E-bikes are NOT created equal

Electric bike usage has skyrocketed, but are they safe?

NYC stories:

[gamble]

I mean, if cars can be legal with all of the casualties they cause, why not e-bikes? Less dangerous than cars, and better for the environment too, plus they don't need you to bulldoze massive highways and parking lots everywhere!

[adrian]

I have an ebike someone gave me. It's no too powerful. I've been shopping for a faster one but haven't pulled the trigger. What I'd like to see is dedicated bike lanes. Driving with cars is scary. How id love to pedal 22 miles on Pacific coast highway in southern California.. but right now i feel that's a death trap, so I'll stick to the car

[Kattbirb]

I have issue with the 3 class system. Class 3 should still have a throttle available, even if it's limited to 20 MPH without pedaling. It's senseless to restrict a higher class.

A class 4 should be available for those higher powered bikes that have become very popular. I believe they should require no more than a valid driver's license.

My state also does not restrict higher power bikes from cycling infrastructure so long as they're governed to comply with restrictions (i.e. 750 watts and 20 mph throttle), this has not caused an issue with any cyclists that have complied.

[MrTrevorkemp]

In my local area, the cheapest e-bike that you can get from a shop starts at $2200 The one exception to that is Walmart where I think you can get an e-bike starting at somewhere around $500 but the thing is that particular e-bike is just one of those low-powered cheap direct to consumer Chinese e-bikes that you could probably get for about $200 or $300 less if you just bought it as a direct to consumer product straight to your house and assembled it yourself The main reason we're seeing the number of accidents go up is because of the fact that the e-bikes give you assistance. So that means that a lot more people who would not want to deal with a pedal. Only bike are willing to deal with an e-bike and they're just getting out there. That's the only true reason we're seeing accidents increase. We would probably still see a high number of accidents even if there wasn't e-bikes but not as high but still a pretty high number. Anyway, if everyone who is only willing to get an e-bike right now was also willing to just have a pedal bike the real problem in the US is the infrastructure we have set up for people who want to be bicyclists or want to ride bicycles. Many places in America. If you want a bicycle or electric bicycle and you live in the suburbs, you're stuck to your suburban neighborhood with a speed limit of only 25 or 30 and nice wide roads. Otherwise you're getting out onto these roads with much higher speed limits. No bicycle lanes and most of the time not even a shoulder. Sometimes they are just straight up highways without even shoulders. It's not so much the bicycles as it is the infrastructure but not having a standardization of sorts in the bicycles like sometimes to throttles on the left. Sometimes the throttles on the right also is something that doesn't help and considering that these do motorcycle likes beads without you pedaling we should have motorcycle light controls. So that way those of us who do ride motorcycles who also write e-bikes aren't having to reverse our breaking controls. Meaning we're not having to remember that the left brake is the front brake and the right brake is the rear brake because on a motorcycle the right brake is the front brake and if you have a brake lever on the left it's the rear. But typically your foot is the rear brake on an actual motorcycle That's another thing that makes e-bikes kind of dangerous is the fact that there's not a standardization to the controls which there needs to be that as well.

[yogiyoda]

I recently bought an Engwe Ep-2 Pro on sale for $600 direct to consumer. An equivalent bike at my local shop would cost at least 3 times as much. The Engwe goes 28 mph and includes a throttle. It also comes with a safe battery. There are tear-down videos on YouTube. I love it. It's good quality and fun. Just wish there were more bike lanes in my city

[zillo]

what about electric push-off scooters? some go way above 60MPH

[notmyname]

Regular e-bike, max speed 30km/20m, no license or registration. Must be 15 or older. This also applies to E scooters at E skates/ that fall within the speed/power category. Throttles are fine. Can go on any trail or road unless specifically posted. Helmets are required for any vehicle going more then15 Km, and for all children.

E-moped 750-watt to 2500-watt max speed 70km/45m. License, registration and insurance are required, but prices are lower than for cars, and can be accessed easily. Road use only unless specifically posted. Regulations are loose enough that it also applies to small four-wheel vehicles. Helmet required, or seat belt with roll bar.

[elgringoec]

Remember a presidential campaign long ago where the line was "it's the economy, stupid"? It's like that, but with infrastructure.

People elected to office don't ride, and tend to lack common sense when it comes to technical problem solving. That's how we end up with half mile "bike paths" that cost millions because they put in a road bed across the countryside and pave it. No sense. That same expenditure could make twenty five miles of dirt path with pea gravel in soft/low spots. No awareness. And the paths they make connect one dangerous road to another, neither having a bike lane. It's as if they're out to get grants and make publicity rather than actually develop safe vias which allow people to go to places and back. It's laughable, really, except that taxpayers fund this nonsense!

[michaelrogers]

Also, places that do have designated bike lanes, aren't maintained or respected by cars. I have seen videos of someone showing how a bike land is being used as on street parking pushing the bike riders into the street to go around someones F350 and the comment section is almost always filled with people saying stuff like "its not our fault you cant drive" or some insane comment that isn't based in reality like "i dont want my taxes going to some loser biked rider" as if they truly have no idea that people use bikes for legitimate transportation to a job or they refuse to drive a car because of how astronomical of a resource it is for what its being used for.

[BlancheSwanson-mhnd]

Is this battery safe? Which one is better compared to Rundeer?

[freckrpeckr]

Teach all young ones to ride a scooter good, and make people take a course to gain basic knowledge before they can ride an e-bike.

[milolabrett]

It’s not the Bike but it is the batteries that go up in smoke.

[danli]

I used to own EUCs, electric scooter and electric bikes. I now mostly use my electric skateboard (diyed evolve, meepov4, trampa) and my motorcycle for shorter trips (RAV4 for longer ones). I was the first wave of boosted board adopters.

The problem with cars is that most drivers don't follow the speed limit, drive aggressively, not cautiously enough and open doors randomly.

The problem with PEV's and their owners is that PEVs are too quiet and most people on them don't obey traffic laws and tend to forget the road, reaction speed and brakes determine the speed limit not the vesc or speed controller.


PEVs are for people that can't get a driver license and can't afford a motorcycle due to insurance and fees.

On one hand i hate cagers but the everyday harlem trash going 40 mph probably are at fault as well.

The easy fix solution is to simply make liability insurance higher for car owners, enforce speed limits 25 mph to pev owners more harshly (jail time of more than 6 months) and make vehicular accidents punishable by death or remove unions from public transit so you don't have to wait 50+ minutes for a 3 mile trip.

Vehicles at the end of the day should not be hobbies but rather a means to an end. I went to taiwan and singapore I think the system they have are admirable and we would do well to adopt their system.

[knowone]

well ...as far as injuries Still Cant Fix Stupid....nuff said