Is this the bike for you?

[indalo]

I'm sure regular readers will recognise straight away which trade member gave birth to the attached, now for sale on ebay.

The seller explains that he was banned from driving 3 years ago which caused him to buy his first ebike. He rapidly moved on to this illegal machine.....(yes, I'm sure he only uses it with permission on private land!) so I have a very firm opinion about the kind of person he, or she!...is.

No doubt the machine will find favour among any selfish and unscrupulous people out there with no morals, no ethics and no taste but I'm certain no decent, law-abiding citizen would dream of owning or riding such a stupid, pointless bicycle.

Frankly, I think it's about time the authorities clamped down on these dangerous machines and prosecuted those who choose to purvey them. Having said that, surely the only people who would pay the asking price for such contraptions must be complete idiots?


Electric bike 1500watts 48 volts on each wheel 2 wheel drive 45+mph | eBay


Indalo

 

[amigafan2003]

Is this the bike for you?

No, it's too slow

Frankly, I think it's about time the authorities clamped down on these dangerous machines

I don't think they really care as long as no one crashes them

surely the only people who would pay the asking price for such contraptions must be complete idiots?

Don't hold back Indalo - never be afraid to say what you're really thinking - common decency and courtesy be damned!

 

[KirstinS]

Oh give it a rest Indalo

 

[SportRider]

No doubt the machine will find favour among any selfish and unscrupulous people out there with no morals, no ethics and no taste but I'm certain no decent, law-abiding citizen would dream of owning or riding such a stupid, pointless bicycle.

...having said that, surely the only people who would pay the asking price for such contraptions must be complete idiots?

Who the hell gave you the power of judgement of people you have never met?

And, as an extremely satisfied owner of a Xipi, I resent being classed as "selfish and unscrupulous" with "no morals, no ethics and no taste".

Frankly, I find your attitude offensive to the extreme. I joined this forum recently to reap the rewards of its accumulated knowledge, and to hopefully contribute in kind - not to read the spiteful and unjustified ravings of a self-appointed god of all things 'moral' and 'ethical'.

And before you kick off about the "illegal" nature of my bike, those on this forum who know me and where I live will testify to the reason I bought it, i.e., for having some fun off-road. Not that I feel in any way that I need to justify myself or my actions to someone like you.

 

[jerrysimon]

Someone pass me the popcorn

Jerry

 

[Lynne]

No this is not the bike I'm looking for.....I want to pedal with assisstance sometimes....which is what I thought a pedelec is.

 

[jazper53]

Pedaling can be optional, nothing wrong with having the choice too choose. despite the Holier-than-thou brigade.

ps love the bike and the power available....sod the law and the Lawmakers.

 

[flecc]

No this is not the bike I'm looking for.....I want to pedal with assisstance sometimes....which is what I thought a pedelec is.

Hi Lynne. Pedelec actually means no power unless pedalling, the alternative being a throttle control that can operate without pedalling. The latter used to be defined as an e-bike, i.e. electric bike as opposed to electric-assist-only bike, but e-bike has come to be used for all, confusing the issue.

 

[sdrio]

Does sort of go against the spirit of a driving ban, bearing in mind it'll make toast of most mopeds.

 

[mike killay]

The reason why many of us are totally opposed to these sort of machines is that sooner or later, we, the law abiding will suffer.
As a Boy Scout, I happily carried a 6 inch sheath knife and no-one at all minded.
Now, thanks to the actions of the scofflaws, I even have to be careful about carrying my sailing knife whenever I get out of the boat.

 

[Tinker]

My disability means that although I can move the pedals around most of the time I couldn't actually ride without electric assistance. However I would love to try this bike but to be honest I'm happy with 15mph but if I could do it uphill

 

[JuicyBike]

It's frustrating these machines are so easily available. They risk undoing all the good work and campaigning that takes place by and on behalf of cyclists, to make roads safer. Speed kills. That's the long and the short of it. These things stick out like sore thumbs and tar all e-bikers with the same reputation for irresponsibility, building resentment amongst cyclists and legal road users. That's only my opinion of course, and if you feel it is holier than thou's, you may keep that to yourself.

 

[jackhandy]

These things stick out like sore thumbs and tar all e-bikers with the same reputation for irresponsibility, building resentment amongst cyclists and legal road users.

You're quite right, of course & I'm more than happy to get a bit of a boost up the local hills......

But it does look like fun, doesn't it?

 

[Scimitar]

It's frustrating these machines are so easily available. They risk undoing all the good work and campaigning that takes place by and on behalf of cyclists, to make roads safer. Speed kills. That's the long and the short of it. These things stick out like sore thumbs and tar all e-bikers with the same reputation for irresponsibility, building resentment amongst cyclists and legal road users. That's only my opinion of course, and if you feel it is holier than thou's, you may keep that to yourself.

But speed, in and of itself, doesn't kill.
I mean, you don't suddenly die if you go above 25mph, do you?
Now, inappropriate speed can kill - just ask any traffic copper. They've seen it all, in all shades of gory red. But you'll hardly find one that says, in a blanket fashion, "Speed kills", because they know it's not actually true.
It's just a shorthand for the lazy of thought.

 

[mike killay]

And 40 mph on a bike only fitted with cycling components is inappropriate.
(Don't tell me about racing cyclists hitting 50+. These bikes might be bought by Mr 'I don't understand mechanical things' or Mr 'I haven't ridden a bike for ages') Cycle components are quite inferior to motorcycle components.

 

[JuicyBike]

The RST Gila forks on that bike are not designed to go at that speed with that weight of bike. Imagine the outcome of the forks snapping in a pothole at 40mph. Different to the outcome of the same forks surviving the same pothole at 20mph at which speed death is much less likely.

We make road legal electric scooters that are tested for conformity and built within carefully calculated safety limits ensuring the motorbike is safe to ride at its higher speeds.

The frame is strong, the brakes are big, the tyres appropriate, shock absorbers easily able to cope with the conditions and forces they are likely to encounter. They are properly designed and manufactured, predictably safe to ride and can be traded legally. Young people ride them with the knowledge that they are safe to ride given the proper training and the driving tests the state dictates as necessary to be safe and competent on the road. Safe as can be for the rider, and safe towards other road users.

These illegal bikes are not safe, circumvent the laws and put riders and other road users at risk.

When you turn and look and see one hurtling towards you as you step out into the road without hearing it coming, maybe then you will wonder if it will brake in time...

 

[Scimitar]

Usual knee-jerk nonsense. I resent the implication that everyone who has a clue will use shoddy components. I'm happy enough with my 26mph and if I were to got at 40mph, I'm sure as shift not going to use standard bicycle parts.
Really, do you think everyone who puts a e-bike together is clueless?
Cop yourself on.

 

[jazper53]

I think these type of bikes will start a trend, much like the cafe-racer were to motorcycles in the 60s, despite the present restrictive laws and remonstrations of traders etc, the diy e-bike will have a direction leaning to what people really want. rather than whats presently available

 

[JuicyBike]

Dave, what I do know is that a legal motorbike has to prove it is safe. I don't doubt that some illegal bikes are built properly. But how does Joe Public tell which are safe and which are not?

 

[mike killay]

Usual knee-jerk nonsense. I resent the implication that everyone who has a clue will use shoddy components. I'm happy enough with my 26mph and if I were to got at 40mph, I'm sure as shift not going to use standard bicycle parts.
Really, do you think everyone who puts a e-bike together is clueless?
Cop yourself on.

Nobody is saying that you cannot have and ride one. Just get it VOSA tested, registered, taxed, properly insured, and have a driving licence.