e-Bikes – Let’s talk

[eBikeDude]

I see a number of pros and cons to e-bikes, and I’d like to get a conversation going on that topic. Any other e-Bike users out there? What do you like about it? Anyone with concerns about e-Bikes? Let’s hear from you too! Please be nice, though!

Topic

[lordofthemark]

“We need more juice up the hill Scotty” “I’m trying Captain, but the engines can’t take anymore!”

[komorebi]

Someone should challenge Captain Kirk to ride Fast Friendly Guy’s Strava art of the USS Enterprise.

[buschwacker]

@Dewey 187853 wrote:

Wyoming legislature approves 3-class ebike law, signed by governor Gordon becoming the 12th state to do so.

Maryland has introduced ebike legislation this year: HB 939 (sponsor delegate Cassilly (R) Cecil & Harford Counties) and SB 935 (sponsor senator Waldstreicher (D) Montgomery County) with a potential effective date of October 1, 2019, would enact the 3-class system, raise the power limit from 500w to 750w in line with the other states, and permit Class 1 and 2 ebikes everywhere a bicycle may ride, Class 3 ebikes would be prohibited from bike paths unless on or adjacent to a highway. The proposed law would permit localities to prohibit Class 1 and 2 ebikes from bike paths, unclear how/if that changes anything on bike paths already signposted ‘no motorized vehicles’.

Looks like the MD bill was passed and signed into law: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?pid=billpage&stab=01&id=HB0939&tab=subject3&ys=2019rs

[Dewey]

Arlington ebike trail ban next, come on DES you promised Bill Shatner!

[dasgeh]

@Dewey 189835 wrote:

Arlington ebike trail ban next, come on DES you promised Bill Shatner!

Sounds like it’ll be part of the package sent to the Board related to dockless. I believe staff is aiming to get the package to the Board in October for a November vote.

[Dewey]

Fame at last! After reading the first part of the tweet my wife giggled as my rig was photographed while I was taking our 3 year old daughter to dance class, I shall take this as confirmation I look utterly exhausted and ancient. It’s all good because I agree with the sentiment, ebikes make it possible for me to run errands, go places, tow a trailer, ride a bike with my family, while running on caffeine and interrupted sleep.

[lordofthemark]

https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3mm040km

Evidence from a variety of research studies indicates that e-bicycling, more so than conventional bicycling, substitutes for car travel.

[Dewey]

The WashCycle blog is reporting among recent legislation proposed by DC Council member Mary Cheh is a revision to the 2016 Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act (MVCRA) to extend its legal protections to riders of ebikes and escooters involved in collisions with motor vehicles in the District of Columbia. The law applied a 51% “comparative negligence” standard in civil cases enabling cyclists and pedestrians to pursue compensation for 100% of medical expenses and property damage if they are no more than 50% at fault in causing a crash with a motor vehicle. As originally written the MVCRA protected pedestrians, pedal cyclists, and “non-motorized” public road users…plus riders of segways(?) The proposed revision, titled “Vulnerable User Collision Recovery Amendment Act Of 2019“, will extend the protections to riders of ebikes and escooters. In the DC region Virginia and Maryland still maintain the contributory negligence standard, Source: https://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/COMPARATIVE-FAULT-SYSTEMS-CHART.pdf

[Dewey]

The WashCycle and GGW blogs are reporting the District of Columbia is considering revising its ebike and escooter laws. The “Electric Mobility Devices Amendment Act of 2019” would redefine Motorized Bicycles (Class 1 and 2 ebikes) as a Battery Assisted Bicycle further defining them plus escooters as types of Electric Mobility Device. The biggest changes would be to permit EMD’s (including Class 1 and 2 ebikes and escooters) to ride on sidewalks outside the Central Business District.

On a related note, BRAIN is reporting the pace has picked up for states adopting the BPSA/People for Bikes 3-class model ebike legislation with 22 states now signed up including Maryland.

[secstate]

Spotted this e-modded Long Haul Trucker outside the Library of Congress today.

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[Oldtowner]

So today on the MVT I see a kid about 10 years old on an e-bike with a sign on it that says “Rent me.” He was doing at least 20 mph with no pedaling at all, all throttle. No adults in tow. What could go wrong?

Separately, I was talking to a Swiss visitor who told me there has been a big problem with e-bike accidents and injuries in Switzerland. So I went to look that up and found a study saying that 17% of Swiss ebike riders have experienced a single-vehicle accident, which seems like a lot. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000145751830174X

Ebikes are here to stay, but the trails are going a little more dangerous with them.

[KWL]

@secstate 192116 wrote:

Spotted this e-modded Long Haul Trucker outside the Library of Congress today.

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I can see that rear wheel with the motor disappearing real fast. Maybe the frame pump as well.

[LhasaCM]

@Oldtowner 192120 wrote:

Separately, I was talking to a Swiss visitor who told me there has been a big problem with e-bike accidents and injuries in Switzerland. So I went to look that up and found a study saying that 17% of Swiss ebike riders have experienced a single-vehicle accident, which seems like a lot. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000145751830174X

That doesn’t sound terribly high to me and strikes me as an attempt to scare people unnecessarily. I wonder: what percentage of non e-bike riders have had a “single-vehicle accident” in their lifetime?

For a completely unscientific but relatable counterpoint: we had 20 individuals submit entries during FS2019 for the London Bridge pointless prize. That’s 10% of that particular population in just one single almost 3 month period. Also: the Swiss study included “loss of balance (mostly related to low speed)” as a type of accident, so that would also cover anyone who hasn’t been able to unclip when stopping and fell over at least once in their lives.

[Steve O]

@KWL 192121 wrote:

I can see that rear wheel with the motor disappearing real fast. Maybe the frame pump as well.

I don’t know. I’ve had a pump mounted on my bike for at least 15 years (not the same one) and no one has ever taken it.

[ChristoB50]

@LhasaCM 192123 wrote:

Also: the Swiss study included “loss of balance (mostly related to low speed)” as a type of accident, so that would also cover anyone who hasn’t been able to unclip when stopping and fell over at least once in their lives.

So I’m not the only one who did that? Phew!
(Though sadly, my fall didn’t involve actual clips — it was those over-the-toe cage/strap things! Oh, the humiliation! Thinking back, that incident may in fact have been the very last bike ride I ever made, for the next 25 years…)

[Author]

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