The ebike class 1/2/3 concept is stupid puritan nonsense driven by cyclist jealousy and serves only to limit the usefulness of ebikes as car replacements.
I'll engage with the struggle session: I think these distinctions are good actually, as they clarify the gradients between a bicycle and a moped. The 20mph speed limit in particular I think is a pretty important safety feature to have, and a reasonable speed limit on bike paths. The difference between 20mph and 28mph is not trivial, you're doubling your kinetic energy.
I do agree that Class 3 without a throttle is silly, I think that's a state-specific rule.
The distinctions between a bicycle and a(n electric, fuck those loud little gas motors) moped are a historical relic and should be blurred away to total unrecognizability.
what would you say the difference is between a moped and a motorcycle?
Class 1 shouldn't exist, and class 3 should have a throttle. I do think 45 kmh/28 mph is a reasonable top speed though. It's a bicycle, not a motorcycle. Safety is a reasonable concern to have.
My worst moto accidents have all been under 50km/h so far. Shit hurts even with gear. A friend got a standing scooter that does 80km/h, advised him to get full gear. He at least got a proper helmet but nothing really else. Shit is terrifying to think people are ripping around over 50km/h with no proper gear or infrastructure.
ATGATT
My EUC tops out at 55kmh/34mph and it's still not fast enough for the times I'm forced by bad infrastructure to contend with cars
You're just describing needing/wanting a motorcycle
Ebikes should just be unregulated motorcycles I can take on the bike path
what bike lanes really need is people going 35mph on a vehicle that weighs >50lbs
You have angered me.
Id prefer if bicycling was safe and accessible for the general populace, rather than the playground of some motorhead. There's plenty of racetracks and dirt paths available for off-roading or high-speed motorism
i would love to be biking on a non-ebike and have a teen hit me at 65 mph headon because they just got a new toy
Based and Electric-pilled
I can hit 35mph and hold it with a decent downhill grade and that feels fine to me. 
Any collision over 30mph is potentially lethal to any person involved
They should do this to cars tbh
Cars should be destroyed utterly
OK call me a liberal but I only want to destroy 95% of cars.
Liberal
These are European classes seeping through. The class C e-bikes are tremendously popular in Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany and are replacing cars for commutes.
In Belgium the adoption is huge because the class C (45 km/h) are allowed on regular bicycle paths and on the road where max speed is 50 km/h (31 mph). They are specifically useful on our cycle highways infrastructure for medium long distances. Daily commutes by bike of 20 to 30 km are quite common now.
A class 3 bike requires a license plate, insurance and a driver's license.
Class 3 bikes aren't allowed on mixed bicycle pedestrian infrastructure.
Class 2 bikes are required to follow the same regulation as mopeds and you can ride them from age 16.
It's all very logical if you place these classes in their proper environment.
No idea what you talking about, could you give some context pls
Unlike other micromobility vehicles, ebikes are regulated into three classes as shown in the chart. The large majority of ebike models sold are class 1, meaning they have no throttle and the motor will not exceed 20mph. Many cities only permit class 1 ebikes, though this is, as another commenter pointed out, difficult to enforce and rarely enforced.
This is all caused by latent puritanism, specifically a reflexive aversion to things that are new, fun, and cool. Cyclists are jealous of ebikes passing them without apparent effort, while anti-cyclist brainworms types freak out about maniac cyclists going too fast and splitting lanes in their beloved car roads. These two forces which are naturally in opposition come together to hobble ebikes.
Cyclists are jealous of ebikes passing them without apparent effort
As a cylclist...no this is not it at all, and the fact that you think this at all tells me you're definitely not a biker.
As a cyclist I'm terrified of ebikes flying by me at 20mph wearing zero proective gear without notifying me that they're flying by me. Or flying at me. Or flying by me on the sidewalk when I'm a pedestrian. Or flying by my door on the sidewalk when I'm literally just trying to get my mail. Or flying through a stop sign at me when I'm walking, biking, or driving. Or any of the other ridiculous things ebikers tend to do at maximum speed with absolutely flagrant disregard for literally anyone's safety. Getting up to 20mph on a pedal bike requires some serious effort and distance so most people aren't zipping around on sidewalks or on city streets or on gravel bike trails at 20 mph. E bikers though have one setting and it's "hit the speed limiter" regardless of their environment or how safe it might be.
Honestly it's less the bikes that are the problem it's the people on them. Frequent bikers use body language, signals, words, and sounds to help each other identify where we are and where we're going in order to keep all of us safe out there. We ding our bells our shout "on your left" when passing. We make eye contact and adjust our speed to pass each other without stopping at intersections. We stay in our lanes and help protect each other from cars when we're on the roads and on the trails. E Bikers don't do any of this shit, they just whizz around everyone at top speed without having any respect AT ALL for anyone else on the road. They're like the BMW drivers of the bike world. It's a safety hazard for them with regards to their unexpected behaviors and cars, which isn't really my business I guess. But what is my business is when it's a safety hazard for me, and that's what basically every rich asshole on an e bike has become.
I'm not saying ban them or anything like that, banning things is generally dumb, but we absolutely need to do something to deal with the massive safety hazard they're causing (along with electric scooters) in our already horribly unsafe bike lanes. If classifying them by "level of safety hazard they present" helps us do that then I'm all for it. At the very least I don't think any motorized vehicle should be allowed in bike lanes or bike trails unless they're specifically motorized for accessibility rather than for dickhead speed. They should be relegated to the spots where other motorized vehicles are until and unless the people who use them can prove that they can safely exist in spaces reserved for human powered vehicles only.
So basically fuck e bikers, stop putting everyone on a bike in more danger than we already are and maybe we'll change our mind about you.
Look below to see an example of ~~BMW drivers~~ ebikers who have no clue that other people use the infrastructure they're destroying
I gotta say, E-bikes do sneak up on you with 0 warning, and they really only travel at maximum speed, but I think the easy solution is ban cars and appropriate the roads for e-bikes, leave bike paths for pedal-powered.
Definitely in favor of just ridding the universe of cars and separating smaller lanes out for various better modes of transit. That keeps everyone safer
Fuck off with this divisive bullshit. When I biked in Asia where motorbikes are the norm, no motorcyclist ever gave me any shit for being on a bicycle, and I never had any problems with a motorcycle. The real threats on the road are cars, not other bikers.
I mean that's great in Asia, I have never biked in Asia. Sounds like they're fostering a culture where everyone using non-car vehicles learn to share the road, and that's great. Shame we aren't doing that here.
I have biked frequently in a number of US cities and the number of times I've been run off the bike lane by e bikers being absolute dickheads is ridiculous. I bike many times a week in my major US city and e bikers / e scooters are a goddamn menace. So are cars by the way, no idea why both of you are somehow strawmanning me as if I think cars aren't dangerous. I am more afraid of being hit by a car than I am an e bike, but I'm more afraid of being hit by an e bike than I am a manual bike. Turns out more than one thing can be dangerous at a time, who knew.
motor bikes and scooters are usually not a problem, people have to get a license for them which weeds out the worst offenders, and they're loud and easy to spot. E-bikes have that electric car problem, where they'll accelerate completely silently and appear out of nowhere right behind you. just make ebikes require a quick and cheap license/training course and make them have fake engine sounds, ezpz
My town says it forbids Class 3 ebikes on the trail system but I've yet to see a checkpoint
Some things don’t truly have an enforcement mechanism but are intended as public guidance
It's basically impossible to enforce, but it does mean that most ebikes available for sale are class 1.
I love eBikes when they're used to go at regular bike speeds, but with less effort. Going at 20mph in an urban bike lane is stupid
two wheels good, four wheels bad!
Stalin shouldn’t have stopped at Berlin.
I don't know what this post is saying, but I'm gonna use it as a place to discuss ebikes.
They're good in that they make biking more accessible, however (disclaimer: this is in the context of a city with good bicycle infrastructure and a common culture of most people taking the bicycle to their destination, this is not in the context of some poorly planned us car-centric hellscape).
In the context of a poorly planned US car centric hellscape, the speed and capability restrictions designed for a city with good bicycle infrastructure and a common culture of most people taking the bicycle to their destinations make no sense and only serve as impediments to ebikes being viable car replacements.
This was supposed to be c/traingang, so post as many train pictures as possible.
All about urbanism and transportation, including freight transportation.
Home of train gang
:arm-L::train-shining::arm-R:
Trainposts highly encouraged
Talk about supply chain issues here!
List of cool books and videos about urbanism, transit, and other cool things
Titles must be informative. Please do not title your post "lmao" or use the tired "_____ challenge" format.
Archive links for reactionary sites, including the BBC.
LANDLORDS COWER IN FEAR OF MAOTRAIN
"that train pic is too powerful lmao" - u/Cadende
