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Comment by rorykoehler | Hacker News Reader

The 25km/h limit is why I won't buy one. Pointless for normal use.

A fast e-bike would be dangerous, anyway. At that point, you should just get a small capacity motorcycle or a scooter.

I wonder if sth. like an electric Vespa would be feasible. You would be able to pack in more battery than an e-bike, but the last mile would be a problem because you can't just pedal the rest of the way.

Not only it's feasible, it's done. Cf. Gogoro for the most iconic ones (but there are plenty of other brands too).

Check out unumotors.com

The problem in Singapore is you need to get a COE for motorbikes. They cost at least 5x what am ebike would cost. I want an electrical assist bicycle that goes 50kmh and is nimble not a scooter that goes 80kmh, costs an order of magnitude more and rides like a death trap. I'd be happy if they provided some sort of intermediate license with a test for faster ebikes.

It would be good if they went 30-35, so that you don't impede traffic on streets with a 30km/h limit. I don't think the additional 15% speed would make that much of a safety difference, compared to cars overtaking you.

It'd be dangerous to pedestrians and non-motorised cyclists though.

Of course, fit cyclists can cruise at 30+. But to get to that level, you've to put in serious effort and by the time you got the power, you know your responsibilities too. But giving anybody 30km/h vehicle that is legal on shared paths ain't good idea.

If you're afraid of cars overtaking you, get a small motorcycle.

I live in Switzerland where 45km/h speedbikes are fairly popular (since for once our laws are more lax than in most European countries).

I don't really see how they're more dangerous than scooters in the same vehicle category.

The big difference is that many people drive e-bikes on bike paths or even pedestrian paths, while scooters tend to stick to roads.

No one with half a brain / common sense rides their ebikes at such speeds on pedestrian paths.

How would you prevent people who don't even have that from buying these bikes?

Don't prevent them from buying them, prevent people from riding that fast on sidewalks.

Another difference between e-bikes and scooters is that e-bikes do not require a license to drive while scooters do. One of the reasons for the speed limit on e bikes is to avoid this license requirement.

45 km/h e-bikes come with all the requirements that apply to 45 km/h limited scooters: license, plate, insurance, helmet.

The bicycle helmet instead of the Mofa/Töffli helmet is not in the same league. Cool they are (still) allowed, just like the Elektrotöffli[0].

And our laws are often more lax then Europe's. Specifically when it comes to freedoms (like weapons & privacy). Source: former EU citizen.

[0] https://emovemotors.ch/

I average between 30-40kmh riding without a motor. Ebikes should be limited to 50kmh

I figure it this way, I would want it for boosting on take off and going up hills. the limit on speed is not an issue to me as if I am maintaining a pace higher than that it is because I am on favorable terrain.

Faster than the cars in my city.

Yeah, that's just ridiculous. You can cycle 20-25km/h without catching a breath if you are even in decent shape

Under good circumstances, yes. When you are cycling recreationally, you get to pick a nice day. But if you are cycling to work every day and deal with strong wind, elevation differences, maintaining 20-25 km/h is going to be tough.

Sustaining 20-25 is easy for me on a calm day. But on steep roads or windy days it's definitely more in the 10-15 or 15-20 ballpark.

(This is from experience. I am fit, cycle 22km every working day (roughly 5200km per year) with elevation differences and have an excellent bike.

> But if you are cycling to work every day and deal with strong wind, elevation differences, maintaining 20-25 km/h is going to be tough.

That is true when you're riding uphill and/or into a headwind, but that should also be made up by the fact that the headwind/ascent becomes a tailwind/descent when you ride in the other direction.

The speeds I attain on my conventional bike range from 25 to 30 km/h on flat ground, 10 to 15 km/h going up 5% grades, but between 30 to 40 km/h going down the same grades. Headwinds on flat ground reduce my speed to 20 to 25 km/h (15 to 20 km/h if it's strong), but with a tailwind, I can maintain 30 to 35 km/h (or even up to 40 km/h if it's strong) on flat ground.

The only thing I don't like when riding are side wind gusts, but I suspect that a motor wouldn't make much of a difference in that case :)

> > But if you are cycling to work every day and deal with strong wind, elevation differences, maintaining 20-25 km/h is going to be tough.

> That is true when you're riding uphill and/or into a headwind, but that should also be made up by the fact that the headwind/ascent becomes a tailwind/descent when you ride in the other direction.

Not a great comfort when you are trying to get to work.

And in my experience, after several hours at work, the wind dies down or changes direction by the time I want to go home.

> side wind gusts

I would expect the greater mass of the motorized bicycle to help the rider stay grounded.

>> side wind gusts

> I would expect the greater mass of the motorized bicycle to help the rider stay grounded.

That might be the case when riding a motorcycle (since it weighs quite a bit more than the rider), but even the heaviest e-bikes would still be lighter than the rider.

I used to cycle to work, 3 miles long. Half of it was a straight line along the road and the overground.

Doing 50 km/h in good shape and on flat ground. Keeping up with the overground and the cars.

If you commute on flat ground, you can use a lightweight racing bake and narrow tires. Unfortunately, that does not work for forest roads on my commute, so I need a heavier trekking bake with wide tires (with a lot more friction).

Moreover, if you can do 50 km/h of sustained speed, you should become a professional cycler. The world record is around 55 km in an hour. Pro cyclers can only sustain > 50 km/h speeds for shorter periods:

https://books.google.de/books?id=-TpDCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT79&lpg=PT...

Of course, short stretches of 40 or 50 km/h is doable, but most fit cyclers cannot sustain that for 3 mile stretch. So, either you are near-pro or overestimating your average speed ;).

Ps. I pass the vast majority of (clearly non-recreational) cyclers (> 95%).

I always had a trekking bike, not that it was necessary for a concrete cycle lane.

The speed is not overestimated. The overground and the car have a well defined speed for comparison. Sometimes a friend would happen to drive along on the road on his way home and be surprised that I keep up with his car.

I cycled every day for a decade. That's a good training I guess.

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