The ebike class 1/2/3 concept is stupid puritan nonsense driven by cyclist jealousy and serves only to limit the usefulness of ebikes as car replacements.
You must log in or # to comment.
deleted by creator
I see more full on gas powered highway speed motorcyclists without helmets than with. That’s not an argument for limiting speed, some people are just dumb.
I’ll engage with the struggle session: I think these distinctions are good actually, as they clarify the gradients between a bicycle and a moped. The 20mph speed limit in particular I think is a pretty important safety feature to have, and a reasonable speed limit on bike paths. The difference between 20mph and 28mph is not trivial, you’re doubling your kinetic energy.
I do agree that Class 3 without a throttle is silly, I think that’s a state-specific rule.
The distinctions between a bicycle and a(n electric, fuck those loud little gas motors) moped are a historical relic and should be blurred away to total unrecognizability.
what would you say the difference is between a moped and a motorcycle?
Styling. Another distinction which should fade away
So if bicycle = moped and moped = motorcycle, ebikes are capable of highway speeds. Do you think they should require driver’s licenses?
driver’s license? what’s next, a license to make toast in my own damn toaster‽‽
Cars should require extensive licenses, but nothing smaller. The best thing we can do to improve safety right now is decrease the number of cars on the road.
I don’t think you should be able to drive a motorcycle without a license (which should require taking a course and exam). They hit 140+mph and cannot brake as quickly as cars. Without knowing how to ride and to follow rules of the road, they are a life-threatening danger to other people.
Big disagree on the “no licensing for motorcycles”. When I took my motorcycle class, it was very terrifying seeing other students barely able to operate the light learner bikes, like 200cc suzukis. During our breaks, the worst riders in class always said how they wanted a big ole Harley or similar cruiser but had almost no aptitude for balance or control of the learner bike.
Everyone in the class passed and it equated to a DMV road test and I am genuinely afraid for them on the road.
I think motorcycle education should be more extensive. I think part of what makes motorcycling so dangerous(aside from the obvious wrecking balls that cars are), is inexperienced riders just falling down completely on their own and ending up very injured.
Class 1 shouldn’t exist, and class 3 should have a throttle. I do think 45 kmh/28 mph is a reasonable top speed though. It’s a bicycle, not a motorcycle. Safety is a reasonable concern to have.
My EUC tops out at 55kmh/34mph and it’s still not fast enough for the times I’m forced by bad infrastructure to contend with cars
I can hit 35mph and hold it with a decent downhill grade and that feels fine to me.
My town says it forbids Class 3 ebikes on the trail system but I’ve yet to see a checkpoint
Shouldn’t it just be a speed limit??
No idea what you talking about, could you give some context pls
Unlike other micromobility vehicles, ebikes are regulated into three classes as shown in the chart. The large majority of ebike models sold are class 1, meaning they have no throttle and the motor will not exceed 20mph. Many cities only permit class 1 ebikes, though this is, as another commenter pointed out, difficult to enforce and rarely enforced.
This is all caused by latent puritanism, specifically a reflexive aversion to things that are new, fun, and cool. Cyclists are jealous of ebikes passing them without apparent effort, while anti-cyclist brainworms types freak out about maniac cyclists going too fast and splitting lanes in their beloved car roads. These two forces which are naturally in opposition come together to hobble ebikes.
Cyclists are jealous of ebikes passing them without apparent effort
As a cylclist…no this is not it at all, and the fact that you think this at all tells me you’re definitely not a biker.
As a cyclist I’m terrified of ebikes flying by me at 20mph wearing zero proective gear without notifying me that they’re flying by me. Or flying at me. Or flying by me on the sidewalk when I’m a pedestrian. Or flying by my door on the sidewalk when I’m literally just trying to get my mail. Or flying through a stop sign at me when I’m walking, biking, or driving. Or any of the other ridiculous things ebikers tend to do at maximum speed with absolutely flagrant disregard for literally anyone’s safety. Getting up to 20mph on a pedal bike requires some serious effort and distance so most people aren’t zipping around on sidewalks or on city streets or on gravel bike trails at 20 mph. E bikers though have one setting and it’s “hit the speed limiter” regardless of their environment or how safe it might be.
Honestly it’s less the bikes that are the problem it’s the people on them. Frequent bikers use body language, signals, words, and sounds to help each other identify where we are and where we’re going in order to keep all of us safe out there. We ding our bells our shout “on your left” when passing. We make eye contact and adjust our speed to pass each other without stopping at intersections. We stay in our lanes and help protect each other from cars when we’re on the roads and on the trails. E Bikers don’t do any of this shit, they just whizz around everyone at top speed without having any respect AT ALL for anyone else on the road. They’re like the BMW drivers of the bike world. It’s a safety hazard for them with regards to their unexpected behaviors and cars, which isn’t really my business I guess. But what is my business is when it’s a safety hazard for me, and that’s what basically every rich asshole on an e bike has become.
I’m not saying ban them or anything like that, banning things is generally dumb, but we absolutely need to do something to deal with the massive safety hazard they’re causing (along with electric scooters) in our already horribly unsafe bike lanes. If classifying them by “level of safety hazard they present” helps us do that then I’m all for it. At the very least I don’t think any motorized vehicle should be allowed in bike lanes or bike trails unless they’re specifically motorized for accessibility rather than for dickhead speed. They should be relegated to the spots where other motorized vehicles are until and unless the people who use them can prove that they can safely exist in spaces reserved for human powered vehicles only.
So basically fuck e bikers, stop putting everyone on a bike in more danger than we already are and maybe we’ll change our mind about you.
Look below to see an example of
BMW driversebikers who have no clue that other people use the infrastructure they’re destroyingdeleted by creator
