No, they cut out at 15.5 mph. But not being DD, they have internal freewheels which disconnect the motor, making it much easier to pedal to speeds over 15.5 mph than a DD motored bike.
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What is the increased stopping distance of an ebike at 30mph compared to one at 15mph?
I can guarantee its way way over double.
Take two identical cars....one travelling at 70mph the other at 100mph. If they slam on the brakes at the same time, by the time the first car stops the later is still traveling at.....70 mph.
If people want to dongle their bikes then I would have thought the minimum requirements would be public liability insurance.
If it becomes common practice then I can see laws co ING in requiring ALL ebikes to have 3rd party insurance.
So in the words of Hill Street Blues......be careful out there.
I can guarantee its way way over double.
Take two identical cars....one travelling at 70mph the other at 100mph. If they slam on the brakes at the same time, by the time the first car stops the later is still traveling at.....70 mph.
If people want to dongle their bikes then I would have thought the minimum requirements would be public liability insurance.
If it becomes common practice then I can see laws co ING in requiring ALL ebikes to have 3rd party insurance.
So in the words of Hill Street Blues......be careful out there.
D
Deleted member 4366
Guest
That's a good point. It's obvious that the faster you go, the longer it takes you to stop. Luckily, most of these bikes have hydraulic brakes, relatively fat tyres, and they weigh the same as any e-bike, so braking is pretty good; however, I can see real problems when you dongle a bike with thin tyres and/or rim brakes. In that case the brakes and tyres would be completely overwhelmed.
The worst thing is all the people putting those big heavy DD motor kits that you can get cheaply from Ebay on cheap bikes with rim brakes. That sends shivers down my spine every time I see one.
I see your point...but mine is that of two bike of IDENTICAL build.
An ebike at 30 mph will take a damn sight longer to stop that the SAME bike at 15mph...and that's way more than twice the distance. Car drivers now don't anticipate the speed of a legal ebike; having similar bikes doing 30 mph doesn't bode well.
Yes I know the driver will be at fault, but that's little comfort to the guy laid up in traction.
Yes I thoroughly agree with your last paragraph.........
It's all relative, and I personally think we have enough regulation is this country. If we have more regulations you might as well rename us GERMANY!.
Back to the point. Why have the insurance as this could easily apply to a 20 stoner racing and top end road bike on a time trial or down hill and they would easily be able to reach +40mph for short distances and their stopping distance will be greater with rim brakes, or carbon rims.
Really!, off my soap box now.
Back to the point. Why have the insurance as this could easily apply to a 20 stoner racing and top end road bike on a time trial or down hill and they would easily be able to reach +40mph for short distances and their stopping distance will be greater with rim brakes, or carbon rims.
Really!, off my soap box now.
D
Deleted member 4366
Guest
.. but your point doesn't really hold when you consider that an ebike has more weight than the equivalent MTB, so it would have less stopping distance. Does that make e-bikes unsafe therefore? Or, you could comment on the fact that heavy riders will take longer to stop.
The point is that, generally, the braking systems are pretty good. Compare them with road-bikes doing speeds at up to 70 mph in the tour de France with skinny tyres and rim brakes.
In my experience, the worst problem about going faster on an e-bike is the cars. They don't see your speed. They'll initiate an overtake as you approach a roundabout or T-junction, then realise that you're going faster than they thought, but instead of slowing down and waiting, they carry on with the overtake, which then makes them too fast for the junction or whatever, so they have to do emergency braking in front of you, which can be disastrous. Also, they'll pull out on you when you're too close because they didn't anticipate your speed. If you're an ex-motorcyclist, you would probably anticipate or be aware of these things, so not really a problem - just annoying - but for others, I expect the risk of an accident would be high.
Higher speed will always bring higher risks. I think that's pretty obvious. With everything you do in life, you balance the advantages against the risks. Some people literally can't leave their houses because they think that the risk is too high. Other people like to to jump out of an aeroplane with no parachute.
Regenerative braking would largely redress this matter if enabled, although IMO, rim brakes have no place on an ebike.
The weight of a decent e-bike is yes heavier than the average bike, however we are not talking about a lot of extra weight imho. I was surprised at how heavy those cheap Chinese bikes are, that Halfords often sell (not surprised they put kids off cycling).
Anyway, point is with decent brakes and common sense the weight of the bike becomes almost irrelevant. I take mine off road and ride it differently to an old santa cruz bike I had, when throwing it around. I would also not go round a tight corner on the road at 40mph.
When I drive my car with me in it, I drive differently to when all 5 of us are in it, the same as I drive differently to when I'm pulling a trailer, as braking distance varies.
In summary, use common sense, know your limitations and no you won't need insurance. If you ride / drive like a maniac then even insurance won't help!
Anyway, point is with decent brakes and common sense the weight of the bike becomes almost irrelevant. I take mine off road and ride it differently to an old santa cruz bike I had, when throwing it around. I would also not go round a tight corner on the road at 40mph.
When I drive my car with me in it, I drive differently to when all 5 of us are in it, the same as I drive differently to when I'm pulling a trailer, as braking distance varies.
In summary, use common sense, know your limitations and no you won't need insurance. If you ride / drive like a maniac then even insurance won't help!
With regards to the ASA can it be activated and deactivated whilst riding or do you require to stop turn off and re start.
Hmm got me tempted now as have had a badas in the past and they just drain the battery this would be ideal for using for short bursts
That's what i use mine for. Last night it was about to rain, so i thought sod it dongle / turbo on and i need to get home pretty quick. It was mostly straights roads and i averaged 33.4mph on way back. ALL OFF ROAD OF COURSE
With regards to the heat shrink plastic would you advise a special heater or would a lighter work.
Well all fitted and delighted with the result think having the choice to turn on and off is a major plus. Can achieve silly speeds but v happy cruising at about 22mph. Hmm now thinking of next upgrade.
The law allows any heavy ebike to travel any speed downhill,with no restrictions (my old sakura really flew downhill,at 40 kg down a hill it hit 40mph no problem,but stopping it was pretty poor ,uphill it was very slow,i can now travel pretty fast up hills,but much slower down hills,with less weight and better brakes i can stop quicker,my old sakura was and still is classed as fully legal,because i can now travel faster uphill and above 15mph but not by much without assistance my bike is not legal,even though i could stop much sooner,especially downhill due to lower weight less speed and better brakes,i can understand restricting to 15mph, but a bike should still be able to hit close to 15mph uphill ,there is no point restricting uphill speed or power output up hills,when there is far less stopping distance.