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Long Range E-Bike (2021)

jacquesmattheij.com

261–270 of 345 posts

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with max speed is that while big legit ebike manufacturers respect it (e.g. you can't buy a Bosch ebike in the UK that will go above 15.5mph), you can easily get Chinese models that don't care, or you can mod other bikes that do fairly easily. I don't know what the solution is tbh.

You can't "easily" modify an electric brushless motor to go faster than its Kv limit, to handle more current than its magnetic saturation limit, or to exceed the limits of back-EMF. 99% of the people whinging about ebikes have no idea what they're talking about. There are people claiming in this very thread that kids are modding their "e-bikes" to go "45mph." The power levels required to push a hybrid bicycle to 45mp…

Nobody is building ebikes that are physically speed limited by the motor windings. The top speed of a motor depends on load, and it's impossible to predict the exact load of a motor in a bike with a rider. Even if you could, the amount of excess torque available as you got near the top speed would be tiny - it wouldn't be fun to ride.

Speed limits are universally based on measured speed - either at the wheel or motor.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Japan has bicycles with license plates. It's clearly possible.

They don't have license plates, they have mandatory registration stickers. You can't read it unless you look closely at the sticker while the bike is stopped. It's to identify owners of stolen bikes, not identifying running bikes.

To be clear, when the OP wrote "Japan has bicycles with license plates", it is important to clarify the term "bicycle". It would more accurate to say "motorized bicycle". If you ride something that looks like a bicycle where you can power it only with a throttle button (no pedalling required), then it requires a license plate, at least in Tokyo. Explanation here: https://www.city.inagi.tokyo.jp/en/kurashi/zeikin/1002693/10...

Also, you can ask Google AI for more sources and info using this prompt:

    japan when does a bike require a license plate?

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. I thought the electric motorcycle problem was overstated by people complaining online at first. Then they became popular around my house and I agree it’s a huge problem. I’m fortunate enough to live around a lot of walking and mixed use trails for bikes and pedestrians. Recently they’re unsafe to use in the evenings because you have to be ready to jump out of the way of groups of kids (plus a few adults who…

Cyclists on track bikes going 30+ mph on mixed use trails are almost as bad. You either ride responsibly or you're a selfish asshole. The vehicle doesn't matter as much.

Over here track bikes are not road legal and people who can legit hit 30 mph for any amount of time is maybe 1/1000. Any 12 year old kid that can convince their parents to buy them a $1000 Chinese e-bike can hit 30mph with no effort. In no way are sports cyclists as bad a problem.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#264

Sort of a hijack, but it rides on the awesomeness that e-bikes can bring about. They truly are incredible if you have never gotten to ride one. E-bikes with throttles should not be refereed to as e-bikes E-peds, e-motos, electric motorycle, whatever. Just don't call them ebikes. The problem is people (especially kids) getting what are essentially electric motorcycles, thinking they are ebikes, and then causing all so…

The distinctions drawn here are particularly interesting in China.

Somewhere like Shanghai, you'll see ~70% of traffic in "bike" lanes are what appear to be electric mopeds.

But if you look closer, all of these mopeds technically have tiny attachment points for pedals. Government regulations allowed e-bikes to be driven unlicensed (but with a special green license plate, unlike the US!) and wherever bicycles are allowed. At the same time, the delivery industry and commuters wanted something stable, capable of carrying cargo/passengers. So the form factor adopted was that of mopeds, while vestigial pedal attachments were provided in order to pass as "e-bikes" under the regulatory criteria. Example. [0]

In practice, using pedals on these made for a clunky experience so they were not usually attached at all. The other main regulatory criterion was that these have to be limited to The rule requiring the vestigial pedals was finally removed a few months ago, meaning that the ontology of "e-bikes" is pretty different in China now. [1] (Pedal-assist traditional bike frames also exist, but they share space with the larger mopeds in bike lanes and bike parking. True electric mopeds and motorcycles also exist, but they are effectively regulated out of existence in big cities.)

At the end of the day, top speeds are more determinant of whether different modes of transportation can coexist than pedals or form factor.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/r4HAUJDQT1w [1] https://chinamotorworld.com/chinese-e-bike-new-standard/

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A car too, but you might kill the suspect [1]. Chasing kids on e-bikes down with motorcycles is asking for deathly accidents to happen. [1] https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2025/06/03/12-year-old-boy-dies...

That is not to be blamed on the cops. Let's try to be truthful.

This reaction is interesting to me. In many jurisdictions around the world, police are required to call off a chase if it is deemed unsafe for any reason.

In what world do you think it is OK for a 12-year-old boy riding an e-scooter to die after being chased by police? Before you respond: Ask yourself how you would react if it was your son (or close relative). Any parent would devasted.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#266
post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False. If you jump in front of a car who has the right of way and is not speeding it's not the driver's fault. The victum in this case is the driver who has done nothing wrong. The perp is the person who broke the law and faces the consequences.

The victim is the one who's injured or dead.

Must be nice to live in a world simpler than the one I do. Your broad generalization has so many deficiencies that I actually deleted what I was writing. There are countless exceptions to your hasty generalization.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#267
post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False. If you jump in front of a car who has the right of way and is not speeding it's not the driver's fault. The victum in this case is the driver who has done nothing wrong. The perp is the person who broke the law and faces the consequences.

The victim is the one who's injured or dead.

If that's how you want to redefine the term, sure, ok. But the "victim" in this particular scenario is the one at fault.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#268

So, this got posted again I see. A few years later: the pack is still going strong and has not - so far - shown any signs of wear. I've put close to 15000 Km on it now and there is no degradation worth mentioning, though I suspect that if I do a precise capacity measurement that it would definitely show some reduced capacity. The really neat thing is that at the end of a long ride the cell groups still track to withi…

> I hope this article will inspire people to look at e-bikes as potentially commuter car replacement, to send Bosch and other e-bike technology manufacturers a message that if they won’t supply what people need that they are going to have to live with people hacking their stuff

Did this ever happen?

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#269
post #88

Sort of a hijack, but it rides on the awesomeness that e-bikes can bring about. They truly are incredible if you have never gotten to ride one. E-bikes with throttles should not be refereed to as e-bikes E-peds, e-motos, electric motorycle, whatever. Just don't call them ebikes. The problem is people (especially kids) getting what are essentially electric motorcycles, thinking they are ebikes, and then causing all so…

I propose a new and improved e-bike classification scheme: Class A: Bikes that can not go over 10mph via a throttle. And can’t go over 28mph with pedal assist. Or set the pedal assist limit at 20mph if you’re feeling especially conservative. Class B-Class infinity: These aren’t considered bikes. Class A is the only class of e-bike.

> And can’t go over 28mph with pedal assist. Or set the pedal assist limit at 20mph if you’re feeling especially conservative.

That doesn't seem _that_ conservative, honestly. Lots of places have a 20mph/30km/h limit for _cars_ in urban areas.

Re: Long Range E-Bike (2021)

#270
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand that point. Why do e-bikes become better or more safe when you have to rotate your legs? Its really frustrating and silly that I have to go through the motions (literally) of riding a bicycle if I want to get the priviledge of using a bike lane or going without a license plate. (At least that's the case here in Germany AFAIK). They could go ahead and make "fast electric bikes" and "slow electric bi…

Its easy, the accelerations are completely different and very hard to gauge. Also you have the elderly going speeds that does not mach their reactions, while also being unaware of how fast they are going. If you try biking with them it become very obvious how many dangerous situations they cause compared to true e-bike and normal bikes.

In my area, I think that non electric bikes are often more dangerous: they are often non tolerant of others and hesitant to slow down because of speed conservation. Especially in our hilly town. Easy "free" acceleration is plus here.
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