Joe Bikerider

I took my grand boy and his buddy to school this morning. Fine. Just for fun I went the long way home, I was up and too late to get in bed so why not? Coming east on Boulevard Way I came up to a bicyclist. Going pretty fast, as I passed him I recognized some kind of mid drive set up. I went around the corner to Mt Diablo blvd and he was keeping up. I was doing about 30mph. He not pedaling at all. Turning left at Oakland Blvd he was in the lane behind me. I turned and he was still following not pedaling. Is this the new normal? That’s disturbing. No license, rules, no enforcement?

I know that California has ebike rules and speed limits for paths. But the ads I see for ebikes all emphasize how much power they have. And as I observed people want to use it. This guy was on the road so that’s one issue but I expect he’ll be using the convenient MUP next. Sigh

livedarklions

I believe that if the motor is still assisting beyond 28 mph, it is not classified as any class of ebike in California. Is that wrong?

spelger

you're doing 30? was this on flat ground? i am impressed. i need a tail wind for that, or a down hill assist...or an e-bike apparently.

sheaffer

Next time you see this cyclist with ebike call the police ��( or not) amazon and ebay is full of these ebike conversion systems and many of them do allow you to ride on battery and motor only with no pedaling. I have an old trek navigator that im thinking of buying conversion system for it.

Ogsarg

So you were going 30MPH and the e-bike was going 30MPH. Why is it ok for you but not for them?

Joe Bikerider

Maybe I didn’t explain it well. I was driving in a car.

livedarklions

Actually, it would be ok if the ebike rider was pedalling. By the way California classifies ebikes, doing it without pedaling means it's a motor vehicle.

Ogsarg

Maybe it's just me. Having been in cities around the world with gazillions of crazy people on scooters, e-bikes, etc, I just don't see the big deal.

sheaffer

Pretty much every philly center city chinese food delivery person is zipping thru on ebikes. Sometimes they pedal...and sometimes they dont. Not sure about PA law and ebikes but i have not seen anyone being pulled over for “sir, you are riding your bike 30mph and not pedaling, im giving you a ticket” im prety sure no one has insurance for these things. But i guess if they run into you, the restaurants liability ins would kick in. Anyway, those ebikes are here to stay.

Metieval

Just be glad that it isn't Philadelphia and a 2 stroke dirt machine.

Just saying... E bikes without people pedaling are not the problem in our society!

GnipGnop

I would be happy someone is on a bike vs in a car. Why must boomers complain about everything? For what it's worth, I don't ride an e-bike.

cb400bill

Interesting timing of this thread.

Driving on a fairly busy rural road on my way home from work tonight, I came up behind a cyclist. As I got closer I noticed he wan't pedaling so I assumed he was on an ebike. Hard to gauge his speed but he was going around 30 mph. I looked over as I passed him and the bike was a modern hybrid equipped with a gasoline engine, like a Whizzer.

I-Like-To-Bike

You also failed to explain why this ebike rider's activity disturbed you, or how this ebike rider negatively affected you or anybody else. Other people might get disturbed at the thought of someone driving a motor vehicle the long way to get somewhere "just for fun".

Sy Reene

Isn't this just about a there being a right to use motorways with a motorized vehicle with some sort of verified ability to do so? Otherwise I could imagine that all suspended-license DWI drivers just go to something called an "e-bike"

one4smoke

You explained it fine. I got that you were in a car. How else would you take two kids to school?

MikeyMK

To be fair, seeing people doing 30mph on an e-bike, without pedalling, grates me a little too.

And I do 30mph on an e-bike most days...

subgrade

I don't see a problem with it as long he is using the road (and obeying the traffic laws, of course).

However, then have been sightings of people on e-bikes doing 30 mph on bike paths even here where there only a handful dedicated bike paths around. That is no longer fine by me. There is no seperate classification for e-bikes in our laws; a bicycle with a motor up to 250W is classified as a bicycle and anything above that is a moped (up to 50cc or 4kW) or a motorcycle if above that; the respective rules apply, regardless if it is electric powered or has a combustion engine. Obviously an e-bike that is capable of 30 mph falls into the moped or sin some cases even motorcycle category and as such is banned from use on bike paths and MUPs.

I don't know what the laws are in your neck of the woods, but here bicyclists must have a license too. It can be driving license for any other vehicle, or bicycle license, which can be obtained from age of 10.

02Giant 

Your explanation was good, their comprehension is what failed.

KraneXL

This is -- as a cyclist -- what I'm most afraid of. As long as e-bike shenanigans don't encroach into traditional bike territory I have no issues with them.

subgrade

It is really easy to get the license though - a simplified theory exam, no riding test. But I'm pretty sure most of those bicyclists that don't have a driving licence, don't have the bicycle license either. It is very rare for police to check that.

livedarklions

In the US, it is not required for the operator of a bicycle to be licensed anywhere. In a few places, the bike has to be licensed, but no testing of the rider's ability or knowledge.

The issue with speed of an ebike is simple. At some point, you have a vehicle capable of speeds and cargo capacity that essentially all you're doing is slapping a pair of pedals onto a motorcycle in order to get around drivers license and vehicle inspection requirements. We're designating a low-powered class of vehicles as not being motor vehicles, but that has to cut out somewhere. 30 mph is an arbitrary point, but so is any other number.

burnthesheep

Same here. Open road no care.

Other night I did see a guy on an ebike with fatbike tires screaming along that had just exited the gravel state park where they aren’t allowed and heading down an MUP with runners. Headphones on, no hands, about 25mph up a grade not pedaling (how he do that? No hands and no pedaling? Cruise control?) Piece of trash. Here I was legally on the road that followed the MUP on my pedal bike because I would have exceeded the speed limit on the MUP. Then here’s this mierda plowing along the MUP.

Lazy entitled people these days, just scoff at the rules.

GlennR

A E-Bike that does 30mph is a motorcycle and should require insurance and be registered.

Lemond1985

These last three posts are sure to get a swift response by the board's resident "E-Bike Anti-Defamation League". These guys and gals are always on the job and never sleep.

Milton Keynes

Here, any vehicle which is human powered does not require a license. This is why you see people who have lost their driver's license due to DUI on bikes. They're usually the ones riding at night without lights on the wrong side of the road.