Unsolicited comments about your ebike lately?

[dodgeman]

The comments I’ve received have been neutral or negative. No one has called me a cheater but its seems to unsaid. Most of the negative people are nice about it though.

 

[chunk]

Where I live, no one gives a rats ass. I leave them alone and the public at large do likewise. I do say hi to folks and smile, etc. Not everything has to be a confrontation. Anyway, it works for me.

 

[Doggyman1202]

There's a young hot dog in my small town (a tourist town that often gets congested) that rides a Surron or similar, doing wheelies and Cris-crossing in and out of traffic. This little affluenza twerp is getting the attention he craves, but it's not the admiration he surely thinks it is. He's also been spotted riding through the local preserve which does provide a few mountain bike trails. These trails are not intended for the kind of quasi-motor cycle this kid is riding.

There's a new crop of 40 mph "ebikes" hitting the market, with a popular Youtube reviewer burning up and terrorizing the beaches and streets of L.A. testing these things. Personally, I don't really care what people ride on freeways or wide boulevards. My concern is when these things start to proliferate on rail and recreational trails. Overly broad restrictions and requirements are sure to follow, not to mention the unwanted attention, hand-wringing, and name calling that completely compliant and courteous ebikers will receive.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

There's a young hot dog in my small town (a tourist town that often gets congested) that rides a Surron or similar, doing wheelies and Cris-crossing in and out of traffic. This little affluenza twerp is getting the attention he craves, but it's not the admiration he surely thinks it is. He's also been spotted riding through the local preserve which does provide a few mountain bike trails. These trails are not intended for the kind of quasi-motor cycle this kid is riding.

There's a new crop of 40 mph "ebikes" hitting the market, with a popular Youtube reviewer burning up and terrorizing the beaches and streets of L.A. testing these things. Personally, I don't really care what people ride on freeways or wide boulevards. My concern is when these things start to proliferate on rail and recreational trails. Overly broad restrictions and requirements are sure to follow, not to mention the unwanted attention, hand-wringing, and name calling that completely compliant and courteous ebikers will receive.

As generalizations go, "affluenza twerp" is a pretty good one for these teens on Surrons. I see them mostly in upscale neighborhoods near open spaces of various kinds. And there are a lot of those here. Where else would parents be willing to buy little Johnny such an expensive machine?

One day I came off a trail where a pack of them had been doing their usual wheelies and dirt rooster tails. Right next to a "no ebikes" sign. Asked a friendly older guy working in his driveway nearby if those kids always rode that way? He said yes, rolled his eyes, and started in on ebikes.

I told him that my commuter's an ebike, and that I ride nothing like that. Wheelies aren't even an option. He had no idea that most ebikes are nothing like Surrons.

This is only part of the PR disaster we're up against. And like you, I see only shotgun overregulation and more loss of access ahead.

 

[chunk]

I ride motorcycles and get lumped in with the loud pipe, incessant revving at a stoplight Harley crowd. I've owned over 50 motorcycles over the years and never owned a Harley or any kind of modified exhaust. Whisper quiet is what I like and I treat the cage drivers with respect.

 

[PedalUma]

I worked a Blue Zones event on Sunday with a friend who has one of my cargo bikes. She had signage on it and it was a big conversation starter. 90% of her in-town travel is by bike. The City Manager was super impressed with the idea of taking an older bike recycling and making it into a great open source eBike and with reducing miles by cars. Then I showed her one of my own bikes and she was floored by how simple and elegant it is. She wants me to convert one of her bikes. There is a lot of overlap here between health focused groups, green improvement groups, and active transportation groups. After that event I went to a safe streets meeting.

 

[6zfshdb]

I ride motorcycles and get lumped in with the loud pipe, incessant revving at a stoplight Harley crowd. I've owned over 50 motorcycles over the years and never owned a Harley or any kind of modified exhaust. Whisper quiet is what I like and I treat the cage drivers with respect.

Fortunately for motorcycles, there are too many out there to be regulated into oblivion. Not so for e-bikes.

 

[PedalUma]

Here is a negative one. I was going the speed limit and needed to make a left into a driveway. I signaled and started to slow for the turn when a guy in a car jumped on the gas to pass me on the left and yelled 'Looser.' I could have followed him to see where he parked and escalated but decided to let it go. The poor guy wakes up a jerk everyday. That is his sentence. Would he have done that to a school bus?

 

[scottsdalecommuter]

nothing crazy, the most common question i get asked is "does that have a motor?" or "is that one of those electric bikes?" or "how fast does it go?" and usually leads to a fun little conversation. can't say i've ever had anything really bad happen to me or said to me on a ride, the most common annoying thing is usually high schoolers in cars barking at me like dogs which doesn't bother me at all. when i don't react, they usually seem disappointed. i have had a few real dogs bark out windows before which scared me a bit. I also got chased by a loose crazy bulldog on the Pima Indian reservation and that scared me real good. Got the bike up to 28 mph real quick and the dog was right there. Didn't ride back on there again!

 

[Kayakguy]

Funny you should mention that it used to be ebikes were like 1 in 4 versus analog bikes, and on a recent ride it occurred to me the percentages seem to be reversed. Ebikes are at least in the majority now on any given day and may be well up and over that. Part of that comes from the fact I am riding along a tourist corridor that has ebike rentals all along it. But for sure, I've been arguing for years that at some point ebikes will become ubiquitous, and it seems it happened without my noticing it. One thing I have noted is that ebike sales are the only bright spot in the industry; the only segment growing and with promise for the future.

We've got the throttlers here as well. All of the bike rental people. 110% of them. But we also have a pretty decent contingent of commuters riding more expensive street bikes with panniers, yellow reflective vests and blinking lights. OR something very rare in the States: A rider completely in street clothes.

Thats still the analog cyclist adults here, who are wending their way at speed thru the crowds on the path. Speaking of which its almost Spring and we are already starting to get the influx of tourist traffic. YUCK.

Locally (Bellingham) we still have a predominance of analog bikes. Most of the ebikes I see are throttled fat tire bikes.

 

[PedalUma]

Oh, I so do love riding the stealthy ones. The wire from the battery is the only clue! I rode this one today. It is perky, no lag, no surge, no lurch, and no over-run, smooth as hell, totally responsive, and with a coaster brake. People expect eBikes to be hunky/chunky with ugly wires. This one is all controlled from pedal pressure like a Tesla. This is exactly what good eBikes look like.

 

[Doggyman1202]

i wish some of the manufacturers would stop writing ebike on the bikes, some of the bikes are actually pretty stealthy

Right before I saw your comment, I was watching a video review of the Lectric Xpress, an impressive bike for the money by any measure. A few family members share a Lectric Lite. The name "Lectric" blazoned in big letters across the frame never bothered me one iota. After all, it looks like an e-bike. While I'm not in the market for yet another e-bike, the new Xpress, barring close inspection, resembles a standard road bike, especially to those that are not e-bike conscious. I admit the "Lectric" branding would bug me just a little bit.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

This one is all controlled from pedal pressure like a Tesla.

Wow, coastal SoCal is crawling with Teslas, but I've only seen them from the outside. Who knew they're all pedaling away on the inside?
;^}

Very nice looking bike, BTW. If my daughter in Portland ever decides to get the beautiful bike she just bought motorized, I think you'd be just the guy to honor its vibe.

 

[6zfshdb]

Oh, I so do love riding the stealthy ones. The wire from the battery is the only clue! I rode this one today. It is perky, no lag, no surge, no lurch, and no over-run, smooth as hell, totally responsive, and with a coaster brake. People expect eBikes to be hunky/chunky with ugly wires. This one is all controlled from pedal pressure like a Tesla. This is exactly what good eBikes look like.

View attachment 174215

Nice bike!

I sincerely hope we all aren't forced to go stealthy to avoid over regulation. I suppose it wouldn't be all that bad on a ride like this one though!

 

[Doggyman1202]

Nice bike!

I sincerely hope we all aren't forced to go stealthy to avoid over regulation.

Yup! Speaking of regulation, wouldn't it make much more sense to regulate the rider than the bike? A guy driving a sporty BMW, Corvette or Porsche doesn't get pulled over because his car model isn't compliant with the road. He gets pulled over for driving infractions. Asking park rangers or police to check e-bike classifications is a waste of time (and likely beyond the scope of their job training) as long as the rider is otherwise in compliance. I'm not suggesting that any kind of motorized two-wheeler be allowed on trails, but I'm advocating regulation of behavior, not e-bike classifications which are debatable to begin with.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Yup! Speaking of regulation, wouldn't it make much more sense to regulate the rider than the bike? A guy driving a sporty BMW, Corvette or Porsche doesn't get pulled over because his car model isn't compliant with the road. He gets pulled over for driving infractions. Asking park rangers or police to check e-bike classifications is a waste of time (and likely beyond the scope of their job training) as long as the rider is otherwise in compliance. I'm not suggesting that any kind of motorized two-wheeler be allowed on trails, but I'm advocating regulation of behavior, not e-bike classifications which are debatable to begin with.

Totally agree. More and more manufacturers are offering what I call "class 4" ebikes (otherwise class 3 with throttle). Ebikes sold with more than 750W of nominal (not peak) power are also common now.

Fine by me as long as they're ridden responsibly, but technically these aren't even ebikes in the eyes of California law.

I was very tempted by a certain "class 4" when I bought my first ebike from a big ebikes-only LBS in September, 2022. The owner told me that he'd never heard of anyone getting pulled over just for riding the wrong class, and this area's crawling with ebikes of all kinds. Seemed knowledgeable and honest enough, but I went with a class 2 just to be safe on trails.

Now, 18 months and 2400 miles later, I'd say he was probably right. Nobody seems to pay any attention to class restrictions here, including law enforcement. In fact, I have yet to see an ebike pulled over any reason.

So, de facto, it's the Wild West out here — neither an effective class system nor any visible discouragement of irresponsible riding.

 

[6zfshdb]

Totally agree. More and more manufacturers are offering what I call "class 4" ebikes (otherwise class 3 with throttle). Ebikes sold with more than 750W of nominal (not peak) power are also common now.

Fine by me as long as they're ridden responsibly, but technically these aren't even ebikes in the eyes of California law.

I was very tempted by a certain "class 4" when I bought my first ebike from a big ebikes-only LBS in September, 2022. The owner told me that he'd never heard of anyone getting pulled over just for riding the wrong class, and this area's crawling with ebikes of all kinds. Seemed knowledgeable and honest enough, but I went with a class 2 just to be safe.

Now, 18 months and 2400 miles later, I'd say he was probably right. Nobody seems to pay any attention to class restrictions here, including law enforcement. In fact, I have yet to see an ebike pulled over any reason.

So, de facto, it's the Wild West out here — neither an effective class system nor any visible discouragement of irresponsible riding.

There is no question that personal accountability is the answer, and effective enforcement is the key.

There is already a police presence on roads & highways, that does a fair job of enforcing motor vehicle laws. These same officers are capable of enforcing ebike regulations as well, but just seem to ignore violations.

Enforcement on MUP's and trails is a different story. For the most part, Park rangers & police, patrol in vehicles, and are limited to parking lots and trailheads. Putting LEO's on the trails is an expense that most jurisdictions can't afford. The cheap & simple solution is a proliferation of ebike regulations, which are observed only by law abiding citizens and largely ignored by the idiots. This only serves to make the problem worse.

FWIW, I did see an ebiker cited at a trailhead last summer. He was riding a class 2 bike on a class 1 only trail. He foolishly tooled into the parking lot using throttle only, in full view of a park ranger.

 

[Doggyman1202]

So, de facto, it's the Wild West out here — neither an effective class system nor any visible discouragement of irresponsible riding.

I'm in Vermont which is also generally laid back, for better or worse, when it comes to compliance violations. I have a good friend in your neck of the woods so I have a sense of your area as well. In any case, as far as I know, there are no e-bike class restrictions on the rail trails here, at least not yet.

On the other hand, there is a popular recreational trail across the state line in Massachusetts that I'm told enforces the "no class 2 e-bike" rule. I can't report that first hand though, but I did ask my bike mechanic to see if he could feasibly remove the throttle from my Evelo Omega so I could ride there without being hassled. (My other e-bike, a Priority Current, doesn't have one, and I never use the throttle on the Omega anyway). I still think it's a fools errand to ticket someone riding responsibly regardless. I see plenty of speedsters on analog racing bikes. Are they less of a menace without the motor?

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I still think it's a fools errand to ticket someone riding responsibly regardless. I see plenty of speedsters on analog racing bikes. Are they less of a menace without the motor?

Agree. Ebike riders have no monopoly on rude or reckless riding.

With a 175 lb rider, a 70 lb ebike has 26% more kinetic energy and linear momentum than a 20 lb analog racing bike at the same speed. But both can be lethal if they hit you full on at 20 mph. And an unsuspecting pedestrian can sustain a lethal head injury just by getting knocked to the ground.

The ebike will also have a greater stopping distance with the same brakes and tire grip. But that one's harder to call, as skinny road bike tires carrying less weight might well be more likely to lose traction under hard braking than a typical ebike tire.

So for all practical purposes, no less a menace.

 

[Doggyman1202]

The cheap & simple solution is a proliferation of ebike regulations, which are observed only by law abiding citizens and largely ignored by the idiots. This only serves to make the problem worse.

FWIW, I did see an ebiker cited at a trailhead last summer. He was riding a class 2 bike on a class 1 only trail. He foolishly tooled into the parking lot using throttle only, in full view of a park ranger.

To quote Homer Simpson..."DOH!!!"

I had a close encounter with an idiot on the Franconia Notch trail in New Hampshire last summer. He was on a pretty standard looking road bike (hard to tell given his speed) but flying down the fairly narrow and winding path at high speed in a zig-zag pattern that threatened anybody or anything in his path. If I reacted a half second later one or both of us would have been scraped off the trail with a spatula. As far as I know though, there is nothing in the criminal code for "being an idiot". Too bad.