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?

everyone wants their deliveries quickly and riders are paid something like £2 a drop so what's the solution?

i don't think they need to be taxed or number plated. you should have to have a driving license though.

realistically we need seperate bike lanes almost everywhere, so you don't have to constantly weave in and around car traffic

Note to self: don't go to Glasgow where nutters ride around on illegal motorbikes that look like push bikes. Never seen this anywhere else thank god.

I have an ebike. I love it. I'm an overweight middle age woman who lives in a hilly part of North London. I don't drive (well learning as we're looking to move out of London). I am a careful cyclist who follows the highway code....no nipping through red lights!

I use it to cycle to work from end of March to end of September as I am not confident cycling in the dark and don't like doing it in the cold/wet.

It's changed my life and I love it. With the possible exception of my dog, it's my most treasured possession.

I wonder why Deliveroo etc don’t have a responsibility to ensure that their drivers or riders are using safe transport e.g. a car with insurance, a bike with lights.
I’ve seen the cyclists/ riders behaving dangerously near me, and as PP said often without helmets.

I believe they are considered as self-employed. Riders work for multiple delivery services. I've ordered on just eat and had it delivered by someone with a deliveroo pack on etc.

I believe you can set up any bike to be an electric bike and they definitely go faster than 15.5 mph . The law hasn't caught up with the technology .

Nope the law is adequate the limit is only how much it will assist you there isn't a speed limit on the actual bikr for under your own steam.

What it does needs enforcing for illegal riders, and they are very easy to spot, but it's ignored same as scooters are.

My e bike kit has been a revelation. I'm just not fit enough to get up the killer hill climb on the way to work without needing to faff around having a shower. At the weekend I just don't use the battery.

Other countries (Netherlands again) have caught up with legislation and classified the different types of e bikes and small mopeds. IIRC up to 25kph counts as a bike and up to 45kph counts as a moped. Oh but they have proper segregation between bikes pedestrians and motor vehicles.

Unfortunately they are here to stay and the most energy efficient way of moving a human around.

Nearly all electric bikes can be easily unlimited and also have the need for pedalling remove. This can usually be done in under 5 mins by anyone after watching a youtube video. They wouldn't sell many of these if they could not be modified by the end user.

the most energy efficient way of moving a human around
Completely agree @NotMeNoNo the madness of taking a one ton vehicle to move an 11 stone human?
Ridiculously inefficient 😲

We stayed in Newcastle overnight recently and had drinks at a bar on a corner of a very busy street with lots of takeaways. The majority of Just Eat/Deliveroo delivery drivers we saw whilst sitting there were on electric push bikes, and nearly ALL of them had been hacked/bypassed. We saw them go from a standing start to full pelt without pedalling more than a tiny bit, and climbing hills at speed without pedalling at all.

Seems to be the accepted/done thing and I can only assume the police turn a blind eye to it as it went on the entire time we were sat there.

I ride an electric push bike myself so know how they work and these were definitely hacked/bypassed.

Nearly saw a few crashes between them too!

If the bike is moving without the rider pedalling, it's not an electric bike, it's a moped.

Electric bikes have pedal assist so the motor makes pedalling easier. It won't do anything if you don't pedal. Of course you can build up a bit of speed and freewheel for a bit, but you can do that on a non-electric bike, too.

YABU, btw. The problem is the riders, not electric bikes, which are much more environmentally friendly than cars, safer and take up less space on the road and when parking them. And they encourage people to cycle more because the electric assist makes cycling easier and faster. For someone who would not cycle without electric assist, they get more exercise.

OP I feel your pain and see that you have clarified that you are talking about illegal bikes, thank you from an electric assist bike user!

For those who query the need for (legal) e assist, please don't gatekeep cycling.

I know of 80 year olds who are able to keep their independence using an e assist bike. I know of mums who felt "too unfit/fat" to cycle, who are now able to enjoy cycling with their kids. I know of families who commute 100s of miles a week using e assist bikes - just think of how many car journeys that removes. I know of individuals who live in v hilly parts of the city, who are now able to cycle to work instead of driving.

All being carried out on UK legal assist bikes.

I'd love a clamp down on illegal electric 'bikes' just as I would illegally driven cars

And could we please remember that the mode of transport isn't really the issue. It's the human in charge of the vehicle. There are millions of illegal car journeys made every day (IE no tax, mot ), not to mention the millions of incidents of dangerous driving every day. There will be lots of rubbish cycling out there too, don't get me wrong but the reality is that someone who is willing to cycle like a prat, will drive like a prat and probably behaves like a prat when walking.

I have an electric bike which I use to haul the children around in. We go at the maximum speed of 15mph and are regularly overtaken by commuters on lightweight non electric bikes. 15mph is not particularly fast for a bike.

There are e-bikes around that have had the limiter bypassed or adapted so the rider doesn’t need to pedal, often ridden by Deliveroo drivers, but those are illegal. But I can’t get riled about them considering they pose much less practical danger to anyone than all the bad drivers of cars, vans, and motorbikes on the road, who are in control of vehicles that can go many times the speed of e-bikes.

Seems to me that one of the main problems with electric battery powered vehicles is that the weight of the battery means you need a motor.
Surely a human powered vehicle ( i.e powered by the food that you eat) is always going to be better, the bicycle the proper real bicycle is the most efficient means that we have discovered to get a human being from A to B under the power of jam sandwiches 🚴‍♀️

It's a mix, drivers not paying attention, then riders in and out trafficking, it's a mix at times

They should no way be the speed of a car. I have two electric bikes. The motor cuts out at 15mph and you have to pedal to get that

Well it wouldn't be faster if everyone drove so maybe be thankful others use public transport or cycle.

I would like to see scooters and electric bikes have some regulation, maximum speed, requirements when sold to provide guidance/training, for example.

I'm not sure all those who hate cyclists (not the OP) and post comments against scooters would agree with my wishes for other road users. Such as having proper medical standards, regular eye tests and if you want to drive an SUV or high performance car, having to take an extra driving test.

On my main heavy electric mountain bike the power has 5 levels. Level 1 compensates for the extra weight. Anything above that is a boost of power. So today I was getting up some seriously Steep hills far more easily than on a normal bike using either level 2 or 3.

They do have regulations about power and max speed. No training requirements but then I’m quicker on my road bike than my electric bike and normal bikes don’t need a training course.

I do suspect some delivery riders have illegally modified their bikes. Certainly I noticed in Cambridge a large number of delivery riders on bikes not pedalling. It’s the law they have to be pedal assist only. Yes the police should crack down on those.

DH keeps his independence by using a mobility scooter There is a hell of a lot more discrimination against people who use these.
Are housing associations telling their tenants they cant have or store e scooters Because they are with mobility scooters.

We get dickheads near me riding electric bikes that have definitely been tampered with as they are much faster. Some also use balaclavas (nice) and they have been using off road dirt bikes and quad bikes. We get them all over and the police do absolutely f all about them. They never have license plates and they go up on pavement all sorts.

I love my ebike, its improved my life a lot, but I don't weave in and out of traffic (I ride on cycle path) or anything dangerous like that, I wear a helmet and have lights on the bike.

Those modified ones sound really bad though, thankfully none of those where I am.

Cars are way more of a menace