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’re acting like they’re saying larger, higher powered vehicles shouldn’t exist, instead of “that’s very obviously not a bike and shouldn’t be able to co-opt the label in a way that damages actual bikes”.
Yeah, more powerful ebikes are really already in the moped category and should be treated as such. Though obviously powerful ebike is most of the time better option
Also the pedaling requirement is literally what makes it electric bicycle
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.
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.
250W is a pretty sad limit if you ask me, glad I don’t live in the UK (for lots of reasons)
You’re acting like they’re saying larger, higher powered vehicles shouldn’t exist, instead of “that’s very obviously not a bike and shouldn’t be able to co-opt the label in a way that damages actual bikes”.
Yeah, more powerful ebikes are really already in the moped category and should be treated as such. Though obviously powerful ebike is most of the time better option
Also the pedaling requirement is literally what makes it electric bicycle
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.
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.
A trained cyclist can produce 400W, it’s literally less than a human…
Hell, we allow people to ride horses on the road without a license or MOT, and they can produce >10000W.