Comment by mchusma
9 hours ago
I really think ebikes, and things like this, would have a much better reputation if they really only supported up to maybe 10 km/h or 6 mph. This is a normalish running/jogging pace. Basically, they helped up hills and when tired but were not "motorcycles-lite". At least around us, in an area with lots of kids, people want to have them but there are so many injuries and problems that sentiment is generally very negative. And I think all you need to "make biking easy" is low speed assist. You don't need support up to 20 mph for that.
> I really think ebikes, and things like this, would have a much better reputation if they really only supported up to maybe 10 km/h or 6 mph.
Where is it ebikes don't have a good reputation?
Where I'm living, they have a very good reputation, and very many have them.
The motor shuts off at 26km/h.
You sound like you might not ride bikes often, or you're from an area where bikes are mostly used by kids? I commute daily on one of the most popular commuter paths in the country and I would say most commuters I see are averaging about 15 mph (while moving) with or without an electric motor. Plenty of people commute at the 20 mph max legal speed that pedal assist bikes allow, and I also see a lot of people on acoustic bikes hitting 20-25 or faster.
Many commuters on e-bikes are people who otherwise would be driving a car, so e-bikes that help people commute to work in a timely manner are critical. At the end of the day people are going to do the thing that is competitive on time and if we want to reduce the crush of car traffic around the country then we need the people who can bike to go out and do it.
In that case I would support promoting 20+ mph e-bikes as e-scooters, make them easy to get, cheap/free to license and call it a day.
"Bikes" with 20-30mph speed are awesome, much healthier than gas vespas, and much cheaper and more sustainable than cars.