Is a class 3 ebike adjusted to go only 20 mph class 2?

[Art Deco]

We're south and west of Ocala, maybe 30 minutes (Citrus Springs). It's not a huge area, maybe 10 miles square, and we're smack in the middle of it. We can't go anywhere without dealing with several miles of hills first. There's a riding club based in Dunnellon (nice little LBS there) that likes to cut through a corner of this area for a change of pace regularly.

Very similar to the "top of the state" areas, and it seems like the area over by Lakeland can be a bit "rolling" as well. Even I-75 can be a bit rolling starting a bit south of Ocala and northward quite a ways.

Actually I think long rolling hills on an ebike would be ideal. Really flat gets boring fast in a car, and probably really fast on an ebike. We have some rail trails that people complain about being boring.

 

[GenXrider]

Actually I think long rolling hills on an ebike would be ideal. Really flat gets boring fast in a car, and probably really fast on an ebike. We have some rail trails that people complain about being boring.

I don't have an ebike yet, but I much prefer those long flat rides or with minimal inclines/declines and minimal wind. That's my favorite, and it never gets boring. I still dread the hills - no ebike assist for me, yet. But I look forward to dreading the hills much less when I do get one.

 

[Art Deco]

It is important before you buy to realize that above 20mph every wind is a headwind. And an ebike makes those and the miserable hills just go away with enough boost . And eventually your body will power thru on your own with enough luck. Happy Hunting.

 

[BET]

I think it is a good thing that there is choice in different kinds of bikes. I am happy with my class two bike that can be modified to be class three. I prefer riding on streets. It is also a cadence sensor which is generally cheaper. E biking is becoming more popular in part because the market has decent affordable bikes that are 1K or less. Look at how many Lectric xp's have been sold at $900.00. Lots of choices. As more people own e bikes they will clamour for more reasonable e bike laws. I heard the 750 watt restriction came about because it was roughly equal to 1 hp. Reasonable speed limits should be based on safety considerations. In my state they decided class 3 e bike riders should wear helmets, just like people riding motorized scooters (limited to 35 mph) or motorcycles. I am ok with that. I always wear a helmet.

 

[Art Deco]

I think it is a good thing that there is choice in different kinds of bikes. I am happy with my class two bike that can be modified to be class three. I prefer riding on streets. It is also a cadence sensor which is generally cheaper. E biking is becoming more popular in part because the market has decent affordable bikes that are 1K or less. Look at how many Lectric xp's have been sold at $900.00. Lots of choices. As more people own e bikes they will clamour for more reasonable e bike laws. I heard the 750 watt restriction came about because it was roughly equal to 1 hp. Reasonable speed limits should be based on safety considerations. In my state they decided class 3 e bike riders should wear helmets, just like people riding motorized scooters (limited to 35 mph) or motorcycles. I am ok with that. I always wear a helmet.

In my state Pennsylvania, you don't even need a helmet by law on a motorcycle, but I wear the brightest one possible on my ebike and have an obnoxious bliking light on the helmet as well for night.

 

[AleksR]

I see so many good deals on class 3 ebikes. It seems that you pay the same amount of money to get class 2 as you do class 3. But you get more power going class 3 and you could use it in the country with only a a computer adjustment. So can you adjust a class 3 bike down to class 2 specs and not get a ticket for being on a hike and bike trail. I've been looking for and answer to this everywhere and I've found nothing. I'm considering my next bike and I'd like the power. But I live in Phoenix, and mostly ride park trails. I hate to pay the same for class 2 and get less...

Who would know if it is class 2 or 3? As long as you don't run down the pedestrians no one will care nor notice.

 

[AHicks]

Who would know if it is class 2 or 3? As long as you don't run down the pedestrians no one will care nor notice.

You can add to that "who would know" thought with what size motor you have (750w plus). If there are no markings on it, they'll have a dickens of a time proving you're illegal. If you're behaving yourself, they aren't even interested.

 

[6zfshdb]

Does anybody using a throttle that has cop drive by suddenly have the urge to ghost/clown peddle just in case?

I usually don't like to advertise the fact that I'm riding an e-bike since the laws where I ride are sometimes unclear. I ride my relatively stealth bike slowly & courteously and don't do anything that would fuel the anti-ebike sentiment. While I don't get a "sudden" urge to ghost pedal, I often do so when others are present to avoid any possible confrontation.

 

[mjorg]

I agree that torque not watts is your friend on hills or headwinds. And I believe the Vado 5 has 80 NM and the Giant has more and don't forget it's got 8 or 10 gears to run that power thru. Go test drive a middrive and see what you think if you haven't already tried one .

You know, I've never thought about a test drive of one of these bikes at a local dealer. I have a rear hub drive fixation. That's a really, really good idea. Thanks!

 

[Ebiker33]

It is important before you buy to realize that above 20mph every wind is a headwind. And an ebike makes those and the miserable hills just go away with enough boost . And eventually your body will power thru on your own with enough luck. Happy Hunting.

I have never encountered a strong headwind yet on my Ebike, how much does it help ?

 

[Art Deco]

I have never encountered a strong headwind yet on my Ebike, how much does it help ?

I fight hills, not headwinds here in Pa. So I can't speak from experience, but bycycle magazines run articles and charts on wind resistance all the time, it seems. That's what the whole bent over aero position is all about, after all.

And here on EBR, Stefan Mikes rides long flat rides at speeds over 20mph, has commented on the effect of wind more than once.

 

[mjorg]

You can add to that "who would know" thought with what size motor you have (750w plus). If there are no markings on it, they'll have a dickens of a time proving you're illegal. If you're behaving yourself, they aren't even interested.

Last year Arizona passed a law that ebikes must be labeled by the Manufacturer as to what class they are. That seems a big step toward their being able to enforce laws. I'd hate to buy something I might not be able to use next year as they come online with this kind of legislation. Most trails here don't have any law enforcement presence. But the most important trails to me are in the city park right behind my house. There they have full time park rangers. The only time I've been asked what class my bike is was there. Just once, but it may become more of and issue with the labeling legislation. These are full time rangers and they could remember who you are. The park is why I got into ebikes in the first place. It would be a real bummer to be blackballed there. I know I should just bite the bullet and buy class 2. But there are mountains in that park. I could use the torque. I NEVER drive fast on park roads or by people.

 

[Art Deco]

Last year Arizona passed a law that ebikes must be labeled by the Manufacturer as to what class they are. That seems a big step toward their being able to enforce laws. I'd hate to buy something I might not be able to use next year as they come online with this kind of legislation. Most trails here don't have any law enforcement presence. But the most important trails to me are in the city park right behind my house. There they have full time park rangers. The only time I've been asked what class my bike is was there. Just once, but it may become more of and issue with the labeling legislation. These are full time rangers and they could remember who you are. The park is why I got into ebikes in the first place. It would be a real bummer to be blackballed there. I know I should just bite the bullet and buy class 2. But there are mountains in that park. I could use the torque. I NEVER drive fast on park roads or by people.

Somewhat off topic, but I believe you can thank Pedigo ? for at least getting throttles semi acceptable. In Europe it's either a high speed, high regulation ebike or really low speed (15.5 mph?) Ebike. And high speed does not equal high torque anywhere.

 

[GenXrider]

I know I should just bite the bullet and buy class 2. But there are mountains in that park. I could use the torque. I NEVER drive fast on park roads or by people.

Torque doesn't have anything to do with the class.

 

[mjorg]

Somewhat off topic, but I believe you can thank Pedigo ? for at least getting throttles semi acceptable. In Europe it's either a high speed, high regulation ebike or really low speed (15.5 mph?) Ebike. And high speed does not equal high torque anywhere.

The Nm rating on the class 3 bikes I'm looking at are higher than on class 2 bikes.

 

[Ebiker33]

Torque doesn't have anything to do with the class.

Whereas that is true, if the class is allowing only 750W to go to the motor it may not be able to attain it's full torque rating, like for the Bafang Ultra.
Class regulates the power output, how much Watts does it take to generate 160Nm at such low RPM, there was another thread on this on EBR that explained it.

 

[Solom01]

Hi Ebiker33. Exact opposite of you, here in SW Florida there are no hills at all, but constant wind since we’re near the Gulf. Anything above 9mph is noticeable and at 20 mph or so it will basically require the same force it takes to go 20mph to go 12mph, especially if you’re in a non-aero riding position. It’s the main reason why I have an Ebike here.

 

[J.R.]

Last year Arizona passed a law that ebikes must be labeled by the Manufacturer as to what class they are. That seems a big step toward their being able to enforce laws. I'd hate to buy something I might not be able to use next year as they come online with this kind of legislation. Most trails here don't have any law enforcement presence. But the most important trails to me are in the city park right behind my house. There they have full time park rangers. The only time I've been asked what class my bike is was there. Just once, but it may become more of and issue with the labeling legislation. These are full time rangers and they could remember who you are. The park is why I got into ebikes in the first place. It would be a real bummer to be blackballed there. I know I should just bite the bullet and buy class 2. But there are mountains in that park. I could use the torque. I NEVER drive fast on park roads or by people.

That's the way the 3 class law was designed to work. In 2015 California was the first to adopt the "model legislation". They gave companies a year to comply with the sticker requirement. It is supposed to be affixed by the manufacturer or seller and non adjustable by the end user. In addition class 1 and 3 are identical except for the top cutoff speed, 1 being 20 and 3 being 28. Throttle isn't allowed on either. Class 2 is the only ebike class to allow throttle. But many manufacturers and sellers aren't complying and they also aren't being honest with their customers. Whenever anyone mentions these truths in the law, there's an onslaught of comments from people thinking the poster is against throttles. Nothing could be farther from the truth most of the time. Throttles offer a lot of security to many, they make biking possible again. That's even true for a lot of people that say they rarely use it, but like the option 'just in case'.

All these issues are why I wish we never had the 3 class law. Analog bikers call ebikers cheaters, pedelec riders call class 2 riders cheaters. It's all pretty silly when all we want is to enjoy the open air and land we all pay for. Personally I like a pedelec, and I have owned both, but I'm not going to tell anyone what to buy. I try to steer clear of recommending bikes.

 

[Ebiker33]

Hi Ebiker33. Exact opposite of you, here in SW Florida there are no hills at all, but constant wind since we’re near the Gulf. Anything above 9mph is noticeable and at 20 mph or so it will basically require the same force it takes to go 20mph to go 12mph, especially if you’re in a non-aero riding position. It’s the main reason why I have an Ebike here.

Interesting, never thought about it before, high winds are another reason to own a Ebike, basically we are evening the playing field with nature.
If you have a strong tailwind going out on an analog you might go out farther than normal....but on the way back it's going to be brutal and tiring especially if you did a 30 mile ride

 

[Ebiker33]

That's the way the 3 class law was designed to work. In 2015 California was the first to adopt the "model legislation". They gave companies a year to comply with the sticker requirement. It is supposed to be affixed by the manufacturer or seller and non adjustable by the end user. In addition class 1 and 3 are identical except for the top cutoff speed, 1 being 20 and 3 being 28. Throttle isn't allowed on either. Class 2 is the only ebike class to allow throttle. But many manufacturers and sellers aren't complying and they also aren't being honest with their customers. Whenever anyone mentions these truths in the law, there's an onslaught of comments from people thinking the poster is against throttles. Nothing could be farther from the truth most of the time. Throttles offer a lot of security to many, they make biking possible again. That's even true for a lot of people that ssy they rarely use it, but like the option 'just in case'.

All these issues are why I wish we never had the 3 class law.
Analog bikers call ebikers cheaters, pedelec riders call class 2 riders cheaters. It's all pretty silly when all we want is to enjoy the open air and land we all pay for. Personally I like a pedelec, and i have owned both, but I'm not going to tell anyone what to buy. I try to steer clear of recommending bikes.

And yet the end user can change much of what comes from the factory so the sticker could say class 1, but we add the optional throttle, and put up the maximum speed to 33 mph in the password protected controller and viola I have what a class 4 Ebike with class 1 sticker.