Last September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB-1271, which redefines and adds to several electric bicycle regulations in…
Last September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB-1271, which redefines and adds to several electric bicycle regulations in…
I don’t understand how it is a safety issue. Plenty of people ride bikes just fine without a throttle, and if you can’t get started from a stop then the bike is too heavy for your skill level.
And that’s the entire problem with the throttles. They are precisely what is enabling this trend towards bigger and heavier bikes in the first place, and that is blurring the line between bikes and mopeds in ways which are inviting unwanted regulations. Ban the throttles and the ridiculous fat tire mopeds will go away.
Exactly, one look at the photo used in the article:
Illustrates that this is not about regulating bicycles but electric mopeds/motorcycles.
Also this law is not a ban on throttles it just (correctly imo) reclassifies electric motorcycles as motor vehicles.
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Right, the entire point of an ebike is that you ride it like a bicycle, not a motorcycle, so that it can safely interact with pedestrians like a bicycle, not a motorcycle. A vehicle with the performance characteristics of a moped is not safe around pedestrians.
On my bike when I want to go faster I pedal harder. I legitimately do not even understand how throttle alone can be faster than assist unless it is being used to start a bike which is too heavy to start otherwise.
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I’m sorry I have been riding bicycles and now ebikes for 30 years, with 20 years of urban commuting, and none of this makes sense to me. By this description a throttle seems worse for ergonomics because it requires you to keep your hand in a single spot. Hand placement is an important part of balance and riding dynamics. I can lane split just fine with pedals and I would argue that if you cannot then you are riding beyond your skill, which is a major issue with throttle bikes.
Again, unless you are riding a moped which is significantly heavier than a bike so the riding dynamics are more like a moped. Which is the thing we are specifically trying to prevent.
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Ok, then you want a moped. And that’s fine. But you need to understand why there are many people who want to preserve the distinction here for some very real reasons, largely involving how dangerous these vehicles have become in densly populated areas. Nobody is saying you can’t have a throttle driven moped. You just cannot also have all the privileges of a bicycle at the same time.
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