Government proposal to double ebike power has received a mixed reception with brands questioning what it will mean for the UK bike industry
Government proposal to double ebike power has received a mixed reception with brands questioning what it will mean for the UK bike industry
The only downside I can see is unofficial mods removing the limit, which already happens of course but the issue becomes worse with a more powerful motor.
Whilst I agree the majority of the people I see riding those horrible Chinese “bikes” or that have put a Chinese kit on their bike are already running 1000w motors that have no restriction and they zip around at 30mph plus. People that want to go fast will do so regardless of the rules behind them. By increasing the allowed max I feel would have more benefits for the kinds of people that will be buying the more expensive, better made bikes and using them within the law.
I think the bigger issue here is that the police need to enforce some kinds of rules relating to the use of ebikes. For the record I actually don’t have any issue with an ebike that will do 30mph as long as it is used sensibly but the problem is that a lot of them aren’t.
The majority of the over powered, fast ebikes I see around near me are used by deliveroo riders and their ilk and all of them ride like absolute cunts. If you are going to use a powerful, motor driven form of transport to facilitate your work, fine, but use it properly on the fucking road and obeying traffic laws. The amount of these cunts I see zipping around on paths and through red lights on their throttle controlled “bikes” is where I think the main safety implications for more powerful motors lie.
People are dangerous enough on non motorised push bikes and being that the future of sustainable smaller distance transport seems to lie within things like ebikes I think there needs to be a push now in the earlier stages to educate people on how to operate them properly and within the rules of the road. Some people need to be made examples of to force the populace to ride in a safe predictable manner on the roads and not on the fucking path.
I think this is also a problem with the rental bike schemes a lot of cities now run too, you put people who aren’t used to operating a bicycle onto one in a city full of people and it is carnage. Riding on footpaths, ignoring road rules and generally just acting unpredictably. I see a lot of very dangerous situations involving these people almost everyday due to lack of personal awareness and ability to control the vehicle they are using.