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by bjustin 108 days ago
I propose a new and improved e-bike classification scheme:

Class A: Bikes that can not go over 10mph via a throttle. And can’t go over 28mph with pedal assist. Or set the pedal assist limit at 20mph if you’re feeling especially conservative.

Class B-Class infinity: These aren’t considered bikes. Class A is the only class of e-bike.

2 comments

> And can’t go over 28mph with pedal assist. Or set the pedal assist limit at 20mph if you’re feeling especially conservative.

That doesn't seem _that_ conservative, honestly. Lots of places have a 20mph/30km/h limit for _cars_ in urban areas.

There are plenty of long, straight, flat roads around town here, where riding at 28mph would be perfectly safe. People driving feel free to go 30+mph, after all. My e-bike's assist only goes up to 20mph, which I can sustain even without assist on many of those roads. I'd guess 25mph would be about as fast as I could go with assist while still feeling safe on a bike.
Fixed for metric:

>Class A: Bikes that can not go over 10mph (16km/h) via a throttle. And can’t go over 28mph (45km/h) with pedal assist. Or set the pedal assist limit at 20mph (32km/h) if you’re feeling especially conservative.

In Australia, the pedal-assist limit is 25km/h (~15.5mph). And frankly, that's plenty.

A major problem is there not being a way a city can legally speed limit a road such that it can ticket cars who go faster than what the bikes allow assisted.

If you take away their legal reasons for overtaking you while you go as far as the bike let's you and there's nothing ahead of you, you've already massively reduced the amount of dangerous overtaking, and you can aggressively police the remaining overtaking for speeding without having to prove they are overtaking in a dangerous manner.