No throttle and no way home today... :(

[AHicks]

@AHicks .
My throttled ebike is Ridiculously fast, it's all or nothing. I have to remind myself not to hit the throttle and stand on the pedal from a dead stop otherwise it can flip over.

Thought here is throttle equipped bikes are NOT all or nothing. That sounds more like a bike with an and off switch? It also sounds like it need some repair....

 

[DaveMatthews]

That is exactly the thing about the tourists. They have not been on a bike in 20-years and they want a throttle bike in a high density area. It is like someone who does not know how to ice skate. Or someone who does not know how to ski taking the Black Diamond.

Black Diamonds...
Look better in the shade

 

[PedalUma]

I had a neighbor try a Creo when I was selling those. He liked it. Cool. He had a friend over who wanted to try it too. He jumped on the pedal like it was an unpowered bike then hit and locked the front brake and did a flip. Any bike can crash. My point earlier is that inexperienced riders do not know how to ride any bike. Access to instant power may have their appeal, but it is a general danger to the public good in congested tourist areas. Think of learning to ice skate. It takes some practice to do it well.
We are thinking of renting bikes in Petaluma, CA. at a place called Grand Central.

 

[Dave Rocks]

Pool therapy is 1st prescribed for me when I fell off my Harley Davidson.
Biking I did it on my own. Self prescribed if you will.
I have two Ebikes one throttled and the other no throttle.
I like it both equally however on the throttle Ebike I had to acclimate my riding style for throttle use combined with pedaling.
New ebikers, I would advise to buy a no throttle ebike for start. I personally think leaping from a non motored bicycle to an ebike with throttle is not the best idea.

Why? You ride a a bike all your life then all of sudden there is a ebike with a THROTTLE!!!
yEE hAW ... I'm all in no problem.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

It's exactly what it is. Flash speed when needed. My biking legs needs it once a while.

I'm not going to look it up, but I think "throttle" implies something with a range of operation. A little, a little more, through medium and on to pedal-to-the-metal. Like a gas pedal on a car, which is a foot-operated throttle. What you have is a binary switch, on or off. I really don't think you can call that a throttle even if it means you don't have to pedal your bike when you use it.

At the very least, it seems like a bizarre implementation of a "throttle" if it's intentional. I agree with Al that it sounds more like something's broken. If the gas pedal on your car worked that way you'd have your car towed in for service! (You wouldn't drive it!)

TT

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Full throttle or nothing. Is on my Ridiculous ebike.
I waaaaant it that way.

No problem for me except that I don't think it's correct to call that a throttle.

TT

 

[Djangodog]

I’m could be wrong, but I think that this thread has run amuck.

 

[6zfshdb]

I wonder if the poor folks confined to manual wheelchairs feel the same way about electric models?

 

[AHicks]

I wonder if the poor folks confined to manual wheelchairs feel the same way about electric models?

I don't know, but I'll bet they get at least a brief explanation of how it's supposed to work prior to being unleashed with one.

 

[AHicks]

I had a neighbor try a Creo when I was selling those. He liked it. Cool. He had a friend over who wanted to try it too. He jumped on the pedal like it was an unpowered bike then hit and locked the front brake and did a flip. Any bike can crash. My point earlier is that inexperienced riders do not know how to ride any bike. Access to instant power may have their appeal, but it is a general danger to the public good in congested tourist areas. Think of learning to ice skate. It takes some practice to do it well.
We are thinking of renting bikes in Petaluma, CA. at a place called Grand Central.

Just a thought, but regarding rentals, here in Mi. many canoe rental places require that you watch a 10 minute film that just goes over the basics. With bikes, I think there's going to be some 1 on 1 instruction required. Any sort of decent rental experience is going to require a proper seat adjustment to get in the ball park for proper leg extension at minimum. It would seem to me like this same person could provide 2 minutes of basic e-bike instruction prior to just releasing a total rookie on the world?

 

[tomjasz]

I don't know, but I'll bet they get at least a brief explanation of how it's supposed to work prior to being unleashed with one.

Actually Medicare forces training and user testing. And so do every approved vendor.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It seems it might be better if you just did talk to yourself.
or F n F

What Djangodog says appeals to me, and it would be fully appreciated by any European cyclist (except several local fast'n'furious; they happen to be everywhere).

 

[tomjasz]

What Djangodog says appeals to me, and it would be fully appreciated by any European cyclist (except several local fast'n'furious; they happen to be everywhere).

I no longer see his posts.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I no longer see his posts.

Cannot help you with that.

 

[PedalUma]

One of the rules regarding Class 2 bikes is that they must be Operable By Pedals. So, if your crank arm falls off or your chain snaps, you cannot use it. It is time to hoof it home.

 

[rayray]

One of the rules regarding Class 2 bikes is that they must be Operable By Pedals. So, if your crank arm falls off or your chain snaps, you cannot use it. It is time to hoof it home.

 

[6zfshdb]

One of the rules regarding Class 2 bikes is that they must be Operable By Pedals. So, if your crank arm falls off or your chain snaps, you cannot use it. It is time to hoof it home.

I'll risk the fine rather than hoof it home. If I break a crank arm, chain or derailleur, I'll just reconnect the throttle on my class 2 rear hub bike.

 

[tomjasz]

I'll risk the fine rather than hoof it home. If I break a crank arm, chain or derailleur, I'll just reconnect the throttle on my class 2 rear hub bike.

Thankfully MN is still 750W, pedals, and 20MPH. No nannies yet. It really sucks that in the EU in order to have a throttle for a disabled rider that has balance but can't pedal, it seems to be, get an electric wheelchair. Hardly enlightened IMO. I'm reasonably confident ADA would be a serious consideration here.

 

[AHicks]

Thankfully MN is still 750W, pedals, and 20MPH. No nannies yet. It really sucks that in the EU in order to have a throttle for a disabled rider that has balance but can't pedal, it seems to be, get an electric wheelchair. Hardly enlightened IMO. I'm reasonably confident ADA would be a serious consideration here.

I would really hope some day one won't need to prove a disability to be able to ride class 2 legally where class 1 or any other bikes can. I would think it would be awesome if an AARP card might suffice for instance? Keep it easy and reasonably informal.

Clearly MANY e-bike owners/riders are older already. I see the potential for MANY more AARP aged folks to see e-bikes for their potential to get them outside enjoying themselves, to say nothing of the health benefits. Radicalizing the class 1 laws does NOTHING to encourage these folks, which is reason enough for THIS old fart to call BS on the class laws as they exist now. Florida pretty much took the same approach, tossing the whole class crap in the trash bin allowing any e-bike to ride where an analog bike can. That same move can't happen soon enough in other locations as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It really sucks that in the EU in order to have a throttle for a disabled rider that has balance but can't pedal, it seems to be, get an electric wheelchair. Hardly enlightened IMO.

Tom, you better never quote unverified opinions (even if those came from me when I was sunbathing in Tuscany, Italy).

The EU definition of a "bicycle" is "a vehicle of width not exceeding 0.9 m moved solely by the power of the person riding this vehicle; the bicycle can be equipped with auxiliary electric drive of maximum voltage of 48V and of maximum continuous rated power of 250 W actuated by pedalling; the drive output power shall gradually diminish and reach the value of zero after exceeding 25 km/h". This definition clearly defines that a Euro e-bike cannot be equipped with the throttle.

Having said the above. A Euro e-bike is just a bike. No-one can deny e-bikes an entry if traditional bikes are admitted. (Unlike the NYS Greenway, and you know what I mean).
------------------------------
Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 on the approval and market surveillance of two‐ or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles provides that all electric bicycles except those with a maximum speed of 25 km/h and a continuous rated motor output of 250 W are subject to type approval.

REGULATION (EU) No 168/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 15 January 2013
on the approval and market surveillance of two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles (Text with EEA relevance)

This broad regulation allows a wide variety of throttle operated e-vehicles, such as:

• L1e-A, a "powered bicycle" with up to 1 kW drive and max speed of 25 km/h
• L1e-B: a "two wheel moped" of power up to 4 kW and max speed of 45 km/h (I own one, by Specialized)
• L2e: a "trike moped" with specs as L1e-B.

Many categories more.

Where is a catch then? ..."are subject to type approval." Actually killing DIYers as you are Tom. Because you would have never be able to get your e-bikes Type Approved here.

Interestingly, Specialized, Trek, Riese & Muller, Cube and several more actually make L1e-B "electric mopeds". The law allows throttle for that Type. Why no throttle then? Because we Europeans actually know (as @Djangodog does) what "cycling" really means.
------------------------------
Electric wheelchairs? As vehicles of max speed of 6 km/h, these do not require type approval and are very popular in Europe.

Thank you for your attention.