SUGGESTIONS TO BIKE MANUFACTURERS:

[Mr. Coffee]

All I'd say if you are riding on straight and level roadway with no obstacles and you aren't comfortable taking one hand off the bars you are going too fast.

 

[Asher]

I understand what you mean by bicycles are powered by muscle and ebikes are powered by motor.

But in reality, just because you're an athlete or well experienced enthusiast, doesn't mean you will ride it safely.
I've seen a lot of spandex warriors on roadbikes acting like they own the road, and some elderly gentleman with Stromer ST5 riding more responsibly.

Also, roadbikes can go faster than ebikes in many scenario.

Even if if ebike was de-restricted, roadbikes were faster in some scenarios.

I know this is very different, perhaps a bit exaggerated examples, but it's quite clear which one poses more risk.

You're using logic (if this, then that) to describe a problem of *probability.* Road bikes can be faster... But very few people use them, at high speeds with gear and all, while ebikes are rapidly growing among all ages. Road bike riders also often choose to ride when there's less activity, particularly early morning. What 'can' happen is irrelevant. It's what *does* happen that matters when you're talking about safety and risk.

"I've seen a lot of spandex warriors on roadbikes acting like they own the road"

This is something an angry driver says when he's outnumbered by cyclists. It doesn't actually mean anything...
Cyclists riding in packs, even double file, is the safe thing to do

 

[pmcdonald]

Riding in packs.. I don't know about that.
(yes, I know it's case by case)

check out CTV News in Canada

Taking a lane is legal for cyclists in our state, although to strictly follow the rule of law they should be limiting it to two abreast. Obviously running a stop sign en mass is not. Are the laws different in Canada?

 

[Asher]

Riding in packs.. I don't know about that.
(yes, I know it's case by case)

check out CTV News in Canada

And if there were a horse or a tractor?

Running stop signs, BFD. Drivers would hate it if cyclists obeyed stop signs to the letter (vid). Stop signs exist because cars would hit everything if they didn't.

Riding two abreast is legal in some places, and makes it easier to pass cyclists because their pack is shorter.

 

[antboy]

Electric bikes are growing in popularity, and soon there will be MANY more of us on the roads and trails. Right now, especially while the gyms are closed, there are SO many more pedestrians.

I think safety will become an issue.

We are riding faster, and there are more of us newbie riders with fast bikes we don't yet know how to control.

I believe ALL electric bikes should be equipped with integrated BRAKE LIGHTS, REAR VIEW MIRRORS, AND DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS. Why there are

no companies offering directional signals on electric bikes is baffling to me!!!

When traveling faster, I have a HARD time taking my hands off the handlebars to signal a turn.

THESE THINGS SHOULD BE MANDATORY.

E-bike newbies need to learn their equipment, and become comfortable with it. Did you know you can lower the max speed of your Aventon Pace? It took a 10 second search...

For the record, I regularly see pedal bikes going faster than your average e-bike here in Toronto, on the street and especially on the multi-use paths that have a 20kph speed limit for bikes.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I believe ALL electric bikes should be equipped with integrated BRAKE LIGHTS, REAR VIEW MIRRORS, AND DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS.

I'm late out in this thread. To add another view:

European Union mandates that so-called Class 3 e-bikes (it is L1e-B in Europe) have to equipped with brake lights, rear view mirror, strong brakes, all-day lights and a horn as well as a holder for a registration plate. For these reasons, the only "Class 3" Specialized e-bike offered in the EU now is Vado 6.0. Any other S-Pedelecs available in EU conform to the same rules and come with Certificate of Conformity. The rider has to wear the helmet.

(Interestingly, the 2017 Vado 5.0 was "directional signals ready" but that feature was never implemented).

In the same region, the regular e-bikes are restricted to pathetic 25 km/h but are treated on par with traditional bikes.

Why should not all e-bikes be equipped with safety features @UphillBothWays? Because it would not pass on the e-MTB, e-Road Bike etc. Or, in other words, if the safety features were demanded from e-bikes, these should be demanded for all bikes as trad bikes are often faster than e-bikes.

 

[Asher]

if the safety features were demanded from e-bikes, these should be demanded for all bikes as trad bikes are often faster than e-bikes.

That's false and you know it. Only certain people can hit 25+ mph under certain conditions with certain bikes. And those people are few and not growing

'often' is a copout meaningless word doing a lot of work here.

It's bizarre to me how people want to fudge reality and act like babies who want to spoil other biking disciplines just because ebikes might get some sensible rules.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It is very hard to hit 28 mph (45 km/h) on the Class 3 e-bike. Anyone saying different is a liar. Riding at 20 mph (32 km/h) is easy for a young person riding a trad bike.

 

[Sierratim]

I will say that the local high school MTB team , including my two youngest sons as coaches, routinely sprint through town at 20+ mph on their way to the tough hill climbs that are a part of their annual conditioning. The local road club rides at 25+ mph on several roads, having followed them (in a car!) a number of times. Is this representative of the world or even of the States? Don't know, but locally its been happening for decades, with more riders than ever now.

 

[bob armani]

Electric bikes are growing in popularity, and soon there will be MANY more of us on the roads and trails. Right now, especially while the gyms are closed, there are SO many more pedestrians.

I think safety will become an issue.

We are riding faster, and there are more of us newbie riders with fast bikes we don't yet know how to control.

I believe ALL electric bikes should be equipped with integrated BRAKE LIGHTS, REAR VIEW MIRRORS, AND DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS. Why there are

no companies offering directional signals on electric bikes is baffling to me!!!

When traveling faster, I have a HARD time taking my hands off the handlebars to signal a turn.

THESE THINGS SHOULD BE MANDATORY.

Any comments you may have to posters on this thread are welcome. I am interested in hearing your reaction to these.

 

[bob armani]

OP is troll. Don't take the bait.

I think you may be correct!

 

[Asher]

It is very hard to hit 28 mph (45 km/h) on the Class 3 e-bike. Anyone saying different is a liar. Riding at 20 mph (32 km/h) is easy for a young person riding a trad bike.

Depends on the ebike. A juiced will do it easily. As should most new Class 3s.

I will say that the local high school MTB team , including my two youngest sons as coaches, routinely sprint through town at 20+ mph on their way to the tough hill climbs that are a part of their annual conditioning. The local road club rides at 25+ mph on several roads, having followed them (in a car!) a number of times. Is this representative of the world or even of the States? Don't know, but locally its been happening for decades, with more riders than ever now.

No, it is not representative. Cities with massive numbers of cyclists see typical speeds of 10-15 mph.

 

[stanmiller]

I think you may be correct!

The query is divisive from the get-go. And uses CAPS.

A better response would be first in broad strokes with a discussion of the 'invisible hand', 'managed versus free market economics', unintended consequences, picking winners, and discouraging innovation.

The TLDR version is that one should look to the invisible hand to sort these things out not regulation. After all, it's free.

 

[Sierratim]

I do agree that most people I know, including us, ride in the 10-15mph range, faster with ebikes. But my point was that in my admittedly limited sample of small town America that the number of 'fast' cyclists has been growing for decades, not decreasing. This is also my experience on rec trails in much larger cities, the number of cyclists that easily pass us is incressing, not decreasing.

 

[UphillBothWays]

I agree, those things should be mandatory. Thanks for posting this. The visibility of the lights needs to be amped up as well. Many of these lights are not bright enough. Local governments need to be brought up to speed on things too. Many of them have ridiculous and unsafe rules on their books, and police can be a real pest when it comes to enforcing them. Things like having to dismount a bike and walk it across a crosswalk when there isn't a soul around, requirements to use hand signals, requiring that a bike must have a bell (so a horn is technically not legal) and a lot more.

The most important thing I can do to make myself safer on a bike is to avoid interacting w/ cars and trucks as much as possible. I try to avoid streets w/ bike lanes because they are no security whatsoever, and I travel through residential streets if at all possible. No amount of bike safety requirements will keep me from being run down by your typical distracted driver, who is often talking on their phone, or incredibly, texting while driving. Really stupid and irresponsible people out there on the roads and otherwise.

Thank you. Man, some people on here just really got angry at my post! Maybe shouldn't have said mandatory... Good to know there are helmets with signals. I didn't know they had those.

 

[UphillBothWays]

I'm late out in this thread. To add another view:

European Union mandates that so-called Class 3 e-bikes (it is L1e-B in Europe) have to equipped with brake lights, rear view mirror, strong brakes, all-day lights and a horn as well as a holder for a registration plate. For these reasons, the only "Class 3" Specialized e-bike offered in the EU now is Vado 6.0. Any other S-Pedelecs available in EU conform to the same rules and come with Certificate of Conformity. The rider has to wear the helmet.

(Interestingly, the 2017 Vado 5.0 was "directional signals ready" but that feature was never implemented).

In the same region, the regular e-bikes are restricted to pathetic 25 km/h but are treated on par with traditional bikes.

Why should not all e-bikes be equipped with safety features @UphillBothWays? Because it would not pass on the e-MTB, e-Road Bike etc. Or, in other words, if the safety features were demanded from e-bikes, these should be demanded for all bikes as trad bikes are often faster than e-bikes.

Yes, probably all bikes. More riders now, more distracted drivers now, faster bikes...Didn't realize this was such a heated subject!

 

[UphillBothWays]

Injury prevention is an issue, but so much depends on the rider's willingness to wear the right gear; helmet, decent shoes, gloves, etc. What's the saying, "There are two kinds of cyclists, those that have fallen over and those that will fall over". Even getting riders to follow road rules would help a lot. I don't know how many times I've seen cyclists blow through stop signs at the bottom of hills around our very hilly town. How about actually signaling before turning, or even riding an ebike that complies with local rules. I see a number of ebikes powered way over the 1hp US limit, even in our small town. Or my favorite gripe; cyclists wearing earbuds. No wonder you don't hear my bell or my loud "bike on your left" as I approach. How can you expect to hear traffic.

On the other side, how about getting car drivers to respect the rights of cyclists. Riding with plenty of lights and a bright jacket, I can't tell you how many times I've been cut off by drivers that speed ahead just to make a sharp turn in front of me. Take a breath and I'll be gone. Or nose out into the cycling lane forcing me into traffic. Other local cyclists have been forced off roads, some with serious resulting injuries when a driver insists on passing on a blind curve to find an oncoming car. Swerving into the cyclist seems to be an OK option.

I don't have an easy answer for any of this, but adding turn signals won't cut it.

Anti-theft security features would be a great idea that manufacturers can really help with. Ebikes are expensive and make a good target. For those ebikes that interface with an app how about a user option to require a login before the motor will power up? Just making the display/controller screen removable would be a big help. Or even just a key like cars have had for a couple of generations. A GPS chip would be helpful to find stolen bikes, if you get the local police to pay attention when you locate the signal.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Ride on.

Thanks for not jumping down my throat. Just thought it would be a good discussion topic.

 

[Sierratim]

Thanks for not jumping down my throat. Just thought it would be a good discussion topic.

After 70 years I've 'discovered' that civility can lead to more meaningful information exchange, don't you think.

 

[UphillBothWays]

E-bike newbies need to learn their equipment, and become comfortable with it. Did you know you can lower the max speed of your Aventon Pace? It took a 10 second search...

For the record, I regularly see pedal bikes going faster than your average e-bike here in Toronto, on the street and especially on the multi-use paths that have a 20kph speed limit for bikes.

Yup, and when I engage my PAS 1, it immediately jumps to 12 MPH. I don't want, or need to go that fast on PAS 1!

 

[antboy]

Yup, and when I engage my PAS 1, it immediately jumps to 12 MPH. I don't want, or need to go that fast on PAS 1!

That seems egregious. I'd reach out to the company, or see if there's more detailed info online about the bike settings. IIRC someone else mentioned their 350 hits 10mph by default, which strikes me as high as well.