Fine for riding e-bikes on trails in DC?

Our Community Forums General Discussion Fine for riding e-bikes on trails in DC?

Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 110 total)
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  • #1012597
    dplasters
    Participant

    My concern with e-bikes is always the person who creates a bike at home that can go 30mph+…

    The legal e-bikes that are limited to 20mph should be allowed anywhere a regular old bike can go.

    #1012598
    hozn
    Participant

    @dplasters 97401 wrote:

    My concern with e-bikes is always the person who creates a bike at home that can go 30mph+…

    I have never encountered one of these; I don’t think this is a real problem. And plenty of [conventional bicycle] riders can go 30+ mph; just look at Tim’s KOMs! :)

    #1012608
    W Odie
    Participant

    @dplasters 97401 wrote:

    My concern with e-bikes is always the person who creates a bike at home that can go 30mph+…

    Has anyone encountered the dude with the electric-powered skateboard? Last year I saw him several times along the W&OD between Hunter Mill and Vienna (haven’t seen him this year). One time I was riding up the grade toward Vienna at about 18 mph and he overtook me at about 25 mph.

    His skateboard looked similar to this: Electric skateboard

    #1012621
    Oldtowner
    Participant

    I got passed by an e-bike on the MVT a while back, I was doing around 20 and he flew by me, definitely 25+. If e-bikes were limited to 20mph, I’d be fine with it, but faster than that could be a problem. With regular bikes most people at those speeds are reasonably experienced. With an e-bike who knows?

    BTW an old bitty on a cruiser yelled at me a couple of weeks ago for “speeding” on my panniered-up commuter on the MVT near the airport. Wasn’t doing more than 17 mph, but she thought I was a menace at that speed. It’s all relative, I guess.

    #1012622
    jabberwocky
    Participant

    @W & Odie 97412 wrote:

    Has anyone encountered the dude with the electric-powered skateboard? Last year I saw him several times along the W&OD between Hunter Mill and Vienna (haven’t seen him this year). One time I was riding up the grade toward Vienna at about 18 mph and he overtook me at about 25 mph.

    I’ve got one I built myself that I ride around Reston. Never been down towards Vienna on it. You might see me between 286 and Whiele occasionally (I run errands on it).

    25mph is awful fast on a skateboard. Mine tops out at 23 or so and I’ve only topped it out a handful of times. I mostly cruise at around 15mph. They don’t really have brakes. :)

    #1012627
    Harry Meatmotor
    Participant

    @Oldtowner 97425 wrote:

    It’s all relative, I guess.

    and generally inflated, imho. much like the n+1 rule, when cycling speeds are mentioned on the forum, they typically follow f(S) = s × 1.25, where f(S) is “Forum Speed” and s is actual speed.

    #1012631
    dkel
    Participant

    @jabberwocky 97426 wrote:

    25mph is awful fast on a skateboard. Mine tops out at 23 or so and I’ve only topped it out a handful of times. I mostly cruise at around 15mph. They don’t really have brakes. :)

    Sure they do. That’s why I keep having to buy new shoes for my 10 and 12 year old sons.

    #1012639
    baiskeli
    Participant

    @Crickey7 97377 wrote:

    As with the MVT, NPS “closed” the CCT last year at the DC line due to the government shutdown.

    Yet the GW Parkway was kept open for business, of course.

    #1012657
    arlrider
    Participant

    The problem is, as with so many legal questions, where is the line? On one end of the continuum you have these very basic e-bikes that people putter along on. But then on the other hand they are currently making electric motorcycles that exceed 100 mph. So where do you draw the distinction? Sure, it’s easy for a person to qualitatively say “Oh arlrider, you’re being silly, EVERYONE knows those aren’t the same!” But that’s not how regulations and laws work – there has to be a metric and the ability to enforce. Wattage, top speed, what? Do you put a speed limit on the trail and then require all conventional cyclists to have speedometers? Due to the can of worms that is opened up by doing otherwise, I am personally in favor of retaining language that says no “motorized” vehicles on trails.

    My other issue with e-bike cyclists (note, I have not voiced this on other forums so I’m not one of the aforementioned trolls) is that they tend from my experience to be people who have just jumped into this and have very low levels of situational awareness and motor control when on the bike. They have skipped the steps that most of us take, where we build power, conditioning, and control (over years, typically), and instead have just lept right to ELITE speeds but without any of the experience that accompanies it. So in that respect I often find them dangerous – fast moving, uncontrolled objects.

    #1012669
    jabberwocky
    Participant

    I think its probably proper that the law draws the line at motorized vehicles, but I’d never hassle anyone who was riding considerately. I’ve seen several people on e-bikes on the W&OD (actually chased someone from Vienna to Reston a few weeks ago) and I’ve never had an issue with them.

    I do think within the next few years this will become an issue. There are already commercial e-bikes that blur the line between motorcycle and bicycle. As the tech gets more popular and the prices drop, we will probably start seeing conflicts. I’d personally much rather see someone on an e-bike than in a car, but its also true that most MUPs just aren’t designed for motorized traffic. Guess we will see.

    #1012671
    arlrider
    Participant

    @jabberwocky 97475 wrote:

    I’d personally much rather see someone on an e-bike than in a car

    On an MUP? For certain!

    All joking aside, remember that string of drunken / clueless driver incursions onto the W&OD a couple years ago?

    #1012672
    dplasters
    Participant

    @hozn 97402 wrote:

    I have never encountered one of these; I don’t think this is a real problem. And plenty of [conventional bicycle] riders can go 30+ mph; just look at Tim’s KOMs! :)

    Article

    One MMM reader sent me a full description of the $3400 ebike he built from the ground up that easily does 35MPH and regularly rocks a 42 mile roundtrip commute in a hilly area with high winds.

    Have I encountered one? Nope. I think there are enough stories of what happens when a bike hits a pedestrian at high speeds to give cycling a bad enough name. Reaching those speeds requires a lot of fitness, effort and experience. Those three things typically combine to knowing that going 30mph on a MUP is a bad idea. Being able to easily reach that speed and beyond means you are less aware of how fast you are going and how dangerous it can be. It is similar to the problem with people speeding in cars. When you don’t have to work very hard to go faster.. you tend to go faster.

    I have no problem with people using frankenstein ebikes on the road for commuting. But I certainly have concerns about them being used in MUP/Trail. If you want to use an ebike limited to 20mph (which still allows your muscles to get it going faster than that) I’m all for it. Let me know how fast you can move a 50 lbs bike above 20mph. If your bike can do 35 mph with a turn of the wrist then get on the road and off the path. No one is advocating for gas powered scooters on the MUPs even though many are limited to low speeds to avoid some of the new regulations.

    As an aside:

    If a moped is operated in excess of 35 mph, it is considered a motorcycle.

    three wheels or less plus motor plus 35mph = motorcycle in VA these days. better get your registration and plates.

    #1012673
    Raymo853
    Participant

    @jabberwocky 97475 wrote:

    I do think within the next few years this will become an issue. There are already commercial e-bikes that blur the line between motorcycle and bicycle. As the tech gets more popular and the prices drop, we will probably start seeing conflicts.

    I can only imagine how common place e-bikes will become over the next decade. The batteries will get lighter, the ranges longer, the motors more powerful, prices will drop and I assume gas prices and car access tolls will be much higher.

    As primarily a mountain biker, I dread what physical and regulatory impact they will have on trails and trail access. I would never consider one now at 43 3/4, but maybe in 10 years I’ll want one so I can still climb some of the nutty things I can just barely climb now.

    #1012674
    Tim Kelley
    Participant

    @Raymo853 97479 wrote:

    I would never consider one now at 43 3/4, but maybe in 10 years I’ll want one so I can still climb some of the nutty things I can just barely climb now.

    Sounds like a great way to tear up and ruin a trail if it’s not used properly…

    #1012677
    dplasters
    Participant

    Does anyone know of someone who uses an e-assist recumbent? Around 7pm on Friday my wife and I saw a guy going nearly full traffic speed down Lee Highway in Fairfax where the speed limit is 40mph. He had lights everywhere and was towing a cargo bed too.

    Mad props to him.

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