Is It Safer Riding an Electric Bike?

[Deleted member 4366]

My disc is cable operated not hydraulic, so it's not up to the job?

I hope you never get in a situation where you get the answer to that question, and if you get in that situation, I hope the answer is yes.

I used to own a 200cc Honda with cheap commuter tyres. The front tyre wore out and I struggled to find a replacement. The only thing I was offered was a very expensive sticky short-life sports tyre, so I reluctantly excepted it as there was no alternative. About two days later,I was doing 60mph down a dual carriageway in the pouring rain, when a car pulled straight out on me. I can still remember thinking "I'm dead", but my sticky tyre gave enough grip to halve my normal braking distance, and managed to stop me in time. Somebody up above was definitely looking out for me. Before that, I was happy with my Teflon tyres that lasted nearly forever.

 

[Geebee]

Just a few observations re speed, brakes etc.
Most of my near misses wth cars have been the result of the under estimating my speed and turning in front of me!
Ebikes are defintately safer uphill, less low speed wobbles and less exhausted rider paying more attention.
Having ridden recumbent trikes all bicycle brakes are crap, now we have that out of the way
The limitation is the weight mostly moving to the front wheel, any GOOD V brake should be able to approach lockup any more braking can be a detriment to a non skilled cyclist, a mech disc brake can lock both wheels on demand in my experience, Shimano roller brakes are fine for flatter areas but struggle on really steep stuff.
Just my experience.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The problem with V brakes is not that they're able to approach lockup: They go straight past it and send you over the handlebars. A perfect example in this video inpost#14:
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/16141-4th-london-cyclist-killed-8-days-2.html#post198196

 

[Geebee]

I have never had an issue with V brakes not being easy to modulate, the only lockups I have had have been operator generated, I find disc's far more likely to lock up espesially when the adrenaline is flowing.

The video is a classic of panic braking, just squeeze as hard as you can instantly and the result was a 100% predictable. The rider was insane to put himself in such a situation.

 

[CoachMark]

coachmark, have you tried side byside hydraulic / cable disc / Vee?
Hydraulic brakes are fast acting, proportional and easily have twice the stopping power of cable disc brakes. I only need to squeeze a little to slow down the bike immediately, they re-assure me. Vee brakes have good stopping power but are inconsistent, difficult to control the amount of braking. I find that cable disc brakes are easy to control but less efficient than V-brakes.

Yes I have trex.

I was just saying that you don't need hydraulic brakes for speeds over 12mph. I totally accept that hydraulic disc brakes are the most powerful and much better than mechanical discs. However, personally I would sooner have v brakes than mechanical discs.

At the end of the day I think that rider perception is important and for a lot of riders that may well be happiest with hydraulic discs but you don't need them over 12mph.

 

[flecc]

The don't need or have disc brakes in the Tour de France at over 5 times 12mph downhill.

 

[D C]

I ride both types, a non-assisted Cube and a Kalkhoff Pro-Connect. I use both to commute along the same route which is a mixture of towns, rural 40 MPH A roads and country lanes. The type of bike you are riding makes absolutely no difference to safety. Safety comes from the bike rider. It's no one else's responsibility and it's certainly not anything to do with the legislators who imposed the 15 MPH max assist speed.

The bike rider has to take account of the constantly varying situation and part of the picture is the type of bike being ridden. The best safety mechanism is an ability to be self critical, to know when you have done something stupid, admit it to yourself, learn from it and don't do it again. There is always a danger of being wiped out by the reckless actions of someone else, even if you are totally in the right, but with good vigilance and good a perception ability (nurtured through self analysis), the probability of that happening is lowered. We, the cyclists, are our own biggest danger. We must take on the responsibility of mitigating the consequences of actions taken by fools. Morally this isn't right, but that's of no comfort when you have been squashed.

I think this post pretty much hits the nail on the head.
The only thing I would add is that in my opinion proper bike maintenance plays a far greater part than whether it be electric or unassisted.
I see far to many bikes in daily use with cracked or badly worn tyres, badly adjusted brakes and worn out brake shoes, loose steering, gears which don't engage properly causing the chain to slip suddenly, mudguards hanging loose which could slip into spokes, etc. A lot of these sadly being children's bikes where the parents seem to think that making them wear a helmet is all they need to do.
Maybe there should be an MOT for bikes but I don't know how it could be worked.