I live part time in a tourist town. 30 years ago, it was bicycles. Rentals, DUI locals and enthusiasts. Now I’m dodging 35 mph “bicycles”, and the people who ride the, want to be treated like a true cyclist. In my opinion, a true cyclist can sort of ignore the traffic rules. But the speed limit in my town is 35, and I’m getting passed by people who are basically lane splitting.
Unpopular opinion is that when I mention this to people, they give me grief saying, not everyone is in good shape like you. Doesn’t matter. Buy a moped and stop pretending you’re on a bicycle.
Comments
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
Is the issue that they are e-bikes or that they go fast? I don’t get how e-bike riders “buying a moped” would change your conundrum.
Here’s a real unpopular opinion: I don’t think you should need a motorcycle endorsement in general. A regular license should be enough.
I actually agree. Much faster than a moped as a general rule.
EBikes have classes, Class 1, 2, and 3. Class 1 is pedal assist only and only go 20mph and are allowed in bike lanes and bike paths. Class 2 has an optional throttle but only goes 20mph still so is allowed on bike lanes and bike paths.
Class 3 goes 28mph but is pedal assist only (no throttle) and any additional speed on top of that comes from pedaling over the motor assist, so if they’re going 35mph they’re getting 28 from the motor and the rest from the riders legs, or they’re modified (potentially illegally).
Class 3 bikes aren’t allowed on bike paths and bike lanes everywhere, but varies by region.
And in the UK ebikes over 15.5 mph are not legal.
Anything beyond these classifications is generally seen by law enforcement as a motorcycle or moped and requires tag/license/turn signal etc etc.
TL|DR these regulations are already in play and usually just people illegally riding. If a bike path/lane doesn’t allow class 3, people generally do it anyways but hardly ever get in trouble or get caught because it looks like any other bike or ebike.
Also some people modify them, i.e. they have a legit class 2 ebike but they upgraded the motor and battery etc but all the labels and badging are the same and they have a hidden potentiometer to limit the throttle speed and they go like 40 or 50 mph…
It was one of the most impressive feats of lobbyism that these are not handled as Mopeds would. They are literally Mopes. Just electric ones. So yes. But what’s even worse are the scooters. These things are so dangerous. I work in the ER, and we have more serious scooter accidents than motorcycles, cars and bicycles combined. And I mean deadly accidents too.
Edit: I should clarify I mean the little scooters not things like electric Vespas and such.
There are eBikes and then there are these inexpensive electric scooters with no pedals that go 30+ mph and have nothing in common with bicycles (aside from 2 wheels and a seat). Definitely should be licensed to ride these on the streets.
Agreed. And they rip down the park bicycle paths in a motorcycle helmet with 4 inch tires, weaving among Sunday riders. Should be on the road, as a vehicle which is what they are.
Not sure where you’re form but in the US they do require a license if they’re class 3 ebikes which can go up to 28 miles per hour.
There’s roving gangs of kids doing wheelies in my neighborhood now
Where I live, if it uses anything other than pedals and can got over 25 it is a motorcycle, and does need to be licensed. Not sure if that’s a state or law, but there are places where your opinion isn’t unpopular at all.
Probably what do they do with dirt bikes or mopeds there ya go
I go 35 on my 100% manual pedal bike. Should I need a special license?
You’re just a hater :/
This is such a popular opinion that a lot of municipals and states have laws enforcing that above a certain speed , e-bikes need to be treated like motor vehicles.
I don’t know where you live, but where I’m from all e-scooters and e-bikes are speed-locked to 25 km/h. If you want to go faster, you need a motorcycle license, and you won’t be doing it on an e-scooter, since those can’t have a license plate.
In many places they do regulate them in Europe I think they top out at 25 km/h if they want to be considered a bicycle. Where I am in Ontario it’s 32 km/h (20 mph) and they have to have operable pedals.
The US seems weird that they allow 28mph+ ebikes to be ridden around without any license and without insurance or plates.
If it has a throttle and doesn’t require pedaling to move, it’s a motorcycle with a pedal backup
If it’s a pedal bicycle that has electric assist that will not work without pedaling and has no throttle, it’s an E bike
I agree
just because cyclists do ignore traffic laws, doesn’t mean they should be allowed to
I have an electric bike and the motor tops out at 25 kph (15 mph) and it only works while pedaling. There is no throttle on it. I don’t think that should be considered a motorcycle or moped at all. If I really push hard I can get up to 30 kph (19 mph) but the motor won’t assist with that and I certainly can’t maintain it.
Fun fact: E-bikes going faster than 25km/h are classified the same as 50cc scooters/motorbikes in the EU, and therefore you need registration, insurance, and wear a motorbike helmet.
I guess that’s the legislation you want. You were simply born into the wrong place on earth. 😂
I legally cannot drive a moped, nor can I get a licence due to epilepsy. My epilepsy is not drastic enough to get disability benefits, yet I cannot stay seizure free for long enough to not only get my neurologist approval but to also even try to get my licence, as I have to hold a G1 for two years until I can get a full licence (unless I take classes). You might ask, why don’t I take classes and get my full licence sooner? Well, if I have a seizure while training for a higher licence I would lose access to my G1 and would have paid to speed up my licence progress for no positive outcomes (likely have to start from the beginning again). E-bikes are all I have for local travel as I live in a city that doesn’t have the best bus routes. Could I ride a normal bicycle? Sure. But why should I have to work harder to do my daily tasks for something completely out of my control. Do I believe E-bikes and also bicycles should follow the rules of the road? Absolutely. Also I live in Canada where E-bikes aren’t supposed to go over 32km/h or 20 mph so I haven’t experienced people like that
Class 1 & Class 2 e-bikes are bikes.
Class 3 is not really
I think either everything with 2 wheels needs licensing or none of them should. If people can ride on a 55 mph road going 25 on a bicycle then there’s no reason I shouldn’t be allowed to do the same on a dirt bike or 4 wheeler
Well most jurisdictions limit them to 15-20mph and while I agree they shouldn’t modify them unless they want to do the extra paperwork/licencing to own a moped/motorcycle the most commonly stated reason for doing so is drivers getting impatient and wanting them to go faster. Whether you have a license or not you should have the right to use the roads your taxes help pay for and some people aren’t physically fit enough for bikes.