It’s 2025 what does your ebike look like?

[Handlebars]

But I might only want to use the rear wheel to drag, the front brake doesn't work the same way.
If we're going for an automated bike, it should be pilotless - for your own SAFETY and the SAFETY of others and to save precious fossil fuel energy your battery sucked up and not let you steer a poor path to where it allows you to go to.

Of course, it must have autobalance for starters - can't have crashes going on.

 

[Handlebars]

Yeah, I'd like to see the 3 classes disappear, and have one across-the-board 28mph OR 35mph max motor, whether it's provided by pedal assist or throttle.

Either way, e-bikers are supposed to follow posted speed limits. For example, we have multi-use paths that are limited to 20kph. I rarely exceed them, except when passing.

Similarly, there's been a couple of traffic situations without bike lanes where the arbitrary 32kph felt a little slow, given that the street limit is 50kph.

I think so too. But others don't think so. They don't think MUCH.
Check this out:

must weigh less than 40 kg and requires pedaling for propulsion.

... City of Toronto's Municipal code recognizes two categories of e-bikes; pedelecs which are similar to bicycles, and e-scooters which are similar to gas scooters.

Pedelecs requires propulsion and are defined as a bicycle and can be used anywhere bicycles are permitted. E-Scooters can be driven solely by motor power and these are not allowed on multi-use trails or cycle tracks.

Pedelecs
E-bikes which are similar to bicycles are considered to be bicycles by the municipality of Toronto and may be used on all types of cycling infrastructure:

• painted bike lanes
• cycle tracks (separated bicycle lanes)
• multi-use trails

By definition in the Toronto Municipal Code, a 'pedelec' must weigh less than 40 kg and requires pedaling for propulsion.

 

[Al P]

Lighter comes a greater cost and is not worth it unless you are an Tour de France rider. I laugh at riders arguing about a gram here and there and they are 20 pounds overweight. The motor on an ebike makes a few extra pounds inconsequential. Plus they can design for more strength and longevity.

For me, the weight has nothing to do with riding. It's about the struggle to mount my 56 lb. bike on the vehicle's rack. As a comparison, my kit bike weighs at least 20 lbs. less and is much easier to lift. I'll gladly pay more for lighter weight.

 

[indianajo]

Don't want regen braking, it inhibits my ability to ride the bike self propelled if the wind is gentle. Don't want fancy display, they **** out in the rain. Don't want G***d*** cell phone requirement. You get hit, the cell phone is on the bike, not in your pocket in the weeds like my flip phone (hard to find these days!). Would like more range in same weight/size battery. I like the derailleurs which have less drag than IGH, but for either, I want electro-shift. Flicking lever with thumb or twisting barrel with hand (I've tried both) BOTH cause my thumb joint to flare up and prevent me from playing piano. I'm building such, the electro shifters available now are for drop handlebar road bikes with minimum 10 speed sprocket. Hydraulic brakes now required by Shimano & SRAM electro shifters.
Would like a frame where the front trail is increased for more stability, and the front wheel is moved out so it doesn't foul my feet when turning. So longer more expensive handlebars. Broke the fender mount off with toe 2 weeks ago !@#$#% Sawing the frame off short probably saved yuba $.25 in aluminum and $40 in shipping from Asia.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

I don't think most ebikes will be radically different in 5 years. Battery and motors will be more efficient. I think we'll see more high end, very lightweight road and gravel bikes with drop bars that are powered by very small, almost undetectable hub and mid drive motors.

I personally wouldn't ever buy an ebike that relies on a cellphone to operate. I enjoy riding many places in the mountains where there is no cellphone coverage. Most functions will work offline I'm sure, but I like to ride with the phone off and in the pannier. I enjoy the ride far more when I'm offline! I'm sure ebike companies will want smartphones to control their bikes, It's much cheaper for them to develope an app to cover all and rely on the end user to spend a grand plus every year or two on a new operating system.

There's more regulation coming, it's already started. I really liked flying under the radar the last five years. Class 2 and 3 will be regulated more. At a recent meeting with lawmakers we were asked if we would object to having a prominent class 1 license sticker to ride the paths and trails.

Prices now, for the most part, are lower. There will always be the super high end bikes, but a $1500 bike today was $2000+ a few years ago. I expect that trend to continue as long as sales increase. There's already some standardization across brands. That will help drive prices down.

The future looks bright☀

using the phone as the dash should help reduce costs. The idea is the phone is offline while riding. You would see information from the motor and battery not emails and Instagram.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

Then very rapidly you're talking about these "what-if" 2025 updates being for road-only bikes.
"Traffic" on a multi-use trail never flows at 35, and putting a 35mph cruising cyclists on a strip of pavement with pedestrians and leashed dogs and kids on trikes is a recipe for disaster!

Need a way to inhibit speed so that it only is allowed when on a road not a path. Too bad there are so many idiots.

 

[jono1331]

using the phone as the dash should help reduce costs. The idea is the phone is offline while riding. You would see information from the motor and battery not emails and Instagram.

See COBI
Bought by Bosch

 

[Dewey]

Need a way to inhibit speed so that it only is allowed when on a road not a path. Too bad there are so many idiots.

Right, but public gps geofencing isn't accurate enough

 

[J.R.]

using the phone as the dash should help reduce costs. The idea is the phone is offline while riding. You would see information from the motor and battery not emails and Instagram.

I think it will reduce costs for the manufacturer, not the end user. The Bosch COBI system didn't reduce the price of the bike and added another level of complexity for some users that caused issues. That may have been resolved by now. I just don't want my bike to rely on a phone, but the majority of my riding is off road.

 

[ilanarama]

Lighter comes a greater cost and is not worth it unless you are an Tour de France rider. I laugh at riders arguing about a gram here and there and they are 20 pounds overweight. The motor on an ebike makes a few extra pounds inconsequential. Plus they can design for more strength and longevity.

Maybe for road bikes. But for mountain bikes, lighter is better, because it's easier to control a lighter bike on rough, steep terrain, and if you need to hike-a-bike (see my avatar image!) it's much easier to carry a lighter bike over obstacles.

I also expect my 2025 bike to be indistinguishable from a non-electric bike at a casual glance; to have a belt drive (well, my 2019 e-bike does); and to have automatic assist levels as well as being able to control assist manually.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

Right, but public gps geofencing isn't accurate enough

My car can do 130 mph but in a school zone I go 25. There needs to be the same discipline with cyclists. That’s why I believe that licensing the rider is way more important than licensing the actual bike.

 

[Dewey]

My car can do 130 mph but in a school zone I go 25. There needs to be the same discipline with cyclists. That’s why I believe that licensing the rider is way more important than licensing the actual bike.

That’s the approach taken in the UK where to ride a Class 3/speed pedelec requires full motorcycle training, license, liability insurance, because “legally you’re riding a moped” see https://ebiketips.road.cc/content/advice/advice/electric-bikes-and-uk-law-53 and where the police can charge you with driving offenses, putting your drivers license at risk https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/th...-to-being-charged-with-driving-offences.35927

Reclassifying Class 3 doesn’t have to mean losing sales, the Netherlands experimented with allowing speed pedelecs on bike paths for a few years then in 2017 reclassified them as mopeds and banned them again from paths but allowed them to use street bike lanes, sales are still growing Source https://www.bike-eu.com/sales-trends/nieuws/2018/12/speed-pedelec-sales-shows-steady-growth-10134978

 

[Dewey]

Bosch CEO Claus Fleischer's take https://cyclingindustry.news/bosch-ceo-electric-bike-growth/

 

[Ken M]

For me, the weight has nothing to do with riding. It's about the struggle to mount my 56 lb. bike on the vehicle's rack. As a comparison, my kit bike weighs at least 20 lbs. less and is much easier to lift. I'll gladly pay more for lighter weight.

If you an ebike is meant to be a commuter model / car supplement why would you be putting it on a car rack? That would be like putting a motorcycle on your car rack.

 

[Ken M]

I always get a kick out of how crazy the suggestions get when you ask a question like this. Things like steering assist, heads-up displays, GPS navigation (even though 99% of us have that on our smart phones already), automatic transmissions, etc. It's like people can't give up their luxury car mindset when they get on an ebike.

Things like rear progressive regen replacing rear brakes, elimination of spoked wheels, belt or shaft drives, motors with built in gearing / ratio changing, somewhat higher assist speeds,etc. seem to be practical ideas.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

Well I'm getting rid of my ebike if they're going to mandate registration, insurance, licensing fees, or whatever.
I'll just go back to motorcycle.

Yes you will but it will be an electric one!

 

[Handlebars]

That’s the approach taken in the UK where to ride a Class 3/speed pedelec requires full motorcycle training, license, liability insurance, because “legally you’re riding a moped” see https://ebiketips.road.cc/content/advice/advice/electric-bikes-and-uk-law-53 and where the police can charge you with driving offenses, putting your drivers license at risk https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/th...-to-being-charged-with-driving-offences.35927

Reclassifying Class 3 doesn’t have to mean losing sales, the Netherlands experimented with allowing speed pedelecs on bike paths for a few years then in 2017 reclassified them as mopeds and banned them again from paths but allowed them to use street bike lanes, sales are still growing Source https://www.bike-eu.com/sales-trends/nieuws/2018/12/speed-pedelec-sales-shows-steady-growth-10134978

ebikes are vehicles and as such when on public roads one is subect to most of the same laws and offense charges as other vehicle drivers are.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

If you an ebike is meant to be a commuter model / car supplement why would you be putting it on a car rack? That would be like putting a motorcycle on your car rack.

I actually met a guy who would commute by SUV with his bike in the back. At the edge of downtown he would park the SUV and ride in the rest of the way. Also I like to do touring with my commuter so I might throw it on the back of my car to get to decent trail.

 

[Cyklefanatic]

I always get a kick out of how crazy the suggestions get when you ask a question like this. Things like steering assist, heads-up displays, GPS navigation (even though 99% of us have that on our smart phones already), automatic transmissions, etc. It's like people can't give up their luxury car mindset when they get on an ebike.

Things like rear progressive regen replacing rear brakes, elimination of spoked wheels, belt or shaft drives, motors with built in gearing / ratio changing, somewhat higher assist speeds,etc. seem to be practical ideas.

Amen

 

[Cyklefanatic]

ebikes are vehicles and as such when on public roads one is subect to most of the same laws and offense charges as other vehicle drivers are.

I don’t worry much about cycling laws here in Ontario. I am breaking one of many laws every time I commute to wok because of how arcane the laws are. However the police absolutely do not enforce any of the cycling laws unless you plough into someone, then they throw the book at you. I had a officer pull me aside once when I was illegally riding on a sidewalk and I was expecting trouble. He actually was interested in ebike and just wanted to talk. Ride responsibly and I find you have no trouble. If I see seniors or small children I slow to a crawl as I approach.