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Analysis | Does anyone really want ebike motor power to increase?
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this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2024
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micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
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Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, longboards, unicycles: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!
"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
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It's not just about speed though. Additional power, particularly with hub motors, can help a lot with steep hills or pulling more weight on a cargo bike etc. E-bikes are improving peoples ability to get out there and be independent as well as get some exercise where they may not have been able to in the past due to a number of different factors.
By increasing the power available can help to make the world more accessible to more people. You can still limit the top speed that is achievable on these bikes whilst also making them more usable in more situations.
Higher power motor doesn't necessarily automatically mean top speed is the sole goal.
Agreed. I live in a city with hills up to a 26% grade, where most are around 18% if they are big steep hills. I have a 750w hub motor, and I have to work pretty hard to ride up the steeper stuff even with the motor helping. I absolutely love conventional bikes for stuff like downhill mountain biking, but if you are just trying to get to a friend's place or go swimming at the lake, taking an ebike is much more practical than finding a parking spot.
I think we need licensing for anything above 1kW or above 20mph. Similar to 49cc scooters (but maybe slower limits because of the difference in use of e-bikes.
The only downside I can see is unofficial mods removing the limit, which already happens of course but the issue becomes worse with a more powerful motor.
Whilst I agree the majority of the people I see riding those horrible Chinese "bikes" or that have put a Chinese kit on their bike are already running 1000w motors that have no restriction and they zip around at 30mph plus. People that want to go fast will do so regardless of the rules behind them. By increasing the allowed max I feel would have more benefits for the kinds of people that will be buying the more expensive, better made bikes and using them within the law.
I think the bigger issue here is that the police need to enforce some kinds of rules relating to the use of ebikes. For the record I actually don't have any issue with an ebike that will do 30mph as long as it is used sensibly but the problem is that a lot of them aren't.
The majority of the over powered, fast ebikes I see around near me are used by deliveroo riders and their ilk and all of them ride like absolute cunts. If you are going to use a powerful, motor driven form of transport to facilitate your work, fine, but use it properly on the fucking road and obeying traffic laws. The amount of these cunts I see zipping around on paths and through red lights on their throttle controlled "bikes" is where I think the main safety implications for more powerful motors lie.
People are dangerous enough on non motorised push bikes and being that the future of sustainable smaller distance transport seems to lie within things like ebikes I think there needs to be a push now in the earlier stages to educate people on how to operate them properly and within the rules of the road. Some people need to be made examples of to force the populace to ride in a safe predictable manner on the roads and not on the fucking path.
I think this is also a problem with the rental bike schemes a lot of cities now run too, you put people who aren't used to operating a bicycle onto one in a city full of people and it is carnage. Riding on footpaths, ignoring road rules and generally just acting unpredictably. I see a lot of very dangerous situations involving these people almost everyday due to lack of personal awareness and ability to control the vehicle they are using.
I ride an EUC that can put down north of 15KW, and after getting used to it over the past year I could honestly use more power for riding ATV trails. I've pulled 16KW just hopping tree roots at low speed. But then again, it can do 50mph up a 25% grade fairly easily.