I guess you simply ban thottle control bikes completely and make them only pedal assist (max speed 15mph)..though clever peeps will always get around that I suppose.

I think these bikes with really high output are illegal already aren't they and only supposed to be ridden on private land...but who checks.?

I've had my folding E-bike for around 6 years..pedal asist only..and no more issues than I would have had with a push bike.

Surely there is nothing wrong with the concept of e bikes! Yes there will always be some elements of illegal fettling going on to make them quicker but it's a small minority. Throttle e bikes are illegal to ride in UK. This tragedy could just as easily been on a normal bike, they can easily reach speeds of 30 to 40mph under the right conditions. As for riding on pavements, well yes , we have seen recently how dangerous it can be, but UK is far far behind Europe in terms of infrastructure for cycling, that's why people ride on pavements!

I am posting this in motoring has I feel it will be relevant to all road users.

Even though it isn't?

Police stated that the bike had been purchased second hand and was capable of travelling at 70mph and was rated at some 800 watts the legal output for an e-bike being some 250watts.

An 800 watt motor couldn't propel an ebike to 70mph, 70kmh is about achievable though. Also, an ebike is only legally restricted to 250 watts if it is on public roads. On private land/roads you can have as much power as you want.

The fact that these e-bikes exist and may be illegal is of what consequence when more and more of these bikes are using the pavement and public highway and I personally have seen them being ridden in a totally irresponsible way usually by teenagers. E-bikes are another scourge for the law abiding motorist to be aware of

Typical double standards. You are quite happy for cars to be sold capable of well over twice the speed limit and way more power than anyone needs, but the equivalent ebikes are a "scourge". Same for irresponsible and reckless behaviour. Never see any posts from you about motorists doing this (unless driving an electric car, when of course they are fair game for your vitriol), despite in my own experience this is far more common from them than ebike riders. It is also the case that motorists behaving in this manner are going to cause a much bigger accident when their number finally comes up. And lets be quite clear, all bicycle riders, ebikes or otherwise, have way, way more to fear from inattentive motorists than the other way round.

I have not ridden an e-bike but I would imagine that they would require a bit more more skill than your typical push bike especially the throttle operated e-bikes capable of a constant speed of some 26mph with no peddling.

Yes, because we all know how much skill is required to ride a 50cc moped/scooter (30mph)!.

The fastest speed I managed before I got my ebike was 43mph. Fastest speed I've managed on my ebike is 35mph. Also, "illegal" ebikes (by that mean any ebike which you don't have to pedal to get electric power) may be fairly common, but ones capable of powering the rider to 26mph or more, are not. Because even from China, an ebike capable of that kind of speed, isn't that cheap.

Edited by badbusdriver on 30/03/2023 at 08:10

E bikes and scooters are a fundamentally good idea for urban travel - cheap, non-polluting, small (parking and road space needs) etc.

There are laws which regulate e-bikes. Beyond a certain point (power and speed) they become "motorbikes" and subject to helmets, number plates, insurance, MoT etc etc.

The real problem is that laws are not (or barely) enforced allowing the foolish, inconsiderate or deliberately unpleasant the freedom to be antisocial.

Banning e-bikes and scooters is not the solution.

E.bikes are on our roads and uninsured.

As are normal bicycles and a great many cars.

They are a new and increasing aspect of our lives

Indeed so, since the late 1800's.........

sooner or later all motorists will have some encounter with an e-bike.

Fairly sure most will have already, as did I when out for a cycle this morning, not sure what your point here is?

In big cities bikes in general have increasingly become lawless ignoring traffic light and zebra crossings

Ah, so not just ebikes you have a chip on your shoulder about, but all bikes. And as usual completely ignoring the motorists who are also guilty of running red lights and not stopping at pedestrian crossings.

so I would think that this thread would be of interest to most motorists.

This thread was about a young man on a public footpath who lost his life in a tragic accident. One which occurred at a speed which anybody of a reasonable level of fitness could achieve on a bicycle which was not electrically assisted or powered.

You fail to see the bigger picture in that these powerful e-bikes are in the country and being driven on pavements and public roads.

No Sammy, it is you who is not seeing the bigger picture. You choose to only see the very small percentage of riders who behave irresponsibly and or dangerously. If you were capable of seeing the bigger picture, you would be aware that by far the biggest majority of cyclists behave responsibly.

They are unregulated as to what is being imported and sold.

As I have already said, powerful ebikes which are not legal in this country, are not that cheap, so they are never going to become that big a problem. Also, they are regulated in so far as what is available to buy in the UK. Obviously these regulations are not 100% successful, but if you were to go into every bike shop in the UK I'd bet only a tiny fraction of them would sell you an ebike which was not EU/UK approved. You certainly can't buy one from any of the bigger outfits (Halfords, Evans Cycles, Edinburgh Bikes, Decathlon, Wiggle, Chain Reaction etc, etc) who sell ebikes in the UK.

In this instance the police could only estimate the speed of impact that the unfortunate lad was doing and they are nothing like a motorbike particularly as their stopping power.

My ebike (not remotely 'sporty') has hydraulic disc brakes front and rear. So perhaps with your knowledge and experience of both ebikes and motorbikes, you can explain how my stopping power would be inferior to that of a motorbike?

As to the your use of the word vendetta all I have done is report what in the public domain and my experience of meeting e-bikes as a pedestrian.

The use of the word vendetta is entirely justified this case as you have clearly decided all cyclists, particularly those (like myself) on ebikes, are lawless and irresponsible. And while I have not looked into what was written in the press about the incident, I'd be surprised if any described ebikes as a "scourge".

I do wonder what triggered this peculiar vendetta against electric bikes. The young man was riding something classified as a motorcycle. I don't know if he was wearing a helmet, but he was not allowed on a cycle path. It's exactly the same as if someone rode a moped down a cycle path and crashed. The fact that it has an electric motor is irrelevant.

You fail to see the bigger picture in that these powerful e-bikes are in the country and being driven on pavements and public roads. They are unregulated as to what is being imported and sold. In this instance the police could only estimate the speed of impact that the unfortunate lad was doing and they are nothing like a motorbike particularly as their stopping power.

As to the your use of the word vendetta all I have done is report what in the public domain and my experience of meeting e-bikes as a pedestrian. You may feel safe in your car should you encounter one of these bikes but children and pedestrians are increasingly at risk from these e.bikes

I don't think I'm failing to see anything; how much more illegal do you think they should be?

The thread is beginning to get a bit heated. Can we keep the discussion calm and no sniping please.

Thank you

Mod

.

That NO user I've seen wears a helmet either adds to teh danger, especially to the very young, elderly and disabled who are far more vulnerable to their shennanigans.

.

How does wearing a helmet on a bike (e or otherwise) help the young, elderly and disabled?

I do wonder what triggered this peculiar vendetta against electric bikes. The young man was riding something classified as a motorcycle. I don't know if he was wearing a helmet, but he was not allowed on a cycle path. It's exactly the same as if someone rode a moped down a cycle path and crashed. The fact that it has an electric motor is irrelevant.

The problem is that e-bikes can go nearly as fast as scooters and mopeds, but unlike them, most users ride them on the pavement and far faster than walking pace, plus many (most are younger people, especially tennagers / young blokes) treat them like skateboard and ride recklessly a good deal of the time, including not stopping when crossing roads (to look first), weaving in-between pedestrians, playing chicked with oncoming pedestrians, etc, etc.

That NO user I've seen wears a helmet either adds to teh danger, especially to the very young, elderly and disabled who are far more vulnerable to their shennanigans.

If a poed rider were to do the same, they'd be hauled in front of a judge / magistrate in short order. Why aren't e-scooter / bike riders? The ONLY people allowed to ride a cycle on the pavement where not a shared area are little kids with stabiliser wheels on them. Even then, cyclists (and presumably e-scooter riders and skateboarders) must always take sufficient care to avoid accidents with pedestrians, etc, and that includes not going really fast and also following the highway code/laws.

There is, though, a massive difference between an electrically assisted bicycle and an electric powered motorcycle. This unfortunate lad was riding the latter. It shouldn't have been ridden, even on the street, without registration, insurance etc. So there's no point wanting them banned, they're already illegal.