Originally Posted by
Golectric
A spin is certainly not what I am trying to do with my calculations. I have seen first hand what petal bikes can do around pedestrians. Your attempt to play the safety card is based on speculation not fact. It is actually much safer to share the path with speed limited scooters then a bunch of riders flying down the path on their petal powered open frame bikes, they will not slow down when they pass because it takes to much energy to get back up to speed. The full lighting and signal system's on the closed frame scooters make for a very visible rider. It really comes down to the individual rider, scooter style or open frame, if you ride like an idiot, someone will get hurt. I have rode both styles. I enjoy my open frame ebikes but when I need some extra storage and comfort for my ride I hop on my Scooter style E-bike.
Pete
If a spin is not what you're trying to do, then don't make an uneven comparison.
There is certainly *no* speculation behind the weight of a scooter bike. I do not take them to the moon to weigh them either. They weigh considerably more than any other common human powered vehicle I can think of. At a comparative speed, this means that the human body needs to exert more energy to retain the same control and performance, that the handling characteristics require more energy to both slow and start. There is no speculation behind this science.
Your statement that "It is actually much safer to share the path with speed limited scooters then a bunch of riders flying down the path on their petal powered open frame bikes, they will not slow down when they pass because it takes to much energy to get back up to speed"
Could easily be taken as a speculative statement as well, as it relies upon a biased opinion around the behaviour of a rider, not the relative capability of their vehicle. Now i'm sorry, but *thats* speculative, I personally consider it utter bull excrement.
As you've said, if you ride like an idiot, someone will get hurt. On the subject of bike paths, here in Canada they have speed limits. As mentioned before, both a roadie and an e-bike modder have the ability to far exceed typical speeds, but in comparison to the average cyclist, an e-bike moves considerably faster.
But that does not change the fact that in a situation where there are other users about on human powered vehicles of similar capacity, bringing in a bike with 140+lbs of additional weight and often a poor Q rated, insufficient pedal system means that this vehicle is essentially a fish out of water in the particular situation. While the pedal situation might vary from model to model, the weight is not speculative or in question.
These vehicles might be acceptable in a utilitary street side bike lane, but on a recreational path where you are faced with close, dual direction traffic with different types of bicycles and pedestrians, they simply don't belong.