to think electric bikes are a total menace?

[RandomGeocache]

I am not a cyclist hating motorist. But OMG those electric bikes. Regularly drive into Glasgow city centre and they appear to be the transport of choice for people working for Just Eat or Deliveroo.

The electric bikes are FAST. Far quicker than a normal cycle, easily the speed of the cars/lorries/vans. They are not licensed, the riders aren't required to wear helmets, very few have lights back/front, they zip in and out of traffic, through red lights. Accident waiting to happen.

Why are these bikes not classed as motorbikes, requiring a driving licence, r, tax etc?

No hills are impossible if you know how to use your gears!
Do you really see hills as impossible for a normal bike?
It's pretty hilly where I live and I do love to cycle up hills 😍, I choose my cycle routes to include as many hills as possible, I also enjoy running up hills although that is harder and the downside is running down hills is stressful for the knees!

@summerisontheway I can't believe you want to make the hills easier😳
the hills are only bit that makes the work out worthwhile, cycling on the flat is so easy that without hills it's not even a proper workout.
Then again cycling on the flat against the wind can be a good workout 😍

Whatevs.
My commute is 14 miles each way including uphill most of the way back.
I used to sometimes take my normal bike but it took about 3 hr 15 round trip, too long for a commute every day tbh so I usually got the train instead.

With the electric assist (you still have to pedal!) can do it in 2.30 (round trip) and feel safer in traffic as can get away at lights faster without the set off wobble effect. It's capped at 15 mph electric assist. I have lights and safety gear and it's a Dutch bike so lights etc come on automatically as well. It's less of a "lazy" option than getting the train still.

HTH.

I have an electric bike I use for commuting due to asthma. My DH can keep up with me on it just fine (actually overtakes me downhill) unless we're on a steep incline. Mine is a fully legal one that caps out at 15mph, and it has built in lights powered from the same source. It's pedal assist so you certainly can't take off at 15mph from standing, it takes a couple rotations to start kicking in!

If anyone is on what you're describing, they are actually illegal.

I mean, that’s great. Not everyone is as fit and exercising loving as you, and they may not want to arrive at work all hot and sweaty with nowhere to shower. Should they just hop in the car instead? Or is an E bike a good compromise for them, allowing them to cycle, get some exercise and take a car off the road?

I ride a normal bike and do 15-18mph on the flat as a normal speed and often get easily overtaken by people barely putting any effort in. There's tonnes of illegal ones on the streets of London.

People riding illegally modded e bikes are all, by definition, using motor vehicles illegally on the road, they're just uninsured drivers.

The most consistent group for complete madness are L plate moped riders IME but they come up for very little criticism compared to the amount cyclists or ebike users get

@Thesharkradar I'm not a cyclist and even I can understand that some people cycle as a method of getting from A to B as quickly and cheaply as possible, and not for a "good workout".

And yes... This too. I love exercising including cycling a non electric bike, running etc but I do that when I can easily shower.
When I'm commuting to go to work I want a fast, safe and active commute, not a sweaty workout, to get somewhere under my own steam, keep fit, get some fresh air, take a more environmentally friendly option etc etc. They are different things with different goals, which is fine.

Well bully for fucking you. I have rheumatoid arthritis and microvascular angina and my electric bike is wonderful. I can go further, climb hills without rendering myself a breathless painful mess and ease the after-effects on my joints. It feels wonderful to have some control back and be able to enjoy an aspect of my life I had given up on.

Yesterday we saw an electric bike have a near miss with an electric scooter.. would have been karma!

E bikes can be annoying, but incredibly some people travel around in massive heavy metal boxes on wheels and abandon them on pavements, occupy about 10 sqm for one person in traffic jams and storage areas, and emit toxic fumes from their metal boxes in town centres. Sometimes these huge heavy metal boxes move too quickly and cause fatalities.

I think these metal box idiots are the ones to worry about.

You are 100% right and I completely agree.
However for me an electric bike offers no advantages, my speed on a bike is never limited by the capacity of my cardiovascular system it is limited by having to be safe in traffic.
I'm trying to see electric bikes as a good thing for me and my category of cyclists, our human powered bikes will look like a piece of junk to any bike thieves and hopefully less likely to be stolen 🥳

No hills are impossible if you know how to use your gears!

Gears are for the weak. You should get a massive front chain ring on a fixie and sprint up every hill as god intended

Yes, the ones being used by the delivery riders around here (southwest) are very definitely not legal. They never actually pedal. They are bicycles illegally modified into unregulated motorbikes. They ride them on the roads without crash helmets and on pavements in pedestrian areas. It is incredibly dangerous.

(I am a cyclist as well as a driver, I have no grudge against cyclists or legal electric bikes )

@squashyhat so sorry to hear about your health issues, the electric bike sounds like a great addition to your life, being on a bike is such a fantastic feeling isn't it 🤠

I prostrate myself at your feet OH great one
these heights of athleticism are probably beyond me.... but I will try🚴‍♀️

Two wheels good, four wheels baaaad.
😉😁😁

And one wheel?
What about one wheel?
Round my way there are some unicyclists and there's a guy who rides a penny farthing ....like a modern version of a penny farthing 😲
I could never handle that, I can't even roller skate🤦‍♀️

Legal electric bikes = amazing, game-changers for being able to get places quickly, quietly, easily. Amazing things.

illegal electric bikes, which can go faster than the limit and which operate without pedalling = death traps and menaces that should be seized and crushed!

We have the same in South Wales. It is frustrating because a lot of the anti-cycle brigade point to these are a reason why cycling is bad... And they're not cycling. Slightly terrifying when you're walking with small children too - because they do not look where they are going, and I suspect do not have insurance.

100%

Maybe having more bicycles on the road will make things safer and better for all cyclists, assisted and unassisted?
Maybe they will be a gateway into more and better bicycle only pathways😍

throttles on electric bikes are illegal and even still the motors are capped, so you can build up speed and then it will propel you for a while then you have to build back up.

either way they will be stopped if caught by the police the same as a speeding driver.

OP if you’re able I would give the e-bike a go yourself - so much fun! A few bad cyclists aren’t the fault of the mode of transport, which is brilliant. People should wear helmets and obey all the road rules though, I can get why that might be frustrating for a car driver!

I love my electric bike. I am fat and unfit and would never cycle a normal bike as I live in a very hilly area. I need to go to the shops this afternoon for a few bits and pieces. They are a 25 minute walk away and I won't be able to carry back everything I need. I could take my diesel car and spew out some exhaust fumes. Instead I will go on my bike which has two panniers fitted. My son is coming with me ( normal bike) so he will also get some extra exercise.