alt Hacker NewsA pedal-assist e-bike with a 500 Watt motor and an easily bypassed speed governor looks like a bicycle, it is pedaled like a bicycle, and yet it is unsuitable for a bicycle lane or a path shared with pedestrians.
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lifestyleguru • today at 11:48 AM
What's even the point of pedal-assisted bicycles, other than gaming the system and exploiting some legal quirks?
Neither they are fast, powerful, or have reasonable range, yet are already too heavy to pedal only.
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Pedal-assist feels to me like a complete red herring to the actual issues. It's often an arbitrary line but it doesn't make much difference to safety at all. (nor, IMO, do power limits, because it either limits cargo bikes or makes lighter bikes a lot less predictable: I would think an acceleration limit would be a more sensible option).
(build-in speed limits that are significantly below what the average cyclist can achieve by pedaling also seem kind of silly. IMO people might not bypass such limits as much if the limit was put at a more sensible level)