixies are low maintenance and super manueverable (head angles of 74d+ aren't unusual on a real track bike). These days most people just ape the style on fixies with road geometry and cut down bars.

I'll note that for the most part they aren't even riding that fast. Fixie gearing is always a tradeoff (you can't coast, so whatever gear you select is the one you're stuck with uphill and downhill). I'd guess most of those guys are in the 70-90 gear inch range, which means they spin out in the low 20s.

I'm surprised some of those pedestrians didn't shove them off their bike.

 

[m@Robertson]

I'm surprised some of those pedestrians didn't shove them off their bike.

One of those a-holes hit a car broadside right at the start of that vid.

Guys like that need to get hit by a car. A hospital stay is in order as a reward for no other reason than the kind of damage they do to the cycling community who has to suffer from the reaction of the non riding world to being treated like that.

 

[PedalUma]

I am assertive but also diplomatic, as a rider. I want the general public to respect cyclists not hate them. For a few weeks I have been putting a foot down in crosswalks at intersections. I am finding that it really helps with cars because they then recognize you as a pedestrian in the crosswalk.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I am assertive but also diplomatic, as a rider. I want the general public to respect cyclists not hate them. For a few weeks I have been putting a foot down in crosswalks at intersections. I am finding that it really helps with cars because they then recognize you as a pedestrian in the crosswalk.

Technically, you need to dismount your bike to become a pedestrian in Europe. Not that many people in Poland care about it

 

[PedalUma]

Technically, you need to dismount your bike to become a pedestrian in Europe. Not that many people in Poland care about it

It is the same here, but the cars would rather have a rider be quick than to do a slow walk.

 

[m@Robertson]

It is the same here, but the cars would rather have a rider be quick than to do a slow walk.

Absolutely this. If you are going to mix with cars you have to be able to move with them or else.

If I am in the left turn lane either in front or behind another car, that is the time for me to use throttle so I am not the guy holding up the cars behind me who want to make the light. If I crawl forward on pedal assist I'm the most hated thing in the lane. I still pedal but throttle lets me match the speed of the car in front of me as it moves thru the intersection just as if I was another car or motorcycle. From there I peel off to the side of the road and lift throttle once I am out of the traffic stream.

The same goes for roadside and going straight thru an intersection. This is especially true if for example it is a 2-lane street (1 per each direction), there is no bike lane and worse still there are parked cars directly on the other side, meaning on a narrow street I have to be the first one thru or I'm literally meat. This has become an issue here in Monterey/Pacific Grove where such streets are the rule and speed limits are low in the 25-30 mph range, so I can get away with mixing with traffic.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Absolutely this. If you are going to mix with cars you have to be able to move with them or else

He meant the pedestrian crossing, or a zebra

 

[m@Robertson]

He meant the pedestrian crossing, or a zebra

Yeah I never, ever cross as a pedestrian. I'm riding next to the zebra as described but never in it no matter what.

 

[PedalUma]

I will often use a truck as a blocker.

 

[mclewis1]

Absolutely this. If you are going to mix with cars you have to be able to move with them or else.

If I am in the left turn lane either in front or behind another car, that is the time for me to use throttle so I am not the guy holding up the cars behind me who want to make the light. If I crawl forward on pedal assist I'm the most hated thing in the lane. I still pedal but throttle lets me match the speed of the car in front of me as it moves thru the intersection just as if I was another car or motorcycle. From there I peel off to the side of the road and lift throttle once I am out of the traffic stream.

The same goes for roadside and going straight thru an intersection. This is especially true if for example it is a 2-lane street (1 per each direction), there is no bike lane and worse still there are parked cars directly on the other side, meaning on a narrow street I have to be the first one thru or I'm literally meat. This has become an issue here in Monterey/Pacific Grove where such streets are the rule and speed limits are low in the 25-30 mph range, so I can get away with mixing with traffic.

This is exactly how I ride in the same circumstances. It really illustrates the value (and safety) of a throttle equipped bike ridden intelligently with a reasonable top speed (and in light of the original topic of this thread no I don't think limiting to just 20mph is reasonable).

 

[goldconch]

Meanwhile pro riders on acoustic bikes with no throttle in the US

"...Monster Track mimics the perils bike messengers encounter on the job, like traffic, potholes and pedestrians, to name a few. Instead of a fixed route, racers are given a series of checkpoints. Knowledge of the city’s streets and the quickest routes is essential. And if that wasn’t enough, the bikes are brakeless."

 

[m@Robertson]

"...Monster Track mimics the perils bike messengers encounter on the job, like traffic, potholes and pedestrians, to name a few. Instead of a fixed route, racers are given a series of checkpoints. Knowledge of the city’s streets and the quickest routes is essential. And if that wasn’t enough, the bikes are brakeless."

With all due respect... dignifying that behavior with any level of justification is total bullshit. Not saying this about you personally, but as someone who has been an urban rider since his teen years, in oftentimes dense urban traffic, behavior like that in that video is just pure assholery. No excuse for it. You see them blazing thru pedestrians and the people are bitching at them for being unsafe and you can hear the rider shout back "I don't care!". That says it all about the kind of children play this game, and what they are worth.

That kind of behavior is pure garbage. Anyone who tries to say that sort of thing is normal and necessary in an urban environment is doing it wrong. And using a brakeless fixie is a personal style choice. Its not a sign of nobility. "Everybody look at me I don't have brakes on my bike and I play bumpercars with cars. I'm stupid." We saw how smart that was in the beginning of the video when someone wasn't able to stop and broadsided a car.