It varies according to where, but primarily trying to encourage any form of cycling came first, e-bikes just tacking on so allowed to be just considered just bikes, subject to some restrictions.
In Britain where we'd long had assist petrol motors they were treated as motorcycles in every respect. Pass a m/c driving test with your bicycle and 25cc engine in the rear wheel, then throw away the L plates and jump onto a 125 mph Vincent Black Shadow, a bit silly of course.
Then in the early 1980s a couple of e-bikes were made here, both somewhat weak and one using a truck wiper motor with two 12 volt lead acids to give the 24 volts. The makers protested that the need to be classed as a motorcycle was ridiculous so the first EAPC law was introduced by the DfT. Obviously cautious at first, the assist limit was 12 mph and the power limit a strict 200 watts, measured according to BS 1727. T here was no pedelec insistence so throttles could be used Later there were two speed changes (15 mph, 15.5 mph) to conform more closely to the EU regulation.
In Japan they created a pedelec (no throttle) regulation very similar to today's EU one but with the power gradation more strictly controlled, maximum power only appearing up to 15 kph (just under 10 mph) and then phasing down to zero at 25 kph (15.5 mph) which was their assist limit. The reason for that is that pavement cycling is encouraged there and even enforced by law in many urban areas to separate bikes from cars. But the maximum cycling speed allowed on the pavements there is about 8 mph and most Japanese cycling is very slow, even slower than the Dutch.
The EU adopted the Japanese regulation but without the strict early phase down of power, and that has now become a de facto world standard followed by nearly all countries.
.
I disagree to some extent, since there is a direct connection between the rider input and therefore control in unpowered cycling. That isn't always true under all conditions with assisted cycling.
If cycling was being invented now there probably would be a speed limit, indeed there is in places even in Britain. However cycling crept up on the authorities and before they'd woken up we had cycle road racing and bikes flying down hills at whatever speed they could reach. Added to that such a law is unenforceable, they've decided to leave that form of suicide legal.
.
I hardly think cycling 'crept up' on the authorities! Took them a long time to wake up too - it wasn't until the 1940s that we had massed start road racing.
see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_League_of_Racing_Cyclists
How would you implement that? Cycling tests for everyone? It would be a barrier to cycling. Much more sensible would be restrict all e-bikes when manufactured and then have some kind of higher bar that those who wanted the superior performance of an unrestricted machine could meet. Why should I be penalised because you want assistance above 15mph?
I'm not suggesting you should - just trying to reply to the earlier post referring to 'older heavier riders'
Stop digging mate, they don't want to understand your point of view. I think it's a game.
Cycling doesn't only happen in Britain! Indeed it hardly happens at all here compared with some other countries. Road racing was happening long before the 1940s, the Tour de France in 1903 for example, and the the 1930s UCI ban on recumbents in races.
Britain has long been backwards in cycling, the ban on road racing you mention being but one example. The collapse in cycling in the 1960s and '70s and the way it's never properly recovered since being others.
.
As has repeatedy been pointed out to folk wanting assistance above 15.5mph to 28mph there are already Speed Pedelecs, or the dubious Soundwave way of simply ignoring the law & bypassing to suit their wants.
Yes S-pedelecs don't have dropped handlebars (when there's really no need) - they then best petition the manufactures to address this omission, or mod it themselves if it is so essential for style over function.
www.pedelecs.co.uk
Problem solved & everybody happy.
Yes S-pedelecs don't have dropped handlebars (when there's really no need) - they then best petition the manufactures to address this omission, or mod it themselves if it is so essential for style over function.
mods (e.g. drop bars) for more aero ride position?
Does anyone know how hard would it be to modify or change flat/riser handlebars (e.g. for drops) to allow a lower & more aerodynamic riding position, while using a 'thumb' throttle in that position? Is it absolutely necessary to change the brake levers for drop bars as I've read, for...
www.pedelecs.co.uk
Problem solved & everybody happy.
Are you sure that's wise posting your mug & set up on a public forum ...
Yes many do, theres a lot of them in road bike style and down around 14 to 16 kilos in some cases. The first were appearing nearly a decade ago.
Information link
.
Last edited:
I hope it doesn't move about faster than 15.5mph!nope it is long gone anyway it moves about
I know that - I should have said 'it wasn't until the 1940s that we had massed start road racing in the UK'. You could of course argue that in recent years GB track and road riders have been more successful and better known by the general public than they ever have been.
So if we agree that assisted bicycles encourage more cycling, do we also agree that Environmental considerations are higher now, than in the 1980s - Air pollution caused by the massive increase in car usage, congestion etc.
Also that with the spreading on the 20mph limit for urban areas it makes sense to consider altering the assist limit so that its the same as the urban speed limit - purely to encourage as many car drivers to switch, as its the same top speed, but total urban journey time likely to be shorter (cycle lanes etc), daily moderate exercise to fight the obesity crisis, reduced costs for the journey, reduced wear & tear on roads, reduced total energy production required (how many hundred ebikes can be powered by one Tesla?) etc
Speed of a pedelec is still way above average city traffic speeds
Average driving speeds plummet in UK’s major cities
Driving speeds in some of the UK’s major cities has fallen by up to 20% over the last year, as traffic volumes rise. The study by In-car Cleverness ana
fleetworld.co.uk
Faster over hill & dale and more tuneable than any pedelec, and it comes with pedals! Appreciating in value as a bonus.
Get a '75 un and it'll be Tax and Mot Exempt....
Get a '75 un and it'll be Tax and Mot Exempt....
race class ebikes can go 75kph if you got 16k spare changeFaster over hill & dale and more tuneable than any pedelec, and it comes with pedals! Appreciating in value as a bonus.
Get a '75 un and it'll be Tax and Mot Excempt....
wonder when these will come out pmsl.
D
Deleted member 25121
Guest
Following the (il)logic of some on here I've come to the conclusion that the motorway speed limit should be set at 150mph because my car can do that speed and I'm an expert at driving at that speed. The 70mph limit was set in the times when cars and drivers were struggling at that speed and technology has moved on since then.
Last edited:
Related Articles
-
MTF Enterprises announces acquisition of EMU Electric Bikes- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Wisper 806T folding bike wins Which? ‘Best Buy’- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Sustrans calls for protected cycle lanes- Started by: Pedelecs
-
Amazon launch their first UK e-cargo micromobility hub- Started by: Pedelecs
