New to the forum. Few questions.

[antboy]

From my perspective, @antboy, the Canadian e-bike speed limit of 32 km/h is ideal from the perspective of safety and practical aspects such as battery range. I wish we had that in Europe instead of struggling with Class 3 bikes outside our bike lanes. Very few acoustic cyclists ride over 32 km/h on a bike lane, and road cyclists hate riding in the lanes. I rode my Vado in a streams of cars on a principal road yesterday, was scared and wished I could use a parallel bike lane but it is not allowed for Class 3 bikes in Europe.

It is somewhat different on a narrow dedicated bike lane, especially when it is shared with pedestrians.

So, the difference between Europe and North America then?

My point is that most of the time on the road 32 KPH would be fine, but there's been a few instances where getting it up past that would have been better than being jammed up in a traffic situation. Also, now that I have a bike with a throttle, there's no way I'd want to go back to not having one when city riding. It's a game changer for red lights.

 

[Alex M]

I live in NB Canada and we have some pretty nasty roads in the Winter so I was deciding on a fatbike.
I want something that will go faster than 32km/h when using it off road (preferably around 60km/h top speed

I believe it's illegal to operate ebike in Canada when it's capable of max speed over 32 km/h and has motor over 500W. Established American brands selling to Canada normally follow these rules and limit the output in controller. Outlets selling parts like Grin will sell you anything. Luna will probably sell any of their assembled bikes to any country as well. Grin is a reliable quality source but I find them rather expensive.

IMO, this whole route is expensive and not optimal in your case. Get a license and buy a small moto. Won't cost much, will have max speed definitely up 60 km/h and will be more reliable.

 

[tomjasz]

The difference between EU and the US? 3999 miles.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

So, the difference between Europe and North America then?

Probably as many as 10 times more e-bikes in Europe than in North America 99.5% ebikes sold in Germany are of European Class 1, despite of severe speed restriction. Strange, isn't it. Please correct me if I'm wrong. (Note: Poland is far behind countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark or Spain because e-bikes are simply too expensive there compared to the income. Poles love cycling but cannot afford electric bikes).

I think it is not the speed that attracts the European riders to e-bikes. It is the fact you ride out more often, cover longer distances with less effort.

Now, there is also the matter of national mentality. No doubt, Germany is the dominating market for e-bikes in the EU. Germans are law abiding people; do anything wrong, and average citizen will correct your ways, and the Polizei is effective there, too. Sicherheit (safety) is the buzzword. There is no doubt Germany was the driving force of the European e-bike laws; and still the most of e-bikes in Europe are ridden by the German.

 

[antboy]

I think it is not the speed that attracts the European riders to e-bikes. It is the fact you ride out more often, cover longer distances with less effort.

On this, we can agree, though I don't think that's limited to Europeans. The forum activity both on EBR and elsewhere shows that people everywhere feel that way about their e-bikes. As for the rest, I'm not so sure...

Probably as many as 10 times more e-bikes in Europe than in North America 99.5% ebikes sold in Germany are of European Class 1, despite of severe speed restriction. Strange, isn't it. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Not strange at all, because you explain it quite clearly here...

"Germans are law abiding people; do anything wrong, and average citizen will correct your ways, and the Polizei is effective there, too. Sicherheit (safety) is the buzzword. "

I would be VERY law-abiding too if I was afraid my neighbours were going to rat me out to the cops at the drop of a dime.

I think this is just going to a circular debate, though, and leave it at that. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks and all.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I would be VERY law-abiding too if I was afraid my neighbours were going to rat me out to the cops at the drop of a dime.

I think this is just going to a circular debate, though, and leave it at that. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks and all.

I do agree with you. Let me just tell you how it looks in Germany:

• In 1990, I rode in a pedestrian-only zone with a bike. People around me were shouting "Be careful, the police is after you!" Within several seconds, a police car got me and I paid a fine. The next unlucky rider was British and he also was fined.
• As the bike was lent to me by a distinguished Professor/Science Director for almost 3 months (and it was a family treasure, rare German 1950's bicycle kept in mint state), I felt I had to clean it and lube it to the original condition. So I took the cleaning stuff and the bike outside the house I lived in, onto the pavement by the street. Instanly, my elderly hostess came in and said: "Stefan, it is not correct. It is Sunday and you are not allowed to work on Sundays. Please take the bike into the backyard so the neighbours cannot see. Otherwise, they will say we're third class people..."