this post was submitted on 10 Feb 2026
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The proportion of cyclists killed or seriously injured while hiring an e-bike, such as those provided by Lime, Forest or Transport for London, increased from one per cent of all cyclist injuries in 2017 to 17 per cent by May last year.

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[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Not sure who started that myth, but the inductive loops detect any conductive material, like aluminum or carbon fiber, there is no magnetism involved.

They oscillate in a resonant mode oscillator at high frequencies causing eddy currents in ANY nearby conductive material. The eddy currents in the conductive material produce opposing magnetic fields that will reduce the inductnace of the inductive loop, which in turn changes the resonance of the oscillator. The detector senses this change in frequency.

The trick with bikes is to place the bike right above one side of the loop, not stop in the middle of the rectangle.

There were older designs that did use magnets, but like 40 years ago. Civil engineers were well aware of the bike issue.

[–] Nighed@feddit.uk 1 points 3 weeks ago

Wikipedia link for those interested.

Thanks for that, it makes sense when I think about it. It's been a while since physics class!

I can sometimes get them to trigger by going over the return line to the pavement. Still a big problem for carbon bikes though!