And to put the power value of 800 Watt in relation: An average human is unlikely to go with more than 150 Watt over a sustained period. If you put this into this web computer:
you get a speed of 27 km/h for a road bike. If you put 800 Watt in for such a bike, you get a speed of 49 km/h (which in Germany is the general inside-village speed limit which is anachronistically high, and is slowly being replaced by 30 km/h where you have bicycles, pedestrisns, or schools).
That also means that an e-bike with 800 Watt power is actually a light motorcycle, with all the associated risks.
While I don’t think high-wattage e-bike motors are necessarily defensible, where you get mileage out of a higher wattage motor on an e-bike is when going uphill. These motors are already legally required to stop outputting at 25 km/h, and going 25 km/h uphill requires quite a lot of energy to do.
It’s no question that car speeds in cities are going down - and need to go down for safety. And that’s no reason at all to make e-bikes significantly faster and make things less safe.
And by the way: Further reducing the speed limits for cars, and making more space for normal bikes, including dedicated bike roads, would achieve exactly what most people which argue for higher e-bike speed limits presumably want: You get much faster to your destination. Again, the European bicycle capitals like Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Paris show how it is done.
Wrong. More watts doesn’t mean faster. Bosch eBikes go up to 750W but are locked at 25km/h. The power is used for uphill climbing ability and responsiveness to leg torque input.
His point also stands. My car has 180.000 Watts and can easily go over 250km/h. Why isn’t it banned?
Because you need a driver’s licence for that car, but not an E-Bike. And you can’t use that car on segregated green lanes in cities amidst other cyclists and pedestrians.
European attitudes towards vehicle speed stun me. 30mph is fast?! Guess the difference is that American streets are built for cars; straighter, wider and wider open on the sides. Even if you meander off a residential street, all you’re going to hit is a mailbox. That open space also gives pedestrians and bikers ample room to get out of Dodge.
LOL, 800 Watt power would be equivalent to a 49cc moped around here. Americans would laugh if anyone called that a “light motorcycle”.
And to put the power value of 800 Watt in relation: An average human is unlikely to go with more than 150 Watt over a sustained period. If you put this into this web computer:
http://kreuzotter.de/deutsch/speed.htm
http://kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm
you get a speed of 27 km/h for a road bike. If you put 800 Watt in for such a bike, you get a speed of 49 km/h (which in Germany is the general inside-village speed limit which is anachronistically high, and is slowly being replaced by 30 km/h where you have bicycles, pedestrisns, or schools).
That also means that an e-bike with 800 Watt power is actually a light motorcycle, with all the associated risks.
While I don’t think high-wattage e-bike motors are necessarily defensible, where you get mileage out of a higher wattage motor on an e-bike is when going uphill. These motors are already legally required to stop outputting at 25 km/h, and going 25 km/h uphill requires quite a lot of energy to do.
Then again, if a car with 200’000 Watts of power rolls through the same 30 km/h zone no one cares. So why should we care about bicycles?
Because we don’t fall for whataboutism?
It’s no question that car speeds in cities are going down - and need to go down for safety. And that’s no reason at all to make e-bikes significantly faster and make things less safe.
And by the way: Further reducing the speed limits for cars, and making more space for normal bikes, including dedicated bike roads, would achieve exactly what most people which argue for higher e-bike speed limits presumably want: You get much faster to your destination. Again, the European bicycle capitals like Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Paris show how it is done.
Wrong. More watts doesn’t mean faster. Bosch eBikes go up to 750W but are locked at 25km/h. The power is used for uphill climbing ability and responsiveness to leg torque input.
His point also stands. My car has 180.000 Watts and can easily go over 250km/h. Why isn’t it banned?
Because you need a driver’s licence for that car, but not an E-Bike. And you can’t use that car on segregated green lanes in cities amidst other cyclists and pedestrians.
Also, they aren’t plated, and so can’t be ticketed by speed cameras like a car can.
Incorrect. A licence, registration, and insurance is required for electrically assisted bicycles capable of exceeding 25 km/h.
And such an s-pedelec, by law, is no bicicle and thus, generally not allowed on dedicated bike lanes. So what’s your point?
(Additionally, by e-bike they probably mean a 25 km/h limited pedelec, which is called E-Bike in German law.)
I was responding to the requirement of a licence for a car, if you read the comment chain
You called it a bicycle, which is wrong and moreover confusing the discussion.
For other motor vehicles, license and insurance is required if they exceed 6km/h.
Exactly my point. The power of the vehicle is not relevant because the speed limit always applies.
I’d rather have a 1kW bicycle at 30 km/h than a 200kW car at the same speed.
Are you trolling?
European attitudes towards vehicle speed stun me. 30mph is fast?! Guess the difference is that American streets are built for cars; straighter, wider and wider open on the sides. Even if you meander off a residential street, all you’re going to hit is a mailbox. That open space also gives pedestrians and bikers ample room to get out of Dodge.
LOL, 800 Watt power would be equivalent to a 49cc moped around here. Americans would laugh if anyone called that a “light motorcycle”.
Highway speeds in Europe are 80mph, 45-55-70mph for normal roads and 30mph for town centers.
Of course not everybody keeps the speed limit, which may be variably enforced.
30mph is FAST for a bike, especially when you consider that they often travel through pedestrian areas.
Yeah I am, too, always astounded about posts like https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/22333342 or https://old.reddit.com/r/fuckcars/top/?sort=top&t=month .