I dislike that people are effectively riding motorcycles on dedicated bike paths.
I especially dislike that companies get to profit from cluttering public spaces with bicycle and scooter litter.
My hope is that long-term we get the e-bikes into the street where they belong and combine that with traffic calming measures to make scooter commuting feasible from a safety perspective.
Then you must hate on-street parking and parking lots.
I think the speed and power limits of ebikes are actually pretty reasonable. A fit cyclist can go faster on the flats, and I don't just mean a pro, anybody young and healthy who cycles a few times a week should be able to manage it.
Bikes should have their own transport spaces, not sharing with cars. Cars should be limited access from many areas. And pedestrians should be as mindful of bikes as they are of cars.
Here in Seattle we actually reclaimed on-street parking for dedicated bike-share parking because people park them so inconsiderately. Like sideways blocking entire bike paths and sidewalks.
If you are in a wheelchair you can forget about curb ramps, they’re blocked by bike shares.
But to those companies credit, they do have at least token process of punishing bad parking.
I think the parent commenter is suggesting that devoting vast swathes of land to storing objects that are only used for few percent of every day could, in some ways, be considered "cluttering public space".
I certainly agree that scooters dumped in the middle of a sidewalk is very annoying. I haven't lived anywhere where rental bikes can just be dropped (they're returned to stations) so I haven't experienced littering in that sense.
A buddy of mine bought a Super73 which has speed limiting modes but operates purely on the honor system. In the "unlimited" mode it can do 28mph, without pedaling. In the "limited" mode it can still do 20, which is faster than most people are capable of for any extended period of time without a power assist.
A Super 73 weighs 73lbs. That's double a regular bike. Moving at 2-4x the speed. Sure the rider is more than that but e-bike numbers are a lot closer to mopeds than bicycles.
Partially repeating my comment from another sub-thread here:
In Europe, the speed at which an ebike motor may assist one is limited to 25 km/h (~ 15.5 mph):
> pedal cycles with pedal assistance which are equipped with an auxiliary electric motor having
> a maximum continuous rated power of less than or equal to 250 W, where the output of the motor
> is cut off when the cyclist stops pedalling and is otherwise progressively reduced and finally
> cut off before the vehicle speed reaches 25 km/h;
-- REGULATION (EU) No 168/2013, Article 2, §2 (h)Note that while the current regulation is valid since 2016 there was a (in this regard) very similar one since 2002 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A...)
There are faster pedelecs, but those need to be registered and have insurance, same as any lightweight motorbike needs to have since like ever, most common are the ones <= 50cc as those are allowed with 14 or 16 years of age, and those are not allowed on bike-only roads or lanes.
I am talking about a dedicated asphalt path that runs parallel to a road with parking and/or a curb or barrier between traffic and the bike path. Next to this path is a sidewalk for pedestrians, separated by grass. In some places the pedestrian and bicycle traffic merge. They are always separated from traffic. Sometimes they take routes that do not follow roads, such as through parks.
The road itself also has a bike lane which is striped between traffic and the parked cars. Cars and bicycles sometimes share this space, sometimes it is separated by a double white line or some cones. Considerate bicycle riders that want to go faster than is safe around pedestrians use this in-the-road bike lane rather than the bike path. This is where e-bikes that can go 28mph belong.
The only motorized vehicles I have ever seen on these bicycle paths are e-bikes. I have not seen full electric motorcycles (with plates, like a Zero) or any ICE vehicle, even a moped, on these paths.
Yeah, I assumed both (separate bike road and just painted bike lane) and I've seen both.. And really even a car during rush hour, granted in a bit more rural area and the bike road wasn't _that_ much used, but still...
> The only motorized vehicles I have ever seen on these bicycle paths are e-bikes. I have not seen full electric motorcycles (with plates, like a Zero) or any ICE vehicle, even a moped, on these paths.
Yeah, but as, at least where I live (in a European country) they're limited to 25 km/h it's not a issue. As said, pedelecs, which can go faster, are a thing but need a plate, more safety equipment and insurance, and I see no reason why people then would more (or less) frequently use them illegally like existing motorized vehicles.
Super73 bikes are premium bikes that start at $1500 and can easily top $5000 with accessories. The highend RX cost $3500 base, has 750w motor that boost up to 1200w with an almost 1000 watt hour battery.
Compare that to something reasonable like the RadPower Radmission that costs $999, has a 500w Motor that cuts out at 20 mph powered by a 500 watt hour battery.
Just like regular bikes, ebikes come in all varieties and banning them all or relegating them to car lanes because a few should be classified as Mopeds isn't the answer.
Some responsible ebike companies ship their top end bikes with VINs that require they be registered as Mopeds.
Many ebikes are completely unassuming and you don't even realize they are battery powered.
I actually think the Super73 is great, on the road. I’d like to see something even more capable. I’m hoping they lead to light e-scooters (like a small motorcycle, not the stand-up things) that can do 45+ MPH. That should probably require a license plate and motorcycle endorsement but I’m ok with that. America needs more two wheeled transport adoption.
I've passed people on Lime/Jump bikes while riding a single speed bike so I'm not sure that I'd say they're significantly faster. They can get up to speed much faster than a regular bike, which is really nice in traffic.
I think this is a disingenuous description of "provide a valuable service that many people appreciate".
I also don't see why speed-limited e-bikes shouldn't be on bike paths, unless you're living in an area where they are unthrottled or have a ridiculously high limit.
They’re a nuisance. The city actually marked off some specific parking areas and is asking the ride share companies to require drop off in those areas. It got that bad.
I regularly see bike shares and scooter shares blocking curb ramps in crosswalks. Good luck to anyone in a wheelchair.
E-bikes might provide some value but proponents and users are ignoring the negative externalities to existing cyclists and pedestrians.
It will get better but we need to educate people on how to use these things responsibly.
I'm massively pro-cycling, but bikes belong either in dedicated infrastructure or on the roads. Roads must not be monopolized by motor traffic — everyone pays for this infrastructure through taxation and it should serve everyone equally well.
Cycling on a sidewalk is also not a good experience for the cyclist, either. When crossing a perpendicular street it's quite a pain to look behind to see if someone is about to turn into you as you cross the road. This is no problem for pedestrians because they move slowly and can usually look back without wavering too much. It's not a concern for cyclists on the road because they have the right of way. Then there are reversing cars, stuff in the way (bins, lamp posts, whatever) and myriad other reasons why cycling on a sidewalk is impractical.
I love cycling and bikes and firmly believe cycling has an important role in getting people around. But it shouldn't be at the expense of people who're walking. Bikes belong on dedicated infrastructure or on the road. If the road is deemed "not suitable" somehow this needs to be addressed by building better roads.
Then you'd better be driving slowly and paying attention if you want to operate a heavy vehicle around where kids are.
> the road is a dangerous place to be
Roads are fine; motor vehicles being driven at speed make places dangerous.
Last week in my city an electric scooter pulled out of a junction - where the light was red - in front of a bus. The bus performed an emergency stop, causing minor injuries that required hospitalization to a number of people onboard. The scooter just continued without stopping. Police are trying to track down the driver, but it seems pretty much impossible (it was privately owned, not rented from an app).
I've also seen countless accidents from people driving at 25km/h across pedestrian crossings, and the car not seeing them before it's too late. Here you are supposed to dismount from vehicles and walk across, but most people do not.
Near my office there is a junction where you can turn left - crossing a lane coming in the other direction - and go up a hill, at the same time the light is green for pedestrians to cross, and cars are supposed to give way. If a scooter is coming along the pavement at full speed, in the same direction as you are travelling before you turned, there is no way you will see it until it's right in front of you and it's too late to stop.
I think its weird that we would let children of any age, with no knowledge of road rules ride a bike around in traffic.
In my small city, it's legal for kids to ride bikes on the footpaths, but in most of Australia its is not. I think its backwards.