20 mph speed assistance limit for E-bikes?

Personally I feel that for around 15mph with assist, being able to use the bike paths and with no regulation, insurance, training - is fair.  It's a bit "how long is a piece of string" and I understand the UK need to "keep up with the cars".  However (I hope) we're in transition away from the old UK model of the fit and the brave.  At that point we're talking "cycle infra".  And the speed of the average person on a bike is relevant.  Which will be lower than that of today's roadie.

For a faster commute I'd have thought a speed pedelec would have you covered?  Unfortunately while currently possible in the UK - and up to 30mph - it's less convenient than it might be.  We have "bike / ebike" or "moped".  So as road.cc wrote you need to jump through several hoops.

However... while it might make sense for the law to take notice that speed pedelecs are mechanically closer to bikes than mopeds the key thing here is "goes at 30mph".  If we think people need certain restrictions for a moped then we should be thinking carefully whether we should skip or relax them when applied to a speed pedelec.

I'd deffo be cautious of using the promise of "moar speed" to try to tempt people onto bikes (unless it's "less haste, more consistent average speed" e.g. proper infra!).  Look how that went with cars...  Plus people can get a moped right now - yet they aren't the major vehicle on the roads, so I'm not sure that works as a temptation.

At the point where you're considering a speed pedelec in the UK, you'd be better off just getting a moped with all the regulations that involves - including having to wear a motorbike helmet. I did briefly consider it before dimissing the idea.

I get your point about lack of training etc. but there's nothing stopping someone buying a road bike with no training and riding flat out on a shared use path. I don't think a slight uplift to 20mph would be problematic.

HoarseMann wrote:

I get your point about lack of training etc. but there's nothing stopping someone buying a road bike with no training and riding flat out on a shared use path. I don't think a slight uplift to 20mph would be problematic.

Well... someone with no training and they can keep 20mph up regularly?  Some talent spotted there!

Just because some can with effort doesn't mean most will under normal circumstances.  The whole point about motorised things is the reduction of effort (to approx zero, if it's a car or a motorbike).  So it's fairly likely people who are not well equipped to handle 20mph on a bike (on roads or cycle infra) will be doing somewhere near that, a lot of the time (depending on level of motor assistance obvs).

*Preaching* That's one of the joys of cycling - in safe conditions.  A child can do it.  It isn't like driving a car, where a lot of training is required and alertness should not be optional.  It shouldn't be like cycling on a busy UK road where concentration is a requirement for self-preservation.

I know the numbers are arbitrary.  With more speed for a large number of people come some problems.  Some of which increase more than linearly with increased speed!

Well maybe there's an argument for another category of e-bike, 20mph, no licence, registration, helmet or insurance requirement, but banned from shared paths and some cycle lanes. It's not like the bikes don't exist, it's what the majority of e-bikes sold in the USA are limited to.

If you live in a city blessed with infrastructure and where 15.5mph is enough, you get one of those. If you've got a longer commute on rural roads and A-roads with next to no cycling infrastructure, you get a 20mph bike.

HoarseMann wrote:

If you live in a city blessed with infrastructure and where 15.5mph is enough, you get one of those. If you've got a longer commute on rural roads and A-roads with next to no cycling infrastructure, you get a 20mph bike.

That's a fair shout I think; this is where geofencing could really come into its own.

To be fair, it's not like there's much enforcement of the illegal e-bikes that can go way faster than 20mph anyway.

If it was GPS ringfenced, like rendel says, similar to the way drones won't fly in certain areas, then it could work. It might even mean that less people are tempted to ride illegally modified bikes.

it's not like there's much enforcement ... of anything at all really

There was an illegal e-scooter in Garstang yesterday, about 100 yards from the police station

Sounds like a great idea. I wouldn't want to do 15mph on most cycle lanes I've used but I'd happily stick to the road and go at 20mph.