From transforming daily commutes to bridging the gap for non-cyclists, e-bikes are the most significant evolution in cycling since the mountain bike—and that’s a win for all.
Give me a hill and I can get most regular bikes to over 20mph. My road bike gets to faster than my ebike given enough of a hill (tires are likely the difference here). In live in Iowa - and area with a well earned reputation of being flat, and I can still find the above hills, I suspect most inexperienced cyclists live with more hills and so will have less issues than me getting “high” speeds.
We need to make cycling gear safe for regular bikes, and it will automatically cover ebikes.
Really depends on the ebike. Mine and the bike share ones around me are primarily just pedal assit, meaning that it helps you pedal.
If it has a throttle it’s definitely leaning towards moped territory. However, while mine has a throttle, it really struggles to get going and maxes out at 20mph.
My Tern S20 is an ebike, and is most certainly not a moped. Part of the problem is that we’re lumping all varieties of ebike into a single category, when we should be breaking them out into classes based on capability.
This sounds wrong. Most regular bikes can go faster than E-Bikes even on flat ground but at least here in Germany most E-Bikes I’ve seen are limited to 25kph which is slower than the 20mph you mentioned. Currently i wish i had one because I’m recovering from a sickness and don’t want to get on my regular bike for my work route as to not damage my heart, so now I’m stuck with the train
Ebikes are mopeds, or basically tiny motorcycles.
I see inexperienced riders get on these things with just light bike helmets (or no helmet) & tear down the street at dangerous speeds.
I think ebikes are good, but they need to be treated as motorized vehicles, because they are.
EDIT: yeah this article is written by an experienced cyclist who just skips right over the danger of n00bs ripping down the road @ 20 mph.
Also the idea ebikes aren’t mopeds because they lack a throttle is semantics horseshit.
Give me a hill and I can get most regular bikes to over 20mph. My road bike gets to faster than my ebike given enough of a hill (tires are likely the difference here). In live in Iowa - and area with a well earned reputation of being flat, and I can still find the above hills, I suspect most inexperienced cyclists live with more hills and so will have less issues than me getting “high” speeds.
We need to make cycling gear safe for regular bikes, and it will automatically cover ebikes.
Yes, you can go very fast on hills riding traditional bikes, which is why hills are dangerous & most cyclists handle them carefully.
Ebikes can cruise @ relatively high speeds even on flat ground.
I honestly think most folks haven’t had a cycling accident since they were very young & don’t realize how brutal they are as adults.
EDIT: Just as an aside, people that ride those motorized single wheel things are friggin nuts! Imagine crashing on one of those goddamn!
Really depends on the ebike. Mine and the bike share ones around me are primarily just pedal assit, meaning that it helps you pedal.
If it has a throttle it’s definitely leaning towards moped territory. However, while mine has a throttle, it really struggles to get going and maxes out at 20mph.
My Tern S20 is an ebike, and is most certainly not a moped. Part of the problem is that we’re lumping all varieties of ebike into a single category, when we should be breaking them out into classes based on capability.
This sounds wrong. Most regular bikes can go faster than E-Bikes even on flat ground but at least here in Germany most E-Bikes I’ve seen are limited to 25kph which is slower than the 20mph you mentioned. Currently i wish i had one because I’m recovering from a sickness and don’t want to get on my regular bike for my work route as to not damage my heart, so now I’m stuck with the train