E Bikes

[energyman]

Not sure what the rest of the world does but here in the UK E-Bikes are legally limited to 15 mph maximum assistance.  An increasing number of bike retailers are advertising the "super fast E-Bikes" capable of 20 mph plus.
Legally if you buy one then you need third party insurance, registration & a number plate.  So far I haven't seen one of these bikes with a number plate.  The advertising small print (and in some cases I mean very small print) explains this.
E-Bikes are becoming more popular as an alternative to cars.
I'm just waiting for the first report of an incident involving one of these bikes and the subsequent action by the authorities.
It's bad enough getting run down by aggressive drivers of four wheeled disabled chariots in pedestrian only areas.
.....sorry, rant over.......

[jags]

i'd feckin love one 

[Danneaux]

e-man,

A nice summary of e-bike laws 'round the world can be found here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_bicycle_laws

In the US, laws vary by state and so do allowable maximum speeds, which the charts at the above link show are usually 20-30mph, unlimited, or undefined. With the exception of Pennsylvania, it appears license, insurance, and number plates are not required.

I'm seeing a growing number of e-bikes here in my town, but the biggest problem seems to be cyclists of all stripes who don't always pay the greatest attention to speeds when riding on bike paths congested with shared pedestrian traffic. I saw a fellow on a single-speed nearly take out a lady pushing a pram yesterday. It was a case of simply going too fast for conditions. Similarly, though a well developed network of standalone and on-street bike paths exists here, I'm seeing growing numbers of riders who prefer to cycle on the sidewalk amidst pedestrians. City planners are exploring development of on-street bike lanes segregated from traffic as a way to address the needs of people who prefer riding on sidewalks to riding next to traffic. This model works well in the Netherlands, but the conversion is expensive and there are local concerns about how it might affect on-street car parking.

Best,

Dan.

[Dave Whittle Thorn Workshop]

I've been looking into this a fair bit (on a personal level not on behalf of Thorn) as the law currently stands with a speed pedelec you need to wear a motorbike helmet, unless the UK finally gives in and adopts the EU Speed Pedelec helmets most manufacturers now have. This is the deal breaker for me.

All the other stuff is simple Bikesure https://www.bikesure.co.uk quoted me £135 third party only & Quoterack https://www.quoterack.co.uk quoted £200 fully comprehensive. The bike has a V5C like any motorbike/car, due to emissions the VED is £0, Demon Plates will knock you up a numberplate, most Speed Pedelecs have a Supernova rear light which incorporates a downlight for the number plate.

The only other grey area is if its ok to use a cycle path still....

[jags]

my idea of a ebike would be a hidden motor on my audax help me get up those hills ,not at all interested in speed .Bianchi have a lovely ebike looks exactly like a roadbike .

[Andre Jute]

A motorbike helmet would be a deal breaker for most cyclists, I think. It's a nasty, isolating, and very heavy excrescence. Most bicyclists in my experience belong to the more reasonable section of the environmentalist continuum (I'm a conservationist myself, at the most reasonable end of that continuum), and I've never met a cyclist who didn't enjoy being in the open air. A compulsory motorcycle helmet -- as distinct from a lightweight, open cycling helmet -- is outright hostile to that whole attitude to nature held in common by almost all cyclists.

Not that I think these speed freaks and people who ride electric bikes without ever pedaling are real cyclists at all.

[Tigerbiten]

But you don't need a helmet on a motorized trike.
So something like an ICE Fat trike with a big motor and a fairing to deflect the bugs would be road legal, once you comply with all the other paperwork, without a helmet.

Luck .......... 

[Andre Jute]

But you don't need a helmet on a motorized trike.
So something like an ICE Fat trike with a big motor and a fairing to deflect the bugs would be road legal, once you comply with all the other paperwork, without a helmet.

I agree. But a trike has built-in stability from its three wheels, which a bicycle does not have. But I couldn't ride a trike here. I ride in lanes only one trike wide and soon a farmer on a tractor, literally overlooking me, would run over me. On my bike my whole head clears the top of a Range over, and I present a profile that no one can doubt will damage even a sturdy tractor.

Note that where I live a cycling helmet is not compulsory, though it is advised by the police if you ask them. In fact, where we don't have a specific law, if you say, "Oh, this is okay in England," or "Man, this is okay in Germany. See the CE and TUV marks?" that's a convincing argument. Not that I've ever been stopped on my bike, not even once in nearly thirty years of cycling here, except by policemen who wanted admire my bike.

But the people I cycle with think nothing of embarrassing a clergyman for asking for salt at dinner; you can imagine how they would react to anyone who turns out for a ride without a helmet. It would be worse than turning up without your trousers, which would be overlooked as mere absentminded eccentricity. Not that I normally succumb to that sort of peer pressure, but I'm very fairskinned, so I burn even on mild, overcast days, and am always under some kind of a hat, on the bike or off it. For me a helmet is a skinsaver, mandated or not.

[Andre Jute]

my idea of a ebike would be a hidden motor on my audax help me get up those hills ,not at all interested in speed .Bianchi have a lovely ebike looks exactly like a roadbike .

Where are you going to hide a battery big enough to carry you over all the hills on any ride of about 20km or over, Anto? By my reckoning, even a small helper-motor in the seat tube will require a battery around 350 cubic inches. That's a lot of space on a bike. You'll have to wave goodbye to your snacks and tea-making equipment. I think you'd do better to give up the hub dynamo and get a front hub motor and a water-bottle battery. When I had those, people consistently pointed to the Rohloff and asked me if my bike was electrified. Hide in plain sight.

[energyman]

Bio-gas driven but I won't go into details..........

[jags]

Andre these Ebikes are getting better all the time ,i bet in a short time you will see battery life good for a couple hundred miles.and recharge in jig time.
i love the idea of the hidden motor in the bottom bracket ,guy that thought that one up is a genius,(secretly used by some of the pro's  )

i don't think it's cheating for leisure or touring cyclists far from it,  it's just a bit of a boost when the legs get tired especially going up hill.

anto.