Perhaps I’m just ignorant but what’s the difference between an electric bike and a motorcycle? Is it just the speed or is it still a different class of vehicle?
There are two major types of e-bikes: pedelec, and scooter style.
Scooter style rides more like a severely underpowered motorcycle. Different jurisdictions have differing laws on what the maximum speed and power output of such a bike can be; in most places the maximum speed is 32km/h (25mph) with a maximum power output of typically either 350W or 500W. These bikes have pedals, but they’re intended to be ridden off power, with pedalling only needed in the case where you need extra power to get up a hill. These bike typically have bad ergonomics for pedalling all the time, and without pedalling may just grind to a halt on a moderate to steep incline.
The other style is pedelec, and these bikes typically look much more like a standard bicycle. These bikes typically have much smaller batteries than their scooter-style brethren, as instead of being powered mostly from the battery these bikes are powered primarily from pedalling, with the battery and motor only existing to provide extra boost when going uphill.
At least here in Canada, they are considered a different class of vehicle as their power and maximum powered speed would make them dangerous to ride in a situation where you’re in otherwise mixed traffic. Pedelecs are best considered normal bicycles; scooter style is typically way too underpowered to be ridden as you would a motorcycle.
(Note however that at least here in British Columbia, if you remove the pedals from an e-bike it is treated as if it were a motorcycle: the bike will suddenly require licensing and insurance, even though it’s still exactly the same power output as it was with the pedals installed. So don’t take your pedals off, even if you live somewhere almost completely flat where you never need to use them. And again — laws on e-bikes differ by jurisdiction, so check your local laws and bylaws as appropriate).
Perhaps I’m just ignorant but what’s the difference between an electric bike and a motorcycle? Is it just the speed or is it still a different class of vehicle?
There are two major types of e-bikes: pedelec, and scooter style.
Scooter style rides more like a severely underpowered motorcycle. Different jurisdictions have differing laws on what the maximum speed and power output of such a bike can be; in most places the maximum speed is 32km/h (25mph) with a maximum power output of typically either 350W or 500W. These bikes have pedals, but they’re intended to be ridden off power, with pedalling only needed in the case where you need extra power to get up a hill. These bike typically have bad ergonomics for pedalling all the time, and without pedalling may just grind to a halt on a moderate to steep incline.
The other style is pedelec, and these bikes typically look much more like a standard bicycle. These bikes typically have much smaller batteries than their scooter-style brethren, as instead of being powered mostly from the battery these bikes are powered primarily from pedalling, with the battery and motor only existing to provide extra boost when going uphill.
At least here in Canada, they are considered a different class of vehicle as their power and maximum powered speed would make them dangerous to ride in a situation where you’re in otherwise mixed traffic. Pedelecs are best considered normal bicycles; scooter style is typically way too underpowered to be ridden as you would a motorcycle.
(Note however that at least here in British Columbia, if you remove the pedals from an e-bike it is treated as if it were a motorcycle: the bike will suddenly require licensing and insurance, even though it’s still exactly the same power output as it was with the pedals installed. So don’t take your pedals off, even if you live somewhere almost completely flat where you never need to use them. And again — laws on e-bikes differ by jurisdiction, so check your local laws and bylaws as appropriate).
HTH!
Motorcycles are more likely to get a ticket when they blast down a sidewalk at top speed.
Different class of vehicle : on a bike you still have to pedal or you don’t move, it is an “electric assistance bike”.
The speed has to be limited to 25km/h to be legally on roads, in european countries.
afaik only the assistance has that speed limit whereas the bike itself can still go faster by pedal power or gravity
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