Mr. Coffee
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- A Demented Corner of the North Cascades
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.
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.
Riding in packs.. I don't know about that.
(yes, I know it's case by case)
check out CTV News in Canada
Riding in packs.. I don't know about that.
(yes, I know it's case by case)
check out CTV News in Canada
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...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.
I'm late out in this thread. To add another view:I believe ALL electric bikes should be equipped with integrated BRAKE LIGHTS, REAR VIEW MIRRORS, AND DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS.
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 growingif the safety features were demanded from e-bikes, these should be demanded for all bikes as trad bikes are often faster than e-bikes.
Any comments you may have to posters on this thread are welcome. I am interested in hearing your reaction to these.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.
I think you may be correct!OP is troll. Don't take the bait.
Depends on the ebike. A juiced will do it easily. As should most new Class 3s.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.
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.
I think you may be correct!
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.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.
Yes, probably all bikes. More riders now, more distracted drivers now, faster bikes...Didn't realize this was such a heated subject!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.
Thanks for not jumping down my throat. Just thought it would be a good discussion topic.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.
After 70 years I've 'discovered' that civility can lead to more meaningful information exchange, don't you think.Thanks for not jumping down my throat. Just thought it would be a good discussion topic.
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!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.
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.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!