I can't agree entirely with John, though I certainly sympathize. My experience with e-bikes is certainly less than that of many other list members, but I've seen far too many polite, slow, and apparently safe riders of e-bikes on our local paths to think that they all should be banned from such paths.
Of course, the question and problem is, how do you let the careful riders ride e-bikes at sedate speeds while blocking the fools and jerks. I dunno. But I doubt a "blanket 20 mph limit for ABQ bike paths" is going to cut the mustard. I am less sympathetic but still sympathetic to bike shop owners who push e-bikes. Sure, it's a solid revenue stream from a new and larger market, but perhaps some of the burden of weeding out jerks should start with them? That is, perhaps, by stocking only pedal-assist e-bikes that can't be switched to full-motorcycle mode with a switch, and offering at least clear literature if not 15 minute training explaining proper bike path behavior? Again, I dunno! But that never stops me from pontificating. Also, per Steve Palincsar and his very high end e-road-bike, for instance, not all e-bikes are landfill fodder by any means. On Sun, Jul 21, 2024 at 7:36 AM John Dewey <[email protected]> wrote: > And how many of those will end in landfill as they are basically junk day > one. I get e-assist for old and infirm but all the rest are a plague. > > On big rides, eg RAGBRAI, my .02 cents is to have them start an hour > earlier…tho RAGBRAI is such a free for-all. I hate the idea of e-bikes on > these sorts of events other than assist that look like any ‘normal’ > pedal-driven bike. > > And shame on bike shops for selling those abominations. Shame shame shame. > > Jock > > On Sat, Jul 20, 2024 at 3:54 PM Patrick Moore <[email protected]> wrote: > >> A local bike industry representative recently proposed a bill to the City >> of ABQ Council for blanket legal permission for all types of e-bikes along >> with a 20 mph speed limit, the limit to be moral and legal, not >> technological. My first reaction was, "Yeah, sure, and you will enforce >> this exactly how?" Me, I think that there should be official obstacles for >> use on recreational trails and bike lanes any motorized vehicle capable of >> more than 20 mph without pedaling but I don't know what those should be or >> how to impose them. >> >> Riding briskly along a bike path a couple of months ago I was passed at >> probably 25 mph (I was going at least 15 and was passed at a large speed >> difference) by a kid on a OneWheel or somesuch with no warning or vehicle >> sound besides very muted tire buzz; it was a good thing I wasn't trying to >> turn left. I have no problem with e-assist, but neophytes going faster than >> their bike path traffic skills (let along road skils) warrant does worry me. >> >> The same thing happened a few months earlier yet: a kid on an e-bike >> passed me on a bike path at a good differential without sound or warning, >> his little terrier running unleashed behind him. (It was a fast terrier.) >> (The kid would let the dog catch up, accelerate so that the dog would chase >> him, the stop and repeat. All on the left side of the path. >> >> Worst yet: 18 or 24 months ago maintaining a stout 18 or so on my Riv >> gofast on a pave bike path I was passed with no warning and very little >> noise by a kid on an electric motorcycle who passed me, I swear, and I >> don't think my imagination is fooling me, going at least 40 if not more; he >> whizzed by and disappeared up the trail and around a distant corner before >> I could collect my wits to yell an insult. But thank God that was a 1X >> even, so far at least. >> >> OTOH, by far most of the now quite numerous e-bikes I see on area bike >> paths are putting along harmlessly at 12 or 15 mph and even an old duffer >> like me can pass them handily. >> >> On Sat, Jul 20, 2024 at 11:24 AM Bernard Duhon <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> One huge difference is a “lycra lout” as you , called them, going 25 >>> mph may have bad manners but he has been riding a while and probably a >>> pretty good bike handler. >>> >>> >>> >>> However a newbie going even 15 miles an hour his electric bike is a >>> danger to everyone on the road. Including himself. When we were starting >>> out on a human powered bike we were mostly a danger to yourself. (and took >>> a while before you were cruising at 12 miles an hour) >>> >>> >>> >>> We have been a lifetime of acquiring Cycling skills. I have taught the >>> effective cycling course in the past and even seasoned cyclist benefit from >>> these type of courses. >>> >>> >>> >>> You cannot get a driver's license without passing a drivers test and >>> almost everyone has taken a driver's Ed course. >>> >>> >>> >>> Some point in the power/speed scale education courses should be >>> encouraged./promoted by the sellers. >>> >>> >>> >>> And 20 mph on ebike is too fast for an unskilled novice and that is the >>> speed limit on a lot of trails. >>> >>> >>> >>> That having been said, there are a lot of bicycles you shouldn't put a >>> novice cyclist on. I know several people who started out riding on a tri, >>> time trial and crisp handling race bike and injured themselves. They had no >>> business starting off on a bike like that and shame on the bike industry >>> for putting them on that kind of bike. >>> >>> >>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgtXgWw6n2GU4cxXKcc36MH2q1ZOjxYFbmT5HyFe53Zecw%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgtXgWw6n2GU4cxXKcc36MH2q1ZOjxYFbmT5HyFe53Zecw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CA%2BkTrE4tzTW0iGnGhzwf5yBXT5wCtSc%2BcAn8scxNrd6fMx%2B%2BLA%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CA%2BkTrE4tzTW0iGnGhzwf5yBXT5wCtSc%2BcAn8scxNrd6fMx%2B%2BLA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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