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E-bike power limit: BA and ACT urge bike industry to resist 500W proposal
(www.globalcyclingnetwork.com)
this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2024
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micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility
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Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!
"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.
micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"
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From a California perspective, our Class 2 category allows for throttle-controlled ebikes, and these appear to be rather popular, in part because the pedal-assist feature of a Class 1 ebike is almost-always included in a Class 2 throttle ebike. But also -- I'm speculating -- that consumers like having the throttle as a backup: imagine a rider that pedals to their destination but leaves while tired and just wants to get home.
This isn't a misplaced want, and it's roughly analogous to the "everything car" that Americans desire but can never truly have: something that's good for all scenarios.
A new development -- and one which the legislation is only beginning to provide clarity for -- is multi-class ebikes, allowing the bike to operate under different class regimes at different times. For example, an ebike which is speed limited to 20 mph (32 kph) when using the throttle but raises to 28 mph (45 kph) when pedal-driven. This would be a combination of Class 2 and Class 3, respectively.
I personally prefer at least 500 W on an ebike, which is approximately enough to hold 18 mph (30 kph) while climbing overpasses at freeway interchanges: these non-places are pedestrian and cyclist hellscapes, and riders need every advantage to assert a position.
Setting aside my complaints about American infrastructure, it's worth clarifying that speed-limited power is most useful for hill-climbs and cargo bikes. I'm not exactly sure how often British motorway are crossed with steep overpasses, but I have to imagine the cargo bike category is ripe for expansion in the UK.
All that said, if the UK is going to update their regulations, I think a split approach can make sense: when the throttle is used, power is limited to 250 W averaged. When pedal-driven, power is limited to 500 W averaged. What averaging window to use is for them to decide, but this would account for brief bursts needed to avoid wayward obstacles and smaller hills. The public consultation does not seem to discuss raising the speed limiter for ebikes, so that's a topic for another time.
I primarily use the throttle on my e-bike by blipping it a little when setting off from a stop, because otherwise it takes a second for the cadence sensor to kick in (and also because I'm less diligent about shifting back down to the easy gear when coming to a stop than I am when riding an acoustic bike).
I used to do the same, but I've had to be careful since if I don't downshift completely, adding motor power will bend the sprocket and possibly throw the chain off entirely; I learned that from experience. As a result, I actually try to turn the power level down to zero if I know I've made an incomplete shift, pedal manually to complete shifting, then restore the power level.
My e-bike is rear-drive, not mid-drive, so the power doesn't go through the chain and sprocket.