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@Dewey 183285 wrote:

POI I understand 750w is 1hp source: https://www.cpsc.gov/PageFiles/93295/low.pdf

You’re right – I thought Google told me 1000W = 1 hp, but that’s not true either. Thanks for the correction.

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@n18 183216 wrote:

Here is what I suggest for E-Bikes: All E-Bikes should have two modes:

1 – Road mode: No speed limit.
2 – Trail mode: Full power(Up to 10 MPH, for hills), 200 Watts limit between 10 and 15 MPH, perhaps gradually reducing power, then cut off after that, but the rider can still peddle.

The numbers above are just suggestions, I don’t ride an E-Bike, so I don’t know if these are reasonable.

How counties can enforce them:

1 – Require E-Bike manufacturers to include GPS, and county rules are uploaded to it and applied automatically.
2 – No GPS, but counties put RFID chips at trail heads, and E-Bikes read the rules and apply them automatically.

Finally, it doesn’t make sense to me to outlaw E-Bikes altogether, 10 MPH is fine, or even 7 to 8 MPH in some cases.

I’ve been commuting 16 mi/day on an e-bike for 8 months now, and so have some opinions. It seems reasonable to me that mandating a power cut off at 20mph and max 1000W (1 hp) for e-bikes on trails/MUPs (i.e., only “Class 3” e-bikes allowed) would solve the issue nicely.

In practice, a 20mph cut-off for power assist does not mean that you can ride the throttle to cruise all over the place at 20 mph. A consumer e-bike is heavier than a normal bicycle to account for greater wear and tear, so even a powerful 1000W motor just doesn’t let you scoot around at max speed. Average speed is more like 17-18mph – you pass cyclists up hills but they commonly pass you on the downhill and flats.

Slap a 20mph speed limit on the trails and you’ve got a feasible regulatory scheme.

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@jamilkb 183192 wrote:

I’m rather annoyed by the stubbornness of so many people to educate themselves about ebikes…. If folks would simply take the time to test ride one at any of the many local shops that sell them then they’ll immediately see that ebikes aren’t the big scary monsters they’re made out to be.

The counterpoint to this is the homebrew e-bikes that sometimes are encountered on MUPs around here. I’ve seen a couple that must have been doing 30mph. I commute every day on an e-bike and consider 30mph unsafe for any vehicle on a MUP, motorized or not.

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I’ve found that most people assume that an e-bike performs like a motorized bicycle with an internal combustion engine (moped). It seems clear that the legacy prohibition of “motorized” bikes on the MVT, for example, had internal combustion engines in mind. No one that rides a consumer e-bike could reasonably come away with the impression that it is similar in performance to a moped, but if you’ve never ridden one, it’s difficult to understand the qualitative difference between the two.

I’d love to meet up with someone from Arlington DES and let them ride my RadCity a bit. The difference would be made clear.

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@komorebi 183153 wrote:

I rode a CaBi Plus for the first time today, and I actually didn’t like it very much. The Plusses are heavier and more unwieldy than the regular CaBis, which are already tanks. And the e-assist kicked in and cut out unpredictably, which made for a jerky ride. Possibly it was a problem with that particular bike, or possibly I would have gotten more used to the e-assist over a longer ride. But that’s now the third model of e-bike that I’ve tried, and I haven’t liked any of them. Maybe I’m just not meant to ride e-bikes.

I haven’t ridden a CaBi Plus yet, but your experience may be the result of a defective cadence sensor on that bike. The cadence sensor is a series of magnets around the crank area – as you pedal, each magnet is activated and the ebike computer activates the motor to boost you. If some of those magnets aren’t giving good feedback to the computer, slow pedaling results in the boost not kicking in, but fast pedaling would. It sounds like a defective bike to me.

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@accordioneur 182738 wrote:

Gee, look, there’s already a National Landing web site!

0:43 of the utopian video on that page features an off-screen collision between a car and a bicycle taking the lane down Crystal Drive.

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@lordofthemark 182638 wrote:

I have in the past been sympathetic to that line of thinking (which as I have said is particularly important on the most crowded trails like the MVT from 4MRT to the 14th street bridge, and I guess the CCT) But lately between my interactions with motorists and my interactions with Nimbys opposing bike infra, I just want the critical mass however I can get it – ebikes riding partly in MUTs, runners in the less used bike lanes, escooters absolutely everywhere – bring it on. Bring it on. (and my growing annoyance with some seriously bad behavior by the more fredly riders of “acoustic” bikes adds to my sympathy fo the ebike riders)

I think you’re on to something with the critical mass theory. I would not otherwise own a bike if not for my commuting needs, and for those purposes the ebike is ideal. I enjoy riding and even when it would be quicker or easier to take Metro etc., I still ride the bike because it’s just an enjoyable experience to get some exercise in the open air.

But I’ve noticed that as a consequence, I am much more keenly aware of bikes, pedestrians, and other non-car vehicles on the road and of insufficient bicycle infrastructure. I’ve also realized how slow cars are in urban areas which I think has made me a more considerate driver and a proponent of spending taxes on bike and other non-car infrastructure. But I probably would not have gotten the ebike if I couldn’t use MUPs as part of my commute, so banning all vehicles with motors from MUPs sounds like a good way to alienate potential allies.

What’s wrong with speed limits?

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@lordofthemark 182639 wrote:

Could be – I am the rider of the blue hybrid, with the badly in need of replacement (yeah, I know, when I get a round to it) orange backpack.

If I see you I’ll wave hi – I’m on a black RadCity with dual orange panniers.

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@lordofthemark 182634 wrote:

My own experience on the MVT lately is that Ebike riders are riding MORE politely than human powered riders – though I think I am really thinking of the subset of human powered riders who are males of a certain age, riding road bikes. (I love my very polite friends with road bikes, but for this comparison it doesn’t really make sense to include CaBi riders and newbie hybrid riders, now does it?) In particular I think there is one particular ebike rider who makes it a very deliberate point of calling his passes and passing with a lot of room, almost as if he were conscious of the optics issue. And guess what, he has convinced me.

I may be that guy. MVT to and from Alexandria every day till this recent rainstorm knocked out the display of my ebike. I’m very aware that MUPs were not built with ebikes in mind and try hard not to be an ass when I use them on my daily commute.

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That sucks – are you aware of bikelaneuprising.com? It was founded because of such an incident and tracks similar blockages in the DC region.

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Curious if you all use lights to advertise your presence. During the day in traffic, I have mine set to strobe along with a steady running light. It seems to work well but results vary I’m sure.

I also make sure to dim the light on trails to maintain the sight of my fellow cyclists

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