biknut
Active Member
I think it's time to talk about the elephant in the room, and that's the pitiful top speed of eBikes. My comments are mainly considering conditions in the u.s. because that's where I live, but I'm pretty sure almost everyone, everywhere has the same problem to some degree.
Yes I know in most places the top speed is mandated by law to be 20 mph or less, but a 20 mph top speed is ridicules, and it's also extremely dangerous on a busy city street. I'm sure most of you have probably come to realize that American drivers do not tolerate bicycles riding in traffic, at bicycle speeds well at all.
I consider 20 mph to be bicycle speed, because I know many riders that are young enough, and strong enough to maintain that speed, and even a little higher on their bicycles. There's not much they can do about that, because there's limits to how fast human power alone can take you, but eBikes have no such limitations. In a city that has extensive bicycle infrastructure you might be able to get away with safely commuting on an electric bicycle, but the problem is, that's not very many city's. In absence of that, there's going to be times when you have to ride with your hinny hanging out, it front of a 2 ton bone crusher suv, with a blond babe talking on her cell phone getting annoyed with your rolling road block.
My suggestion for the time being is for manufacturers to provide a way for owners to easily disable all speed limiters on their bikes, for off road use of course. After that it's not the manufacturers business when an owner decides to utilize the off road ability of his bike.
One thing everyone should understand about eBikes is, any eBike can be sold by a manufacturer with any amount of potential power, as long as it's electronically limited to the legal limits of the locality it's being sold in. Theoretically it could have 100 hp, and be electronically limited to 750w. That's one of the reasons I think manufacturers will have to rethink the whole idea of electric motorcycles in the near future, but that's not really what we're talking about here.
My experience tells me that 30 mph is somewhat tolerable to drivers in traffic, but 35 is better. You might contend that those speeds are unsafe, on an average bicycle, and illegal on an eBike, but I would argue that they're safer than 20 mph in traffic, and being legal won't do you any good if you're dead. There's also no reason a purpose built eBike has to be made to the same standards as an average bicycle.
If you're thinking manufacturers can't legally offer illegal performance for their bikes you need to think again. For proof look no further than a Harley Davidson catalog. You'll find hundreds of pages of high performance, non stock parts, offered for off road use only, for 800 lb Road King's and Ultra Glide's, that the closest they ever get to off road riding is maybe going down a dirt driveway.
For an electric bicycle it's a lot easier, and unlike motorcycles, our need for higher performance is urgent. No high compression pistons, or long duration cams are needed. It's just a simple matter of hitting a few buttons on a computer, and walla, instant high performance, for off road use only.
So to summarize, I contend we'd be safer with higher top speeds, and there's no reason manufacturers can't provide a way for us to be able to do that. Which do you prefer, legal, or dead?
Yes I know in most places the top speed is mandated by law to be 20 mph or less, but a 20 mph top speed is ridicules, and it's also extremely dangerous on a busy city street. I'm sure most of you have probably come to realize that American drivers do not tolerate bicycles riding in traffic, at bicycle speeds well at all.
I consider 20 mph to be bicycle speed, because I know many riders that are young enough, and strong enough to maintain that speed, and even a little higher on their bicycles. There's not much they can do about that, because there's limits to how fast human power alone can take you, but eBikes have no such limitations. In a city that has extensive bicycle infrastructure you might be able to get away with safely commuting on an electric bicycle, but the problem is, that's not very many city's. In absence of that, there's going to be times when you have to ride with your hinny hanging out, it front of a 2 ton bone crusher suv, with a blond babe talking on her cell phone getting annoyed with your rolling road block.
My suggestion for the time being is for manufacturers to provide a way for owners to easily disable all speed limiters on their bikes, for off road use of course. After that it's not the manufacturers business when an owner decides to utilize the off road ability of his bike.
One thing everyone should understand about eBikes is, any eBike can be sold by a manufacturer with any amount of potential power, as long as it's electronically limited to the legal limits of the locality it's being sold in. Theoretically it could have 100 hp, and be electronically limited to 750w. That's one of the reasons I think manufacturers will have to rethink the whole idea of electric motorcycles in the near future, but that's not really what we're talking about here.
My experience tells me that 30 mph is somewhat tolerable to drivers in traffic, but 35 is better. You might contend that those speeds are unsafe, on an average bicycle, and illegal on an eBike, but I would argue that they're safer than 20 mph in traffic, and being legal won't do you any good if you're dead. There's also no reason a purpose built eBike has to be made to the same standards as an average bicycle.
If you're thinking manufacturers can't legally offer illegal performance for their bikes you need to think again. For proof look no further than a Harley Davidson catalog. You'll find hundreds of pages of high performance, non stock parts, offered for off road use only, for 800 lb Road King's and Ultra Glide's, that the closest they ever get to off road riding is maybe going down a dirt driveway.
For an electric bicycle it's a lot easier, and unlike motorcycles, our need for higher performance is urgent. No high compression pistons, or long duration cams are needed. It's just a simple matter of hitting a few buttons on a computer, and walla, instant high performance, for off road use only.
So to summarize, I contend we'd be safer with higher top speeds, and there's no reason manufacturers can't provide a way for us to be able to do that. Which do you prefer, legal, or dead?
The problem is the irresponsible ones who would use it to mow down people in parks and on bike paths.
