Disregarding UK pedelec laws

[LeighPing]

For example this rider who hit 63 mph on this ride.

Jesus H. Christ!

But you are breaking the law and the racing bike riders aren't, can you not see the difference?

Yes I can. It's around 20 mph faster than I am.

In that case, you'd better make that 43 mph faster. How on earth are they not breaking the law?

 

[Artstu]

Jesus H. Christ!

I'm struggling to remember the speed I hit down the same hill, I think it was getting on for mid 50's mph.

edit 55 mph, which would put me 271st if I'd been on a pedal only bike https://www.strava.com/segments/2580591?filter=overall

 

[Deleted member 25121]

At this point I think it is worth pointing out that there are hundreds of thousands of cyclists who will not agree with your opinion. For example this rider who hit 63 mph on this ride. https://www.strava.com/activities/2311786967

I think it's worth mentioning here that I don't expect everybody to agree with my own opinion of what's safe and what isn't.
Some people like to jump off cliffs in wingsuits, that doesn't make it safe does it?

 

[Artstu]

I think it's worth mentioning here that I don't expect everybody to agree with my own opinion of what's safe and what isn't.
Some people like to jump off cliffs in wingsuits, that doesn't make it safe does it?

Well for me there's huge difference between that cliff wingsuit stuff and riding a bicycle above 15 mph, but as you say we all have our own opinions on safety, you wouldn't catch me jumping off cliffs in wingsuits that's for sure, but cycling at 20 mph on a road is okay with me.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

Last week a friend hit a pothole at around 30mph in his car:



Imagine what would have happened if he'd hit that pothole at 20mph on a bike.......

 

[LeighPing]

Last week a friend hit a pothole at around 30mph in his car:

Imagine what would have happened if he'd hit that pothole at 20mph on a bike.......

That pothole must have been the size of a water buffalo and, more than likely, easily avoidable on a bike doing 20 mph. But, probably not at 63 mph.

 

[Roberticus]

I often ride at 20mph on the road, doesn't seem dangerous to me !
The motor cuts out at 15.5mph though !

 

[Deleted member 25121]

That pothole must have been the size of a water buffalo and, more than likely, easily avoidable on a bike doing 20 mph. But, probably not at 63 mph.

No. The pothole was quite small but very deep, my friend didn't even see it and he was only doing about 30mph. Had he been on a bike doing 20mph he'd have been off and if a car had been overtaking at the same time he'd probably be dead now.

 

[trevor brooker]

" Had he been on a bike doing 20mph he'd have been off and if a car had been overtaking at the same time he'd probably be dead now."

the same at 15mph

 

[soundwave]

No. The pothole was quite small but very deep, my friend didn't even see it and he was only doing about 30mph. Had he been on a bike doing 20mph he'd have been off and if a car had been overtaking at the same time he'd probably be dead now.

http://www.milweb.net/webvert/a3608/95143

 

[Michael Price]

Personally I have no desire to increase the cutoff speed of my ebike - even when I used it for commuting 15 m.p.h. was fast enough and now that I'm retired I ride on canal paths and such like a lot so it would be inappropriate on those paths anyway.
I suppose there has to be a limit otherwise it would be impossible to see a boundary between an ebike and a moped. So a clear rule helps us when idiot anti-bike people come up with dumb comments about ebike being motorbikes.
However a small speed increase (and hence range decrease) is a bit like going slightly over the speed limit in a car on a clear road - you take the hot if you get found out
My worry would be that if it becomes too common then there could be a crack down which would mess it up for all of us - so please be careful!

 

[vfr400]

" Had he been on a bike doing 20mph he'd have been off and if a car had been overtaking at the same time he'd probably be dead now."

the same at 15mph

and if an asteroid the size of a football crashed into his back garden, he'd be dead, and if he walked into the road texting on his phone and a 20 ton truck comes by, he'd also be dead. Let's see how many more ways we can invent to die.

BTW, I don't believe for one minute that the tyre was damaged like that by hitting a pothole at 30 mph. More likely, he hit a pothole (or probably the kerb) and his tyre went down. Instead of stopping and changing the wheel, he decided to drive on, which shredded it.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

and if an asteroid the size of a football crashed into his back garden, he'd be dead, and if he walked into the road texting on his phone and a 20 ton truck comes by, he'd also be dead. Let's see how many more ways we can invent to die.

BTW, I don't believe for one minute that the tyre was damaged like that by hitting a pothole at 30 mph. More likely, he hit a pothole (or probably the kerb) and his tyre went down. Instead of stopping and changing the wheel, he decided to drive on, which shredded it.

Wrong, he drives maybe 50K miles a year and races in 6 or 7 events a year.
To summarise, I don't think you know what you're talking about.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

" Had he been on a bike doing 20mph he'd have been off and if a car had been overtaking at the same time he'd probably be dead now."

the same at 15mph

But he'd stand a much better chance of surviving wouldn't he? Think about it, think about reaction times, think about stopping times....

 

[Steve Bowles]

This is only an opinion, but I think young e-bikers are more likely to break the speed laws, just as they do in automobiles. Taking risks is all about youth, because as you know, they are invincible. I'm not likely to fiddle with the speed restriction on my bike because I don't want to die anytime soon. I might think young speedsters are crazy, but I don't expect their behaviour to be the same as mine.

 

[soundwave]

this is what you want shite range tho but anyone can buy it
https://www.selfridges.com/GB/en/cat/gravity-industries-jet-suit-series-4_5161-10212-GRAVITYJETSUIT/

 

[trevor brooker]

"It might sound counter-intuitive at first that faster cyclists are safer cyclists, but the stats reveal that, in general, it’s true. So, if faster cyclists are safer cyclists, riding an e-bike is the safest way to cycle."

https://ebikebc.com/speed-differential-ebike-safety/

 

[soundwave]

"It might sound counter-intuitive at first that faster cyclists are safer cyclists, but the stats reveal that, in general, it’s true. So, if faster cyclists are safer cyclists, riding an e-bike is the safest way to cycle."

https://ebikebc.com/speed-differential-ebike-safety/

put some peddles on that n you will over take everything

 

[LeighPing]

"It might sound counter-intuitive at first that faster cyclists are safer cyclists, but the stats reveal that, in general, it’s true. So, if faster cyclists are safer cyclists, riding an e-bike is the safest way to cycle."

https://ebikebc.com/speed-differential-ebike-safety/

I agree. I wrote this statement a while back, in response to a debate on a regular bike forum. I also said that ebikes were safer.

"An important point for consideration is that ebikes in general actually bring about many safety advantages due to their differing riding style when compared to regular bikes. That riding style is brought about through the motor support and weight which increases average speed while reducing peak speeds.

Often strong, fast, regular bike riding brings about an inevitable fatigue that decreases spatial awareness of the riders surroundings. After a time, lots of 'head down' or 'up off the seat' riding effort eventually brings about a tunnel vision effect. This is particularly the case when continually attempting to gain speed just before an oncoming uphill gradient. Or, when carrying your hard earned speed acquired through a blind bend.

With ebikes, gaining or losing speed is no longer an issue. Rider reaction is improved through not experiencing as much physical fatigue, or overly strenuous riding to gain that speed, or to achieve uphill range speed. No speed or gradient penalties are gained through stop, start braking and acceleration on an ebike. They change the need to rush to get ahead, and on a heavy ebike the brakes need to be good at all times. There's no getting away with that.

Fitness isn't an issue on an ebike. So reading the road further ahead becomes possible and, after a while, second nature. There's no comparable wobble effect brought about by slow uphill struggles, and therefore spatial awareness is enhanced. There's also no longer a need to take the most linear, easiest path of least resistance. You can take the harder path without risk.

All these positive ebiking attributes generally make ebiking a much safer experience all round.

And, if all else fails, there's always the walk mode. "

 

[flecc]

"It might sound counter-intuitive at first that faster cyclists are safer cyclists, but the stats reveal that, in general, it’s true. So, if faster cyclists are safer cyclists, riding an e-bike is the safest way to cycle."

https://ebikebc.com/speed-differential-ebike-safety/

I've no idea what they are doing in Toronto, but this clearly isn't true this side of the pond. One of the most common collisions here is cars pulling out or turning across cyclist paths, the drivers having not seen the cyclists. At 12 mph or less the cyclist can stop or doesn't have a severe collision having slowed, but at 20 or more they go over the bars and often get badly hurt. That's happened to many of our members.

And the countries with the lowest cycling accident rates like the Netherlands and Denmark have the slowest common cycling speeds.

I don't buy the argument that speed matching reduces accidents. Few cyclists can exceed 20 mph all the time but vehicle drivers almost always do by big margins, commonly 10 to 20 mph faster, even in town.
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