The Association of Cycle Traders and Bicycle Association say the proposal to raise the e-bike power limit is unnecessary, risky, and the wrong approach
You can have more than 250W right now, as well as removing the pedal requirement. It just becomes an electric moped.
Bikes are a special class. They are generally light enough and slow enough to avoid a lot of the problems with cars etc. Because of this, they have far less regulation overhead.
Ebikes are a branch off from this. They are slightly heavier, slightly faster, but not so much that they cause problems. A faster, heavier ebike would become more dangerous and so need more regulation.
Instead of expanding the ebike category, they should create a “low powered moped” category. They could also put escooters into it. More safety rules than a current ebike, but less than a full moped, or motorbike. E.g. intended for road use, allowed to use cycle paths and footpaths, but with a low speed limit. They could also require a numberplate equivalent, but self certify the MOT and no road tax.
Restrictions on speed are a lot more reasonable than restrictions on wattage. For example, WTF is a loaded-down cargo bike supposed to do with only 250W when it gets to a hill?
I’m not sure if 250W makes sense or any other particular rule, but it wort weight matters too. If a loaded-down cargo bike hits a pedestrian it’s going to hurt a lot more than a road bike collision even at the same speed
Lower gear and pedal harder? A cargo bike could easily out mass a moped. Having one collide with a pedestrian would not end well. A power limit is easy to enforce, a speed limit is harder. Particularly when it applies to all ebikes.
Remember, I’m not saying they shouldn’t exist, just that they need to be regulated differently than smaller ebikes, and pedal bikes.
My 750W ebike is restricted to 20mph (which I think is a good limit) and 1000W would still be useful for going more than 3mph up some of the hills here and I’m not even carrying much of a load (much lighter than the backpack I carried around in middle school - well, I’m on the bike and I’m overweight). And because of how heavy and how much rolling resistance it has due to larger tires, its slower than my acoustic bike at speed: I can only get my ebike up to ~28mph on flats and I can’t maintain that for any useful amount of distance (well, long enough to make it to a light in time occasionally). Of course the ebike makes frequent acceleration easier. Which means I slow down more when passing people on an ebike than an acoustic bike, where I’d have to get sweatier on my way to work to slow down for them.
Maybe I just need to be banned from riding acoustic bikes because I’m heavy and go fast?
“Acoustic” is just not an adjective that makes any kind of sense whatsoever…if you want to modify the language to better describe what you’re talking about, at least pick words that make sense.
1000W is the low end power output of a moped engine. At that point UK law gets quite clear on the requirements for use on a UK road.
My concern is, after a few accidents make the news, the government will have a knee jerk reaction against all ebikes. A middle ground between 250W ebikes and mopeds would take the risk off of all ebikes being regulated to death. It allows for slightly more regulations on more powerful bikes e.g. speed restrictors.
It’s a “this is why we can’t have nice things” issue. People tearing down sidewalks on bikes are already a huge issue. People need to understand that the accessibility of these devices, combined with poorly implemented infrastructure, is the entire problem. Yes, all bikes on crowded sidewalks are dangerous, but the relative accessibility of ebikes means instead of a few assholes weaving in and out of pedestrians, you suddenly have dozens of them. It’s not about speed, it’s about the number of idiots doing something idiotic.
If you actually make an effort to separate pedestrians from cyclists, it’s less of a problem, and growth of ebikes is a great development. But ebikes displacing and menacing pedestrians is not ok.
You can have more than 250W right now, as well as removing the pedal requirement. It just becomes an electric moped.
Bikes are a special class. They are generally light enough and slow enough to avoid a lot of the problems with cars etc. Because of this, they have far less regulation overhead.
Ebikes are a branch off from this. They are slightly heavier, slightly faster, but not so much that they cause problems. A faster, heavier ebike would become more dangerous and so need more regulation.
Instead of expanding the ebike category, they should create a “low powered moped” category. They could also put escooters into it. More safety rules than a current ebike, but less than a full moped, or motorbike. E.g. intended for road use, allowed to use cycle paths and footpaths, but with a low speed limit. They could also require a numberplate equivalent, but self certify the MOT and no road tax.
Restrictions on speed are a lot more reasonable than restrictions on wattage. For example, WTF is a loaded-down cargo bike supposed to do with only 250W when it gets to a hill?
I’m not sure if 250W makes sense or any other particular rule, but it wort weight matters too. If a loaded-down cargo bike hits a pedestrian it’s going to hurt a lot more than a road bike collision even at the same speed
Lower gear and pedal harder? A cargo bike could easily out mass a moped. Having one collide with a pedestrian would not end well. A power limit is easy to enforce, a speed limit is harder. Particularly when it applies to all ebikes.
Remember, I’m not saying they shouldn’t exist, just that they need to be regulated differently than smaller ebikes, and pedal bikes.
My 750W ebike is restricted to 20mph (which I think is a good limit) and 1000W would still be useful for going more than 3mph up some of the hills here and I’m not even carrying much of a load (much lighter than the backpack I carried around in middle school - well, I’m on the bike and I’m overweight). And because of how heavy and how much rolling resistance it has due to larger tires, its slower than my acoustic bike at speed: I can only get my ebike up to ~28mph on flats and I can’t maintain that for any useful amount of distance (well, long enough to make it to a light in time occasionally). Of course the ebike makes frequent acceleration easier. Which means I slow down more when passing people on an ebike than an acoustic bike, where I’d have to get sweatier on my way to work to slow down for them.
Maybe I just need to be banned from riding acoustic bikes because I’m heavy and go fast?
Pictured: An Acoustic Bike
Whatever the fuck that means.
There’s a power/amp cord in that photo, clearly not acoustic. /S
It’s the best real live photo I could find. Fuck AI
A bike without electric assist.
Oh you mean Bicycle. The word we’ve had for over 150 years…
Ebikes are also bicycles. They just have assistance. Sometimes language gets updated to account for new technology.
“Acoustic” is just not an adjective that makes any kind of sense whatsoever…if you want to modify the language to better describe what you’re talking about, at least pick words that make sense.
I didn’t make up the language. Language doesn’t have to be rational. /shrug
The fact that you already used the work Ebike to mean electronic bicycle means we’ve already agreed on a naming convention.
EBike for electric, ABike for acoustic. Bike for both.
1000W is the low end power output of a moped engine. At that point UK law gets quite clear on the requirements for use on a UK road.
My concern is, after a few accidents make the news, the government will have a knee jerk reaction against all ebikes. A middle ground between 250W ebikes and mopeds would take the risk off of all ebikes being regulated to death. It allows for slightly more regulations on more powerful bikes e.g. speed restrictors.
It’s a “this is why we can’t have nice things” issue. People tearing down sidewalks on bikes are already a huge issue. People need to understand that the accessibility of these devices, combined with poorly implemented infrastructure, is the entire problem. Yes, all bikes on crowded sidewalks are dangerous, but the relative accessibility of ebikes means instead of a few assholes weaving in and out of pedestrians, you suddenly have dozens of them. It’s not about speed, it’s about the number of idiots doing something idiotic.
If you actually make an effort to separate pedestrians from cyclists, it’s less of a problem, and growth of ebikes is a great development. But ebikes displacing and menacing pedestrians is not ok.