Originally Posted by noglider

The UK and the rest of Europe has much stricter regulations about ebikes. Maximum power is low, something like 250 watts, and I think the maximum speed is reasonable. North America is like the Wild West by comparison. 500 watt motors are common. I don't know how fast some of these deliveristas are riding, but definitely more than 25 mph. Also, our culture has a lower regard for the law, and with that, enforcement seems more difficult. We have three classes of ebikes, but they are pretty much only for the law books. The fastest ebikes should not be in the bike lanes, but they are.

The Citi Bike analog bikes weigh about 50 pounds, and the ebikes are about 80 pounds. My spouse weighs only about 110 pounds, so she doesn't like the ebikes. She's afraid of being unable to handle it and toppling it. I see some lightweight people handling them, and I think it's more a matter of balance, but that's another area where she doesn't feel confident. I agree it's good that these things don't have throttles. The deliverista bikes here do. Those folks virtually never pedal.

(Deliverista is a New York (Nueva Yorqueño?) word, and I hope it's obvious that it means person who delivers, derived from barista, meaning a person working at a coffee bar.)