Is 28mph too fast for a pedelec?

[flecc]

It was just a thought that could be valid in daylight. As I said though, complexities, so there could be no glaring headlight at night, just a softer down light.

As things stand not a practical idea, but possibly a principle that could have it's uses for cyclists in certain circumstances.

Of course here in London we have cycle couriers who ride anyhow and anywhere, including the wrong side of the road.
.

 

[Topdonkey]

I'm very new to electric cycling and although I've covered tens of thousands of miles in my youth on human powered mountain bikes, this is my first electric bike and I am thinking that 750watts is too much power for my carerra hellcat, although its full suspension, its quite old (1995) and the brakes aren't up to the job at all and the suspension isn't coping with the speed the bumps come up at and it feels a bit too flexible, needs a much stiffer frame too I think.

So on that note, if you had £1300 to spend on a second hand bike to fit a 750w bbs02, what would people choose as the ultimate bike to convert to electric ? I'm thinking a specialised camber 29er ? What does anyone else think ?

 

[Kudoscycles]

Are you good enough to react to a car door opening 10ft in front of you?
Are your brakes good enough to stop when a dog or kiddie runs in front on a slippy road?
Do you tailgate the car in front at 28mph and can stop like a car?
I suspect it is horses for courses,on a wide straight road its probably ok,in London or any big city,its likely you will have a serious prang inside a year.
Sigma Sport is next to us,good business for them repairing light sports bikes,yes sir new front wheel and forks,we had to dig the blood out of the brake lever-no charge there,that will be £1600 sir....oh you dont want it back,lost our bottle have we sir,we'll keep it for you once the hospital give you the all clear,its very good business in London, bikes at 28mph.
KudosDave

 

[the_killjoy]

It's not just about the total weight of the bike as to whether the e bike is as safe as a light weight racer with a heavier rider, it is also about the ratio of sprung to unsprung weight. The heavier e bike is just not as manoeuvrable.

 

[2Lazy]

Cycling on my local cyclepaths on an unassisted bike I usually travel at between 8 and 15mph. For an assisted bike I think 15mph max speed feels about right as I would in any case often have to slow down for blind corners, pedestrians, kids and dogs etc. There is the occasional short straight stretch where with good visibility and no pedestrains slightly faster speeds might be safe, say 17 to 20mph, but 10 to 15mph is about right for the most part.

For on road use I think our American cousins have hit the sweet spot with 20mph/750w. The EU 15mph/250w limit I think is perhaps a little too restrictive. A higher power motor would of course allow for more torque which in my limited experience with ebikes seems to be much more important than top speed. I used to ride a Vespa scooter in London where because of traffic I rarely got above 25 to 30mph and yet I often felt very vulnerable and that was with full leathers and crash helmet. I certainly wouldn't feel safe cycling at those speeds.

 

[Artstu]

It's not just about the total weight of the bike as to whether the e bike is as safe as a light weight racer with a heavier rider, it is also about the ratio of sprung to unsprung weight. The heavier e bike is just not as manoeuvrable.

That would only apply to a suspension bike, with a hub motor replacing a normal hub.

 

[the_killjoy]

I would class the rider as sprung weight when it comes to maneuverability.

 

[mike killay]

15mph is fine for me.
living in Wales, I am far more interested in climbing ability and would like to see 750 watts

 

[oldtom]

15mph is fine for me.

I agree Mike. 15 mph is not a bad pace for leisure or utility cycling, even a bit less if I'm honest.

As for hills, I find any decent 250 watt motor in a fairly light bike from the major suppliers provides enough oomph coupled with a bit of human input gets me up most hills. If, in years to come, I find the hills unmanageable, I shall resort to a moped.

Tom

 

[rippedupno1]

I have been following this thread with interest as I come from the position of having two s-pedelecs a BS10 and a BBS02 equipped Mosso 29er and my answer to the OP's original question is no......with provisos.... Firstly there is no substitute for common sense, just because you have a bike that will do 28mph doesn't mean you have to ,racing through a built up area at rush hour @28 mph is asking for trouble and even if you are using a cycle lane on the road, undertaking cars at that sort of speed is madness given the possibility of cars making a left turn. Most of my training runs are on a route 2/3 rds of which pass through a large quiet industrial estate and my average speed is just over 20 mph, however when I do rides that take in the busy "normal "roads my average is 15 mph or less ,in other words you ride to the prevailing traffic conditions. At the weekend when I use the Mosso down at the lodge I sometimes do a lovely 7 mile section of gently undulating dual carriageway that lots of roadies use for time trailing and my average speed will be up above 26 mph but this is perfectly safe and I would say appropriate place to do such a speed.
My biggest provisos would be is your 28 mph bike equipped for those assist speeds ,ie, tyres and brakes, brakes being for me the main thing, I would not consider an s-pedelec that didn't have hydraulic disc brakes, in fact I would go further and say having experienced hydraulic disc brakes I wouldn't want to buy any bike without them an example of which is that I regularly go to Lanzerote and hire a BH sport plus ( a legal Panasonic crank drive ) lightweight 17kg ,carbon forks etc and rim brakes......scary is the word only just about adequate for 15.5 mph .Whilst I was there in February I was on my usual training run from from Peurto del Carmen to Arrecife and back ,a 15 mile run on basically flat dedicated dual cycle path , I was about 1 mile into the return journey when I was overtaken by an full lycra , including proper aero helmet on a beautiful time trail bike he gave me the thumbs up and I thought I wonder .....so I accelerated up to just over 25 mph (way over the assist speed) and set off in pursuit......yeah right....he left me for dead and I mean for dead ....gone ....within half a mile I couldn't even see the guy! but I cannot tell you how scary it was even on an empty cycle path doing those speeds with rim bakes .I managed to hold my speed for a further 5 miles or so and who should I see pulled over at the side of the road having a drink but the said lycra, I stopped to chat to him ,nice guy, a pro cyclist for the Movistar team doing his winter training in Lanzerote , he showed me on strava he had averaged 31.7 mph over the last section , in his words fairly steady ! lol. I asked him how he gets on at that sort of speed with his rim brakes and he shrugged his shoulders and said he hoped for the best and that crashing was an occupational hazard, rather him than me.
To sum up I would say that 28 mph for a correctly equipped s-pedelec is acceptable providing the speed is used when it is safe and appropriate to do so.
PS. Iam fully aware that it is illegal for this level of assist speed under current legislation , I was merely commenting on the OP's question not on the rights or wrongs of the legal position.
Cheers Gaz.

 

[Artstu]

Yesterday whilst riding my e-bike, I had to work very hard above the cut-off speed to stay ahead of an 8 year old girl riding her little bike on a slight downhill section, I would have found it much easier on my ordinary bike.
All this talk of standard e-bikes being fast enough is amusing to me, even more amusing would be watching an 8 year old girl actually leaving a group of e-bikers in her wake.

 

[flecc]

All this talk of standard e-bikes being fast enough is amusing to me, even more amusing would be watching an 8 year old girl actually leaving a group of e-bikers in her wake.

But beating 8 year old girls probably wasn't in the minds of the legislators.

The purpose of allowing some assistance has always been clear, it's for utility cyclists who need assistance. Predominantly those utility cyclists in the main cycling countries of The Netherlands and Germany ride below 25 kph (15.6 mph).

At the time the laws were written, the UK was an irrelevance having little cycling and almost no utility cycling. The only cycling in evidence was sporting, mountain bikes and lycra ridden road sport bikes, clearly not riders in urgent need of assistance.

And that's the point that the enthusiasts in this forum don't seem to grasp, there's never been any intention to provide assistance to bicycles for those who can hurtle around at 20 mph or more without help.

However the authorities do make provisions to suit those wanting more, subject to some degree of motor vehicle bureacracy. For those needing only more power, there's the low power moped class for powered bicycles allowing up to 1000 watts. For those who want more speed with the option of more power as well, there's the S class if a national government feels it suitable. Ours in the UK does not at present, but it is spreading, now in Germany and The Netherlands and shortly due in France.
.

 

[Gringo]

Yesterday whilst riding my e-bike, I had to work very hard above the cut-off speed to stay ahead of an 8 year old girl riding her little bike on a slight downhill section, I would have found it much easier on my ordinary bike.
All this talk of standard e-bikes being fast enough is amusing to me, even more amusing would be watching an 8 year old girl actually leaving a group of e-bikers in her wake.

Several point here, first up if it so important for you to be in front all the time, perhaps you should ride your "ordinary" bike more often and get fit.
Secondly, how do you know how old the girl was and why was she chasing you in the first place did you nick her sweets

Oh yes back on topic.
IMO Yes 28mph is to fast for a vehicle that can and probably will be used on shared cycle paths.
Irrespective of what's "legal" if the bike is capable of & built to cope with those speeds, fair enough but it should only be used in appropriate places, roads & byways

 

[Artstu]

Several point here, first up if it so important for you to be in front all the time, perhaps you should ride your "ordinary" bike more often and get fit.
Secondly, how do you know how old the girl was and why was she chasing you in the first place did you nick her sweets

She was racing her older brother, who I was trying to keep up with, hmm perhaps he had the sweets. ..

 

[flecc]

She was racing her older brother, who I was trying to keep up with, hmm perhaps he had the sweets. ..

I has a bunch of council estate kids race my Lafree once, but the only one who actually caught me and very gradually crept ahead of my hard pedalling 15 mph on the slight upslope was a little boy of no more than eight. He was on what we used to call a "fairy cycle", little wheels and very low geared, and his cadence was extraordinary, legs a blur.

To this day it staggers me that anyone at any age could spin that fast and still transmit power to pedals!
.

 

[Artstu]

I has a bunch of council estate kids race my Lafree once, but the only one who actually caught me and very gradually crept ahead of my hard pedalling 15 mph on the slight upslope was a little boy of no more than eight. He was on what we used to call a "fairy cycle", little wheels and very low geared, and his cadence was extraordinary, legs a blur.

To this day it staggers me that anyone at any age could spin that fast and still transmit power to pedals!
.

She had Fairy bike once. I did forget to omit that she's a bit handy on a bike, and when her gears aren't restricted for racing she has some respectfully big gears.

 

[EddiePJ]

Good photo Artstu, just hope they all continue into the future cycling.

The heavier e bike is just not as manoeuvrable.

Which is the main reason that I'm enjoying my peddle mtb so much.



.