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The 25km/h limit is why I won't buy one. Pointless for normal use.
A fast e-bike would be dangerous, anyway. At that point, you should just get a small capacity motorcycle or a scooter.
I don't really see how they're more dangerous than scooters in the same vehicle category.
And then there's the "IKEA effect". ;)
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A fast e-bike would be dangerous, anyway. At that point, you should just get a small capacity motorcycle or a scooter.
It would be good if they went 30-35, so that you don't impede traffic on streets with a 30km/h limit. I don't think the additional 15% speed would make that much of a safety difference, compared to cars overtaking you.
Of course, fit cyclists can cruise at 30+. But to get to that level, you've to put in serious effort and by the time you got the power, you know your responsibilities too. But giving anybody 30km/h vehicle that is legal on shared paths ain't good idea.
If you're afraid of cars overtaking you, get a small motorcycle.
"Most of the commercial E-Bike uses 250W or 350W motors, because that’s what the European specs are. While that amount of power is able to achieve 20MPH range, it does take its time to get there. In the US, with the open roads, that’s simply not enough power to keep up with traffic. Quite frankly, they still feel like a plain bicycle and it’s a bit boring to ride. Higher adoption require more power." As I understand…
If you're talking about keeping up with traffic going more than 35 MPH, then the e-bike should have its brakes upgraded. I've gone down steeper hills before on my conventional bike at speeds up to 35 mph. With my cantilever rim brakes, it takes some distance to stop (quite a bit more than a car since you're effectively limited to a single wheel and a smaller contact patch relative to a car).
So if you have an e-bike that could keep up with 35 to 40 mph traffic, you'll still have to allow more distance to brake and leave plenty of following distance.
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I don't think you have tried out an eBike before, 1000W is just about enough to make most inclines easy. If I drop my BLDC controller down to 250W it makes things rather difficult. Remember you are carrying around the extra weight of a battery pack and motor.
Most humans can't sustain 250W on a simple ergometer for 20 minutes. At 1000W, you are a motorcycle, not a bike. If that is what you want, fine, but then stick to roads, stay off bike paths.
On even terrain I don't have any reason to be driving around at over 15mph (and I don't), but we do have morons who will, and that's why the law is so restrictive in the EU.
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> $200 piece of cast-iron junk. He used an alu bike... mechanical disc brakes worked for a decade before hydraulics.
Mechanical disc brakes certainly do not work nearly as well as hydraulic disc brakes in high-power-output electric bike applications. What they "worked" on is manual bikes, but even for manual bikes, hydraulic brakes are superior; it's just that a manual bike isn't pushing the limitations of what mechanical brakes can do as often.
hydraulic alone doesn't provide greater braking power vs cable pulled calipers.
>>> If the ride is so great and economics so favorable, why haven’t I seen more adoption here in US and Canada? The author's answers to this question focus solely on the bike technology itself. This is a common thread in a lot of discussions about cycling: If we only built the right bike, more people would ride. This is usually followed by a CAD rendering of the perfect bike, that looks like nobody would want to ride…
Hmmm... Communting to work is fun for people? I want to live where they live.
Keep the car for weekend cruising, the bike probably makes the boring commutes more fun than a car would.
I built an bike 6 or 7 years ago but only took it once to work (a 20 mile commute). It was underpowered and under-batteried but it was an interesting starting point. I mean to try it again.
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I've found with mine drivers can be surprised, especially on inclines They expect you to slow to a crawl but you keep going and they find they haven't left enough room to pass.
This! I was a semi-professional (CAT 1/2) racer in college and routinely road in the 22 to 30+ MPH range. 30+ MPH is surprisingly easy on busy roads with a good draft coming off traffic. A day wouldn't go by while riding in the city that I didn't have a close call with a car and in fact a bus hit me once while passing me on a corner (the driver cut the corner, going over the white-line). In order to not die I did a l…
It's pretty easy for most riders to get to 25 MPH or above when going downhill. That's why I take the lane in those situations and keep an eye out at every single intersection.
I think a lot of the situations that you describe could be prevented by taking the lane (riding between the center and left tiretrack position of the lane you're in) to discourage car and bus/truck drivers from passing you when it's not safe to do so. It will also make you more visible to passing traffic as well as traffic at intersections.