I have also been riding 28mph unlocked for years, but I’ve gone through a few different E-bike models in the meantime.
The current one limits itself to my jurisdiction’s law (Class 3 defined as 28mph pedal only, no throttle assistance allowed. Class 2 defined as up to 20mph assist with either pedaling or throttle).
Class toggle is achieved via a proprietary app, and it will adjust to whatever the last polled laws of the jurisdiction of the Bike’s currently marked GPS location.
Ergo, should my legislature do any thoughtless changes in either direction, my life will be immediately impacted and the product I already paid several thousand dollars for, altered.
So, I like to make sure there’s nuance in these type of discussions, because everyone has anecdotes to share, but they always seem to be focused into one specific class of scenarios and further discussion tends to focus on sharing the same initial scenario.
I do not disagree that 25Mph is too fast for bike paths or shared used paths that aren’t basically empty. It absolutely is.
I also do not disagree that there is a new, rising type of rider best characterized by suicidal indifference to their surroundings.
But every E-bike comes with many a knob and toggle.
I go everywhere by E-bike, including work commuting. Throughout my route I must pass through a mixture of environments: Shared pedestrian/bike path, road bike lanes (painted lol), woodsy pedestrian trails, and actual shared with car traffic road usage.
My E-bike has a torque sensor, gyro for hill boosting, and a very powerful and responsive motor. It also weighs almost 100 lbs.
It can accelerate to its max speed within 3 seconds, and is trivial to maintain there at max assist settings.
So what do I do when I am headed towards the shared paths when coming off a big boy road?
I turn the knob that was always right next to my thumb, and decrease the assistance level down to where it barely provides any, and I pedal along at 5-8mph (within fast walk range, slower than a jog) as I assess the situation ahead of me.
Do I then shoot off at 28 mph if the shared path is empty? Of course not that’s insane, and there’s corners to turn where someone might be coming. I use judgement.
Meanwhile, if you want to experience unnerves at 28mph from the other direction, go ride Forester’s hell hole with the cars, as they zoom past you going 35-40mph in the 25mph road you specifically route through because theoretically we can all go the same legal speed.
Regarding Throttles: I got a rearhub drive E-bike. If I’m in class 2 and my chain slips in the middle of a pedestrian path, I can throttle gently towards a safe stop location.
How unnerving do you suppose it is when the chain slips in class 3 where my throttle is arbitrarily software disabled because a chamber full of people who can drive cars made a decision for me, and I’m stuck without drivetrain power in traffic where the turn lane set up necessitates that I be in the goddamn middle instead of the right shoulder?
We need these laws to address the rule breakers and incentivize companies to design safer, more intuitive devices.
Not arbitrarily limit their usefulness as a mobility replacement that can fulfill multiple roles.
Multiple straw man arguments and baseless accusations in your response, unfortunately. To set the record straight: I am constantly looking out for debris, obstacles and other people sharing the routes I’m on and adjust my speed according to the situation to maintain a safe environment for all. I spend a lot of time planning out routes to improve the safety of my ride. I didn’t request any arbitrary restrictions, computerized or otherwise, or even request any laws. I also did not state that I “shoot off at 28 mph if the shared path is empty”. It’s up to me and all of us to follow the law and ride safely.
Also have a torque sensor. I ride mainly for exercise so I stay in minimum pedal assist or even turn off assist sometimes.
I do not use my throttle at all and removed it. I had hit it accidentally a couple times, and simply by preemptively downshifting I could accelerate faster from a stop without the throttle than with it. So I found my throttle entirely useless, or even potentially dangerous due to the accidental taps of it, and removed it. When it was installed it would accelerate the bike up to 20 mph even in class 3 mode, which might have been a violation. The way I read it the throttle should have been completely disabled in class 3 mode.
Your bike software indeed sounds very scary and I’m glad that mine does not have the ability to impose such restrictions. If I felt that my bike’s software was putting me in danger then I’d sell it and get something else. But that’s just me.
I… literally just shared my experience and opinion on the trajectory for the laws. With ZERO REFERENCE TO YOUR EXPERIENCE SANS THE MERE FACT THAT I WANTED TO OFFER ANOTHER SIDE WHAT THE FUCK!?
I have also been riding 28mph unlocked for years, but I’ve gone through a few different E-bike models in the meantime.
The current one limits itself to my jurisdiction’s law (Class 3 defined as 28mph pedal only, no throttle assistance allowed. Class 2 defined as up to 20mph assist with either pedaling or throttle).
Class toggle is achieved via a proprietary app, and it will adjust to whatever the last polled laws of the jurisdiction of the Bike’s currently marked GPS location.
Ergo, should my legislature do any thoughtless changes in either direction, my life will be immediately impacted and the product I already paid several thousand dollars for, altered.
So, I like to make sure there’s nuance in these type of discussions, because everyone has anecdotes to share, but they always seem to be focused into one specific class of scenarios and further discussion tends to focus on sharing the same initial scenario.
I do not disagree that 25Mph is too fast for bike paths or shared used paths that aren’t basically empty. It absolutely is.
I also do not disagree that there is a new, rising type of rider best characterized by suicidal indifference to their surroundings.
But every E-bike comes with many a knob and toggle.
I go everywhere by E-bike, including work commuting. Throughout my route I must pass through a mixture of environments: Shared pedestrian/bike path, road bike lanes (painted lol), woodsy pedestrian trails, and actual shared with car traffic road usage.
My E-bike has a torque sensor, gyro for hill boosting, and a very powerful and responsive motor. It also weighs almost 100 lbs.
It can accelerate to its max speed within 3 seconds, and is trivial to maintain there at max assist settings.
So what do I do when I am headed towards the shared paths when coming off a big boy road?
I turn the knob that was always right next to my thumb, and decrease the assistance level down to where it barely provides any, and I pedal along at 5-8mph (within fast walk range, slower than a jog) as I assess the situation ahead of me.
Do I then shoot off at 28 mph if the shared path is empty? Of course not that’s insane, and there’s corners to turn where someone might be coming. I use judgement.
Meanwhile, if you want to experience unnerves at 28mph from the other direction, go ride Forester’s hell hole with the cars, as they zoom past you going 35-40mph in the 25mph road you specifically route through because theoretically we can all go the same legal speed.
Regarding Throttles: I got a rearhub drive E-bike. If I’m in class 2 and my chain slips in the middle of a pedestrian path, I can throttle gently towards a safe stop location.
How unnerving do you suppose it is when the chain slips in class 3 where my throttle is arbitrarily software disabled because a chamber full of people who can drive cars made a decision for me, and I’m stuck without drivetrain power in traffic where the turn lane set up necessitates that I be in the goddamn middle instead of the right shoulder?
We need these laws to address the rule breakers and incentivize companies to design safer, more intuitive devices.
Not arbitrarily limit their usefulness as a mobility replacement that can fulfill multiple roles.
Multiple straw man arguments and baseless accusations in your response, unfortunately. To set the record straight: I am constantly looking out for debris, obstacles and other people sharing the routes I’m on and adjust my speed according to the situation to maintain a safe environment for all. I spend a lot of time planning out routes to improve the safety of my ride. I didn’t request any arbitrary restrictions, computerized or otherwise, or even request any laws. I also did not state that I “shoot off at 28 mph if the shared path is empty”. It’s up to me and all of us to follow the law and ride safely.
Also have a torque sensor. I ride mainly for exercise so I stay in minimum pedal assist or even turn off assist sometimes.
I do not use my throttle at all and removed it. I had hit it accidentally a couple times, and simply by preemptively downshifting I could accelerate faster from a stop without the throttle than with it. So I found my throttle entirely useless, or even potentially dangerous due to the accidental taps of it, and removed it. When it was installed it would accelerate the bike up to 20 mph even in class 3 mode, which might have been a violation. The way I read it the throttle should have been completely disabled in class 3 mode.
Your bike software indeed sounds very scary and I’m glad that mine does not have the ability to impose such restrictions. If I felt that my bike’s software was putting me in danger then I’d sell it and get something else. But that’s just me.
I… literally just shared my experience and opinion on the trajectory for the laws. With ZERO REFERENCE TO YOUR EXPERIENCE SANS THE MERE FACT THAT I WANTED TO OFFER ANOTHER SIDE WHAT THE FUCK!?
Yikes… and reading your history, wow.
Yeah. People aren’t allowed opinions or bad days around here. How far back did you read then? This place isn’t worth discussing any topics.