some e bikes on bay are 500 watt motors and they say they can be switched to 15,5 mph mode for legal use on the road , is that true or not thanks
e bikes on ebay
- Thread starter wayne howarth
- Start date
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Deleted member 4366
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It's true that they can be switched, but in 250w mode, they're dreadful. They're not suitable for running at low speed with low power. You get all the disadvantages and no advantages. Also, IMHO they're just as illegal whichever mode you have them in, though we'll never know whether I'm right until the police prosecute someone and it goes to court. Until now we've never seen anybody prosecuted for using an illegal bike despite there be rather a lot of them.
so i could get away with it cos it does have a 250 watt motor switch for road use , why are they dreadful in low power mode
D
Deleted member 4366
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A 500w motor is not a 250w motor. it can only be one or the other!
unless you tell us what you want to do with it and how fast you want to go, we can't help other than to say avoid it like the plague if you want a legal bike.
unless you tell us what you want to do with it and how fast you want to go, we can't help other than to say avoid it like the plague if you want a legal bike.
i want a bike that can be in 250 watt legal mode on road but then fast and fun off road , the ebay adds say they can just be that , so all i am asking will i get away with it if i use it on the road
I have one that I occasionally use for off roading, and I say get yourself a good 250w. Some can be tweaked to go slightly faster when off road. Research those.
Here's my two 250w bikes going around the park.
More vids of my other bikes being ridden. Here;-
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/e-joring.24106/page-5
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D
Deleted member 4366
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It'll go a lot better than that Ebay kit above - especially if you put in the secret code.
Just to be clear... if its got a switch, its illegal on and off road.
Also, the law is clear on and offroad is the same.
if you want to use anything more than 250w rated motors anywhere you need private land with no public access, this can of course be on or offroad.
D
Deleted member 4366
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D
Deleted member 4366
Guest
We've had a lot of those sort of stories, but not one has turned out to be true so far. People invent them for some reason. I'm pretty sure that if it happened, we'd know about it. Ask him for details so that we can investigate.
Edit: Google shows nothing. That story is fiction.
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People have done jail time for being involved in accidents whilst riding bikes illegally, or illegal bikes (depending how you want to look at it).. its just not been an eBike yet (that I'm aware of).
Plenty of urban myths true. He didn't stock the Stromer..could be a pointer I guess...
We should consider why ebikes are less likely to be involved in accidents?
On serviceable, roadworthy bikes, speed isn't a crime. Although, it's not just the speed that is contributory in an accident. I believe that it's the differing riding style that's a big factor in keeping ebikers safer.
In this video an ebike is just about keeping up with a skinny tyred non ebike, doing around 20 plus mph. Some racers can trap along at 40 plus! Was he ready for the dog @ 0:55 seconds? Regular bikers don't like to lose their hard earned speed. Evidently ebikers can react better at 20 mph because of this differing riding ethic. Focus isn't lost. Braking distance is shorter, slow down is instantaneous when you stop pedaling. Cut out occurs when you touch the brakes. This, you all know.
@ 01:12 the ebiker takes the harder path for safety reasons. Regular bikers don't generally go off piste like that. Ebike riding is a different ball game entirely, and much safer. Particularly at higher, moderate speeds. As the rider doesn't need to be always looking for the path of least resistance. A path that is sometimes nearer to a pedestrian, or other perceived risk, than it needs to be with an ebike.
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What makes you think they are less likely to be involved in accidents? We don't have anything to prove of disprove this... because.
a) we don't know what % of normal bikes are involved in accidents, or
b) what % of eBikes are involved in accidents.
currently there are less eBike accidents, because there are less eBikes. That's the only thing we know.
The fact there will be a serious accident involving an eBike is inevitable.
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