E-bikes could get faster, more powerful and not require pedaling, in a move announced today by UKGOV. Cycling organizations are opposed to the plans.

  • Linkhar@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    As someone who bikes in Copenhagen i love that they are not faster. E bikes are allowing people to get to speeds that they cannot handle because it is a lot easier. So they go faster than their abilities and becomes very dangerous on the overfilled bike lanes

    • Swarfega@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      I’m talking about a typical enthusiast road cyclist rather than the average Joe out on their bike or commuting to work on bike paths. I whole heartedly agree that on bike paths and inner city commuting that we don’t need people zipping around busy streets.

      The people I know, who ride socially but on road bikes, have modified their ebike to allow them to go faster as on flat roads they simply cannot keep up with the rest of the group. Obviously it’s completely the opposite way round as soon as there is elevation involved.

    • FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.ioOPM
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      6 months ago

      If people wanted to go faster even if the motor was limited, couldn’t they just pedal faster anyways? 20mph on a regular bicycle is pretty achievable even by a novice.

      • Linkhar@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Yeah, but those people can -usually- handle the speed because they are pushing for it themselves. It gives them more respect for the speed. It’s getting too fast without realising how fast that becomes dangerous. And i see that a lot

        • FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.ioOPM
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          6 months ago

          I’ve definitely seen people do dumb shit on regular bicycles plenty of times, but yeah, I suppose it is more frequent on ebikes. Where I live, scooters seem to be the most frequent offenders of doing dumb shit though. I figure it’s because they’re more popular among younger people who just do dumb shit because they’re young (I know I did, kind of amazed I didn’t die).

      • Swarfega@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        Yes you can. On an ebike the engine just stops providing assistance above 25kph. In the EU that is. It’s more in north America