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Comment by zalew | Hacker News Reader

Poor choice as a bike and poor choice as a motorcycle, yet looks like a nice means of commuting through town provided it's legal to use bicycle paths with that thing in your country, otherwise it's just an electrical moped. Too bad the price will probably be ridiculous and it will end up as the next segway.

If it manages to get actual demand around the world, they are probably to face regulatory nightmares regarding speed. F.ex. in Poland 65 km/h disqualifies it from the moped category (< 45 km/h), and the mopeds themselves aren't allowed on bike lanes anyway, so it'd be just a less comfortable less powerful electric scooter.

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I agree with everything except the 'next segway' bit. The segway had it's day partly due to the novelty, but this is just a fancy (and heavy!) electric mo-ped. Mo-peds have been around a long time.

Nothing to see here.

'next segway' as in too expensive for its purpose to become a comodity.

I am assuming you are in the EU and you know more about the laws there.

Did you read this bit from the site?

Driving modes - Most EU countries consider two-wheeled electric vehicles as motorcycles if they can reach a speed in excess of 25 km/h and have more than 250 W of power. The G-12 has a special mode to comply with the regulations for road vehicles – which limits the speed and power. Still, the top-speed is just a tap on the touch-screen away when you need it.

Doesn't that place it under the "bicycle" category? Or are they skirting the issue and the authorities will not likely deem it that way regardless what "mode" you put it?

I'd have to dig into the subject and I can't speak for the whole EU. In my country, by definition, a bicycle can't be powered only by an engine. Electric bikes are bicycles when their electrical engine is powered by pedalling, how weird wouldn't that sound. The electrical engine can't be more than 250W and needs to power off over 25km/h. Not sure the 'modes' would count, IANAL. (But keep in mind Poland is a beaurocratic hell and our laws regarding even normal bicycles are an evil clusterfuck, as an example we have 4k people locked up for bicycle DUI and only 1k more for DUI in a car, and during the last policies update blinking headlights and reflective tires were banned - in the name of safety of'koz.) It may work differently in other countries. F.ex. in Poland you can make a motorbike license and jump on a Hayabusa, Germans have graded licences based on power so noobs don't kill themselves on the first day, etc. Most unified laws among the EU concern trade, not issues like road safety.

Bicycle DUI really, wow...

In Belgium they throw money and campaings at getting people not to drive cars under influence. I wouldn't say "take your bike" is the official stance, but certainly the most popular alternative.

I've never heard of anyone being stopped to check alcohol levels on their bike.

The reason is it falls under the same law - cars, bikes, forklifts, tractors, etc. Basically: alcohol == walk. The curious thing is, you lose your driver's license for bike DUI. If not for an accident, people get canned usually for recidivism, first senteces are suspended. I've been stopped for a breathalyzer once, in the middle of the night, on an empty bike path in Warsaw.

Well, Belgium, heh, we are a bit different when it comes to bike infrastructure and roads in general. A lot of traffic goes through local roads, small towns and villages often lack means of transport in the evening, and people drink a lot - figure out the rest. A drunk biker can be a danger to himself and the drivers, but there are enough laws to punish somebody for behaving dangerously on the road, no need to get nazi on everybody who's been for a few in a pub. Well, it's ridiculous.

Wouldn't work for germany, the limitation has to be implemented physically or enforced by the motor electronics.

Which often get replaced by teenagers, with the consequence of loosing the allowance of the bike/moped and a hefty fine if it gets spotted.

The police even picks them randomly out for checks more often because of this.

Bicycles with electric boosters are allowed up to 25km/h and 250W.

Everything above that needs a driver license in the EU - Class M if I'm not mistaken. And of course has to have a numberplate from your insurance.

But most electric bicycles here in germany are limited to 20km/h, so that the rider isn't forced to wear a helmet by German law.

(All km/h are meant without human power.)

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