Originally Posted by
Mvcrash
In my experience anything with two wheels, motorcycle, e-cycle, bicycle driven on a roadway is very dangerous. Especially if you put a teenager on one. Basically, two wheel converyances were known to me and my co-workers as " Donor Cycles" for obvious reasons. I now live in a "not traffic busy" area and was in a parking lot just yesterday when three kids, maybe 13-15, came riding by on e-cycles. I would estimate their speed at 20-25 mph, maybe a bit faster if capable. All I could think was "I hope one does not wind up on a slab."
If you ask me, same rules that apply to motorcycles should apply to anything with 2 wheels which is propelled by an engine or motor.
Don't they? In Europe, you can use bike lanes and ride without a license only if: 1. electric assist cuts off at 25khp (15mph); and 2. there's no throttle -- i.e., you only get assist if you're pedaling yourself.
You can buy faster e-bikes -- called "Speed Pedalecs" -- but these are illegal on bike lanes, and you need registration and license like a motorcycle.
You can buy chips to raise the top speed, and being the old hooligan I am, I thought about doing that before I bought my first one. But then after a few weeks of experience I realized -- nope, that's not good, the flow of traffic is 25kph, which is fast enough, and any faster would be dangerous for pedestrians.