i'm of mixed opinion on bike path speed limits, but my main opinion is that holy fuck we shouldn't even begin to think about it until "bicycle highways" are utterly fucking universal.
Just like with cars, the #1 thing we should do is physically design the infrastructure to encourage and force people to act safely and comfortably. If people are going too fast on a bike path then it's incredibly unlikely that they're just doing it because they're thrillseekers or whatever, they're doing it because they want to get to their destination quickly and either there's no other route available or the path in question isn't sufficiently discouraging high speeds.

At least fucking start with soft speed limits, put up signs and stuff so people know you're supposed to take it slow in an area!

I can comfortably peddle faster than that on my non-ebike.

All this because the government can't be assed to properly categorize, license, and enforce emotos, yea? Good grief, we manage to do that for every other class of vehicle... Guess the Dutch suddenly forgot they could just do that.

Feel like a speed limit for the motor rather than the human would make sense. I would not mind a legal obligation for the motor to disengage (not brake) at certain speeds to classify as an e-bike.

Modding the e-bike should be fine (I'm afraid of anti-right of repair shenanigans) but if you remove the limit yourself suddenly you have a new category of vehicle.

I've heen casually riding at 16mph on single gear bikes since I was a teen.

Have the people deciding the speed limit ever riden a bike?

I think it should a) be little higher and b) only be enforced for bikes with any kind of electric capability. Analog bikes have perfectly reasonable natural limits.

Setting a universal speed limit seems like a fools errand: In good conditions it will be frustratingly slow. In demanding circumstances too many will keep going at that limit anyways, perhaps more than if they had to actually gauge responsible speeds throughout the ride.

I'll copy my comment on this article from a different thread

As a Dutchman, I’m not a fan of this proposed speed limit.

My natural speed at which I comfortably cycle is around 25 km/h, which is perfectly safe if you pay attention and slow down when it is necessary in order not to hinder your fellow road users. The issue is people who cycle recklessly without keeping other cyclists in mind, in my opinion.

Enforcement is the key. And we already have reckless road usage laws.

I much prefer the Belgian method, where they set a recommended speed limit with signs of 25 km/h on the bikepath. You can cycle faster, but that’s at your own risk.

I'd be up for a 30 km/h speed limit, maybe even 25 km/h. 20 km/h seems very low though.

Wow, 20kmph is like easily achievable on a flat land. I usually did around 17-25kmph depend on where the wind blow, and i considered myself a slow cyclist.

"Sir do you know why I pulled you over? Any idea how fast you were pedaling back there? How many white monsters have you had to drink today? Step outta the recumbent please sir. Imma have you walk in a straight line, if the line is too straight, you're going to gaol."

Wow, 20, good thing it's so flat. Better hope you never get a tail wind. Fit children pass you on foot.

I'm Dutch and I'm a proponent of bike lane speed limits, because I think it's a step towards fixing this idiotic categorization of scooters, fatbikes/bikes, snorfiets, moped. They are all misclassified and mopeds in particular should be considered closer to bicycles than motercycles. With speed limits, they can choose to go slow with the bikes, or fast with the cars.

All of these types should primarily be categorized by speed. We need a slow class for kids/elderly and a fast class for adults. That's it! Helmet, license, insurance for the fast class. In particular, close the loophole that if you have to pedal, it's a bike, so children can ride it without insurance or a helmet, it's insane. Needs more enforcement too

I'm on a colorful moped which draws attention (I'll never make that mistake again) and police stop me because I drive slowly on the cycle path for safety, instead of risking my life between tailgating cars that cannot overtake me on a single lane, but desperately try. But then three kids fly me by at 60kmh on one fatbike, no helmets, no care for anyone

Pfft, 12 mph? Here in the Great State of Queensland, Australia we don't need trials of dangerous speeds like *checks conversion* 20 km/h. We just introduced World Leading™ road safety™ legislation restricting ebikes to 12 km/h on footpaths always, and on shared paths when overtaking pedestrians. No need for pinko rubbish like trials and "listening to public feedback". Just straight to implementing.

We wanted to put and end to dangerous behaviour like ever overtaking runners, and we certainly weren't going to let pesky technical details like there not being a legal distinction between footpaths and shared paths stop us.

Step up your game, Netherlands.

I do about 25kph average for a 100km ride I do on a stationary bike occasionally. It’s a sweaty 4 hours but if it was 20 min commute, I don’t think it would be difficult. I’m by no means a strong cyclist.

E-bikes and scooters are a menace though, without regulation. At the risk of sounding like John Forester - if they are moving at the speed of traffic perhaps they should move with traffic?

The Netherlands is so flat 12mph is basically walking speed, that's so slow. I'd be pissed too. I think 20 is a good ace, since that's closer to a sweaty ride. I don't know much about ebikes though, Europe is already pretty restrictive on those aren't they?

15 seems more reasonable.

As someone who bikes for transport & don’t do any training, 12mph/20kmph is about what I max out at. If I were to train/ride more I could def go faster than that on my regular non-ebike