Karma mentions that the pedals are push on, push off on his model. That would certainly be one place to start. Apparently, they've not even got a decent locking mechanism, so a proper quick release like those on folding bicycle pedals would be a start.

Secondly, I've used a Crystalyte in tandem with a 48v/10a SLA pack that weighed about 40lbs total, and it wasn't too much to handle as a bicycle, so I don't personally believe that it takes a battery alone to reach the point of exclusion. Most non-cyclists I know of are unable to safely handle a weighted bicycle with more than 50-60lbs of equipment loaded on, and counting a high weight bicycle, say 40lbs, that puts a reasonable cycling limit at about 100lbs.

At the moment, the current unloaded weight limit is 75kg, a limit which has allowed riders to pack enough equipment onto their vehicles in order to make them fairly unsafe, and while I care for one's own right to endanger themselves, there is *no* such sympathy towards those who endanger others. In our local store, there's a booklet of various "e-bikes" all weighing in over 50kg, some packing it in right *at* the 75kg mark. I consider *that* to be too heavy to be acceptable. This isn't beginning to account for rider skill, true. But living in a state society, our legal boundaries are defined on a generic measure rather than an informal and restorative one: basically, the bottom line has to be one that covers the masses, not the exceptions.

While you say that "a lot of SLA vehicles are barely functional without their electric assist, particularily in hilly terrain", you have 3 reports of these vehicles breaking down right here in this thread, and one of them being unable to climb what sounds like a large variety of hills, and "being jogged up"

That sounds like barely functional *with* their electric assist.

Other vehicles go through some fairly strict quality control before hitting the streets, sadly this doesn't apply to these e-bikes and scooters. However, i'd like to see a less lenient weight limit, a proper power to weight ratio, and reliability testing performed before these products hit the shelves. There are already panels out there which perform the same task for other powered vehicles, it would simply be a matter of application.

As for your theoretical question, how much SLA do you have to pack onto a single speed bike in order to meet the weight of your e-scoot, and do you know the strength ratio of the average 8 speed internal hub? As long as the singlespeed was proven to be within the weight limit of its frame, I would consider it to be a far more reliable option, as these e-scoots are *proven* unreliable and overweight already.