20 mph speed assistance limit for E-bikes?

Fortunately, the increase in
Fortunately, the increase in the assistance speed is not going to happen. Those who are desperate to go faster can just illegally modify the e-bike- they’ll never be apprehended, just as the police ignore those illegal e-scooters

The key for me is to

The key for me is to discourage cars from overtaking cycles in urban areas. This could be by enforcing a 20mph speed limit with a MUST not overtake cycles in 20mph pedestrian and cycle zones, like I believe exists in other Countries in Europe. We all know it’s largely pointless to overtake someone making progress on a cycle anyway!

If assisted bikes had a 20mph limit then it would be fairly obvious when the law was being broken in these zones.

I live on the outskirts of Birmingham and on the very rare occasion I’ve had to ride across it, I have felt like the safest option is try to go at traffic speed to avoid dangerous overtakes. 10 miles of CX like effort at either end of a ride isn’t nice!

Making the default 20mph in

Making the default 20mph in urban areas would be good!

I don’t know where the 15.5mph / 25kmph thing originates but – whisper it – the same rules apply “on the continent”.  If you Google there appear to be EU directives about this.  They probably stole it from the UK though.

Travel choices are not just about speed.  For most it’s overall “convenience”.  Yes, for some people, for some journeys more speed is better.  (Hence illegal electric motorcycles).  As for bike vs car if we’re going for mass cycling that means more infra to make cycling more convenient than driving for some trips.  Here’s the synergy: even in existing UK cities cyclists can sometimes get there ahead of other transport options (if that’s the most important thing).  They can manage a higher average speed.  Now with more good infra that becomes more widely possible – because bikes don’t need traffic lights where there aren’t motor vehicles!  That’s part of how the Dutch [1] [2] and to some extent Danish get ahead.

Secondly even though some current cyclists say they’d feel safer in among motor traffic if they were going faster most people in the UK just don’t want to be in motor traffic outside of a car.  Note that you can already buy a motorbike or a scooter and “speed like the cars” in places.  This is not a very popular option.

Upping the speed limit for ebikes and also having relaxed rules for e-pedelecs seems to be the industry seeing a new potential market to me.  Doesn’t make it wrong – but we should certainly not rush into it.

Bus lanes – maybe we should have more dedicated bus lanes.  Just like cycle infra though how junctions are dealt with are critical.  Otherwise you’ve just got more buses blocked by cars.

As for bus / cycle lane – although I appreciate in the “survival environment” of UK urban roads many appreciate bus lanes this isn’t a good idea long term.  Buses and cycles don’t mix well for several reasons [1] [2].  Our current ones often only exist for part of the day and can be busy with taxis also.

Personally, I would like to

Personally, I would like to see the power and speed limit for e-bikes increased to 500W / 20mph.

In a city, it means you *shouldn’t* have to deal with close passes in 20mph limits.

For my previous, mostly rural commute, it would have meant a shorter journey time. But crucially, it would have made the decision to get an e-bike a no-brainer.

Although I often thought about it, I never bothered getting an e-bike. I got quite fit on the road bike and during the summer, could average 17-18mph – hitting 40mph comfortably on the downhill sections. So I was unsure of the benefit I would get from an e-bike. It might have made the commute less effort, but could have actually taken longer, as it might have slowed me down on the flat sections.

The other day I was comfortably keeping up with someone on one of those silly Super 73 style bikes – uphill on my 20kg dutch bike with hub gears (and I am not fit these days, it was struggling to do 12mph)!

Watched 5 minutes, good

Watched 5 minutes, good presenter but got bored at that point.  Very pleased that someone’s chose to cycle and that an electric bike helps.  They’ve noted some good points like “faster up to speed at traffic lights” etc.

So up to where I got to the main issue seems to be “Bloody cyclists!  Overtaking me on their non-powered bikes!”.  To which the answer is well, if you can’t go faster on a powered bike then – like the others –  go faster on a non-powered bike.  But put more effort in and maybe get sweaty.  That’s the trade-off.

I’m guessing she’s sometimes thinking “should I have gone for a motor scooter after all?”

The other issues were “but I’m in the way of cyclists” – not really a drama.  It’s partly a consequence of the UK road cycling environmental selection for “the quick and the brave”.   Would be fixed by “more bigger cycle infra”.  Next: “but I have to keep up with cars”.  Simples – reduce the speed of the cars or “more cycle infra”.  Finally “but it’s bigger / faster in America” – maybe, but also mostly (much) worse outside of a car.

At least in urban areas the average speed for everyone will likely be much lower than a legal e-bike is capable of.  Including in cars in many places.  The way to address that is not by increasing the speed between long waits at traffic lights.  It’s the “tortoise beats hare” method of just not stopping as much or for as long.  It’s allowing cyclists to avoid the lights entirely (one way or another), or better phasing of lights to suit buses and people cycling and walking, not “general motor traffic”.