Elvo

Bill Text - AB-1096 Vehicles: electric bicycles.

20 mph is KOM on a lot of the climbing segments here. Can't wait to buy my new KOM

Bunyanderman

I have a 25+ mph KOM on a uphill segment, powered by me of course. Only 1% grade, and 1.5 miles long though.

Seattle Forrest

The types of people drawn to e-bikes aren't going to be going 20 mph uphill on them...

CliffordK

And what do mopeds have to do with Strava? Certainly not all Strava segments are on bike lanes or paths. And there have been plenty of KOMs taken by vehicles other than bikes.

I think it is appropriate to start formalizing the laws for E-Bikes.

One of the issues is that riding at sub-20 mph speeds, they are more appropriate for bike lanes than for driving lanes. And, thus it is appropriate to consider allowing them on MUPS too. Although, I presume the next phase will be to evaluate which paths are E-Bike appropriate, and which are not (or, perhaps requiring pedalling or walking through certain areas). Good to see that the 28 MPH E-Bikes are being restricted from some paths (will it get enforced?)

RPK79

Oh noes! My MUP KOMs!!

RJM

We had a guy show up to a group ride over summer on an ebike and wound up pulling the entire group at 28mph, which was the max that bike would do apparently. I didn't realize what was going on until I blew up 7 miles into it and got dropped when the pace just never let up....I was near the mid-back of the group the whole time I was in that line and never could see who was out in front but the guys who stayed with him said he just was out front the whole thirty mile ride...happy as a clam.


I think they could be fun for some mountain biking where the ascents are just totally ridiculous, but I think some of the bikes govern how fast they will descend too...that would blow.

Strava KOMs will be dropping like rocks though...my prediction.

PepeM

I frequently go 30+ mph for miles in the local MUP. Will I be banned?

Seattle Forrest

Doubt it.

CliffordK

So, when will we start seeing the next generation of police E-Bikes?
Or are they already out there?



Hard to imagine a police officer on a MTB trying to chase down an E-Bike cruising along at 28 MPH.

SpeshulEd 

People that go for KOMs on MUPs are silly.

And it should be fairly easy to see that the person winning the KOM wasn't putting forth much effort, so flagging the ride shouldn't be much of an issue.

TimothyH

Sure is a purdy lake ya'll got in that picture.

Just send yer fine officers down to Georgia an we'll show show em how to take care of things reel esy.

Athens80

What should I upgrade first on my new e-bike, the wheels or the frame? What else should I do to improve my average speed? Rollers or trainer?

CliffordK

It depends on the path. I've been surprised at the number of Strava segments that have shown up on our local bike paths.

There is one section where the MUP is straight, no trees, and about 20 feet wide, with both a parallel path near the river, and a parallel sawdust jogging trail. I've been working on trying to get the KOM. But, I'll abort the run if I deem it as unsafe to finish. So far, tied for third at 27.7 MPH (KOM is over 30) for 0.4 miles.

But, there are other segments that go through much busier sections of the trail which I won't race on, or even pay attention to Strava. I probably should evaluate and flag the worst offending segments. But, the safety also varies based on the time of day, day of week, and month of the year. So, while sprinting on some segments at noon on a sunny Sunday would be crazy, it might be just fine at 6:00 am.

You sure?

I can recognise cars climbing hills at 50 MPH. But, what about those iron men pounding up the hills at 15 MPH, and cruising at 24 MPH, and hitting the occasional sub-mile flat segment at 28 MPH?

You might find one of my rides cruising at sub-15, then jumping up to 20+ for a segment, then dropping back down after the segment. I suppose typical of a bike using segments as a type of interval. But, again, there are a few riders that seem to average about 20, and not even notice the segments.

Hard to tell if they are on an E-Bike.

Many people don't publish HR & Power data.

I suppose I take Strava with a grain of salt. It is fun to look at, but I could care less if someone is using an E-Bike to "cheat". Or is drafting or running a pace line.

The bikes governed at 20 MPH will get dropped anyway. Even those governed at 28 MPH may have troubles claiming the KOM on the flat segments.

SpeshulEd 

I agree it depends on the path, but I feel most of them are unsafe and encourages unsafe behavior. I don't bother with them but I won't flag them as dangerous. I'm probably biased because I was almost hit by some doofus trying for a KOM on an MUP once...in the middle of the day with people walking dogs, jogging, etc - guy was weaving in and out of people like a crazy person, then when he made it to the end, he couldn't make the turn and went wide into my lane, causing me to jump off the path.

As for the iron men, sometimes it's hard to tell, but most times it's fairly obvious when you look at the person's ride and they have a really high max speed or average speed. I usually don't flag people's rides until I hit the top ten on a segment, then I start looking at who's ahead of me and what I'll need to do to take the KOM. When I notice a blatant error, I'll flag the ride. It might be harder to distinguish an e-bike than it is when someone is riding in a car, but I think most leader boards are similar for the areas segments, if someone starts getting all the KOMs in the area, people will take notice.

r8dr_rider

Well i guess i quitting cycling now. Gonna get a new hobby

silversx80

Darn… so you mean I may actually need to race to prove my abilities to everyone else, instead of carrying highest average speed between two points?

bikepro

Nothing new: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor-paced_racing

DrIsotope

On the big path near me (upper SART) there's absolutely zero risk of any e-bike threatening any Strava Segment (and there are around 60 segments in each direction in the upper 25 miles.) I manage in the low-to-mid 20s over a 7-mile stretch, and that's in the 200-300/2000+ range for those segments. Same goes for the streets near me, where they run the circuit course of the Redlands Bicycle Classic every year. I've managed to do a 1.2 mile segment at an average speed of 26.5mph, which is good for ~100th. The KOM is like 36mph.

K.Katso

20mph uphill with low/no HR and no power = flagged. Thanks for playing.

Cyclist01012

Kepp the electic mopeds off the MTB trails. if you cant ride it walk, or practice untill you can

RJM

They are already on the trails...at least locally, they are.

It doesn't bother me if someone wants to use an ebike on a trail, provided it doesn't sound like a gas powered moped. Whatever makes them happy. An ebike isn't going to destroy a trail anymore than the locals ripping up strava segments like they are doing.

RoderWrench

I don't think I've ever even seen anyone riding an E-bike here in flat Illinois. If you can't pedal here, you probably aren't active enough to even go outside. They're not cheap either. How popular are they where there are hills?

SempreCycling

Anyone going for Strava KOMs on MUPs are tools.

rms13

I thought it was pretty much excepted that people were already cheating strava with ebikes? It's all on the honor system right? If I used an ebike to set kom but did it carefully so my times still look realistic, who can prove im using electric assistance?

rms13

They are getting cheaper. You can get one for around $1000 and even Performance is selling them. No license, registration or insurance needed. I'm certainly seeing more and more where I live as cheap urban transportation/commuter