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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think electric bikes are a total menace?

178 replies

RandomGeocache · 30/04/2023 12:05

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?

OP posts:
QuintanaRoo · 01/05/2023 10:03

NOTANUM · 01/05/2023 09:07

For all you e-bike riders, which bike do you have? I’ve been looking for ages but they all seem rather heavy.. I’m not very strong to (say) wheel it across the road or move it out of the storage.

Maybe something like a Specialized Vado SL might be good, the range will be a bit lower so depends how far you want to go. Mine is a Liv Vall e and weighs about 23kg. It does have push assist though to help move it when pushing. Weighs about 23kg. Maybe a Liv electric hybrid might be good, mines a mountain bike so that makes it heavier.

lljkk · 01/05/2023 11:44

NOTANUM · 01/05/2023 09:07

For all you e-bike riders, which bike do you have? I’ve been looking for ages but they all seem rather heavy.. I’m not very strong to (say) wheel it across the road or move it out of the storage.

What is your budget.... ? Look here: https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/best-electric-hybrid-bikes/

Best electric hybrid bikes in 2023: ebikes for commuting, shopping and riding around town

Our pick of the best electric hybrid bikes for 2023, as reviewed by the BikeRadar test team

https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/best-electric-hybrid-bikes

lljkk · 01/05/2023 11:50

I wonder if high price of 2nd hand cars has caused underclass to resort to illegal e-bikes. Is it just Glaswegians who are so hard-core? Because I am southern softie. On a regular bike you work constantly to keep warm but OP's louts are doing nothing to keep warm while moving fast in Glasgow cold-wet-wind-wet-cold.

Thesharkradar · 01/05/2023 12:41

RampantIvy · 01/05/2023 08:18

I live in a very hilly area. I know quite a few people with ebikes because there is a point where, unless you are of Tour de France standard, the hills would just put people off getting on a bike. I ride mine, but not on the steep hills so it does limit where I cycle.

@Thesharkradar are you fit enough to cycle up a three mile long steep hill without stopping? I'm not and never will be.

Show quote history

Absolutely I am!
I might do some of it standing & some of it sitting but mostly it's a matter of getting the gear shifts right, and then it's no harder than walking up the same hill.

Thesharkradar · 01/05/2023 12:42

I do have thighs like tree trunks from decades of heavy strength training so that might be part of it 🤷

NOTANUM · 01/05/2023 17:09

Thanks for the recommendations for the bikes.
The Vida E looks amazing as does the Val E. I’ve got the benefit of using the Cycle to Work scheme so have a decent budget to play with.

Thesharkradar · 01/05/2023 17:28

I saw what I presume to be an illegal e-bike when I was out today, looked like a fat bike, but done up to look like a motor bike, bloke had a full face helmet and bike leather jacket but he was riding it in an area away from roads and intended for pedestrians & cyclists only.
He must know it's illegal but recons there's no change the police will do anything....they dont have the resources I guess?
Thing is, it can be argued that e-bikes blur the boundaries between motorised & non motorised forms of transport and that then becomes ripe for exploitation.

Birdsongsinging · 04/05/2023 19:29

Thesharkradar · 30/04/2023 13:18

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😍

That’s what I am hoping. That we will become like places abroad where so many people cycle that it is much safer.

I am in Edinburgh and today I decided that I can’t cycle some of the routes I used to go. Mainly because of buses getting in the way and being sandwiched by them trying to
get to the bit at the front where bikes are meant to start off from at lights. I’m no coward but I did think today I might die!

Scunnered123 · 04/05/2023 20:09

RandomGeocache · 30/04/2023 12:11

We do not have a subway station near us.

So yes, I drive. Because it's cheaper, faster and 100 times more convenient than the one bus per hour, which takes an hour.

Show quote history

Park and ride?

QuintanaRoo · 05/05/2023 07:28

Scunnered123 · 04/05/2023 20:09

Park and ride?

Show quote history

We don’t have a park and ride in our city. They’re not everywhere.

Scunnered123 · 05/05/2023 15:55

QuintanaRoo · 05/05/2023 07:28

We don’t have a park and ride in our city. They’re not everywhere.

Show quote history

You might not but OP does.

trickompiter1981 · 25/07/2023 09:39

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Devoutspoken · 25/07/2023 09:58

I don't have one but think they're great, far better way to get round a city than a car which is a far greater menace

Lostinplaces · 25/07/2023 10:00

A young boy local to me is currently in hospital after being hit by and electric bike. Fractured skull and possible brain injury. The cyclist just whizzed away never to be held accountable.

Fightyouforthatpie · 25/07/2023 10:04

RandomGeocache · 30/04/2023 12:13

Wasn't aware that the speed was capped. It still seems "fast" especially as they get up to that speed from a standing start - a normal cyclist would take a while to get up to that speed, or only on a downhill bit.

A lot of them are illegal - either modified or built for much higher speeds - saw one on twitter the Police had nabbed - capable of 45 mph.
This is another one of those things the government and Police will largely ignore until it's too late and then say it's too big a problem for them to act.

Alexandra2001 · 25/07/2023 10:12

Thesharkradar · 30/04/2023 21:43

I also know someone’s parents who got e-bikes and they did over 2000 miles in a year on them……they wouldn’t have done anything on a normal bike. Contrary to popular opinion you do still work and get your HR up so I imagine for them it will be doing them the world of good
If your heart rate is elevated on an e-bike isnt that because you're unfit & so your heart is having to work hard even though the exercise intensity is low-relatively speaking?

Ummmmm clearly you ve never ridden a legal e-bike, they are pedal assist & usually have 3 modes of assistance, with mode 1 or 2 requiring quite a bit of input from the rider, the 3rd setting (or turbo) means a much shorter range, they are also limited to 15.5mph and above that, its human power only....

You'll definitely get a good workout if you want, regardless of your fitness.

When i can no longer get around on my normal road bike, i'll be getting an e-bike, i think they are great at getting people out of their cars.

WhereIsMyGlasses · 25/07/2023 11:44

I agree @RandomGeocache I've had lots of electric bikes keep up with me in a car at 30 mph. No helmet, no hi viz, pulling out without looking but as a car driver I'd be responsible for them not taking some security precautions. Around here (not far from you) they also go too fast on the pavements.

Motorcyclist at any mph (yes they can go faster, but I go at 30 in a 30) are required to wear a helmet by law, and if it's not strapped on properly then it's classed as not wearing one.

As a cyclist I wear hi viz, a helmet, make sure I'm seen, look where I'm going (and yes there are arsehole car drivers, ive encountered a lot) and take some responsibility for myself.

Even the best of car drivers would be at fault hitting a cyclist regardless of how little that cyclist protected themselves or how poorly they behaved on the road. It's terrifying to think!

anniegun · 25/07/2023 11:50

Poor motorist, stuck in a two tonne box of metal , pouring fumes into the atmosphere and complaining about cyclists that might be moving slightly faster.

anniegun · 25/07/2023 11:56

Lostinplaces · 25/07/2023 10:00

A young boy local to me is currently in hospital after being hit by and electric bike. Fractured skull and possible brain injury. The cyclist just whizzed away never to be held accountable.

Over 5500 pedestrians killed or seriously injured by cars in an average year. Cyclists are not the big problem

19lottie82 · 25/07/2023 12:02

Yes the food delivery guys on electric bikes in Glasgow are a PITA and unsafe. They ride those huge electric bikes with massive tyres, no lights, no helmets, no hi viz and absolutely no idea of the Highway Code. They bomb about weaving through pedestrians on the pavement, and there was an article online about one cycling through the Clyde tunnel last week!

an absolute menace.

19lottie82 · 25/07/2023 12:04

Cyclists are not the big problem

they are when they have absolutely no idea of safety and road rules. Driving about at night with no helmet, lights or high viz.

SalviaDivinorum · 25/07/2023 12:07

It's the electric scooters that get me. Driving through Bristol City Centre now is very stressful.

The general demographic of users wear hoodies (up) dark glasses and earphones so their awareness of what is around them is very poor. Not that they seem to care

Natsku · 29/07/2023 15:51

That's an article about a girl getting tragically killed by motorbikes, what's that got to do with ebikes?