In the article Rey asks for clear language surrounding pedal assist, and other, high-powered, non-assist electric two-wheeled vehicles. His main complaint is seemingly all of these vehicles are lumped into a single category by law-makers. Lawmakers who are trying to sort through issues stemming from unregulated products coming in and creating issues like fires, crashes, and parts failures which unfortunately sometimes results in deaths.
I see this as a problem as well. However; it would seem Rey is asking for something which, unfortunately, it is too late to ask for. The genie is out of the bottle, and the bicycle industry has proven to be ineffective at self-regulation.
Now the government is stepping in, asking law enforcement to enact new measures. Laws which, as in the case most recently reported on from New Jersey, make all electric two-wheeled contraptions essentially motorcycles.
In other words, the government is not interested in the "three-class" system the bicycle brands dreamed up and most likely doesn't have the resources to sort it all out anyway. The regulations should have come first, then - perhaps - we could have stopped the importation of devices clearly outside of the set parameters. However; this wasn't done, and now we have the equivalent of an "E-Bike Wild, Wild West".
Even the endemic brands to e-biking are pushing "updates" to make their machines more powerful. Easier to ride, and more power/torque? Maybe not a great idea for dirt riding especially.
I'm all for the electric bike which helps those who otherwise could not ride to get exercise, but the problems are not being created, for the most part, by this group. Unfortunately, it appears the solutions to the problems will affect this group, and that is a shame.
3 comments:
I can say.that, at least here in Lincoln, we're starting to see e-bike mounted police patrolling our local trails looking for 'perps' on illegal electric motorcycles. That's a big part of the problem here, as I imagine it is elsewhere. Bikes with actual pedals (not footpegs) aren't as much of the immediate problem here, from what I've observed.
I saw a kid on the bike path this weekend riding one of those e-motorcyles making mock pedaling movements with his legs as he blasted by us.
Our problem in Australia is you can sell anything with any amount of power if its advertised “for use on private property”. We all know where they are going to be ridden. Same holds for derestriction devices ie “chipping” as well. The market is predominately younger, male, often motorsport background who want to go as fast as possible. I cant see the genie going back in the bottle unfortunately.
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