Are you doing a guided bike tour to Holland and Belgium? If so, which company, which tour, if you’re willing to share?
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There are different classes of e-bikes. Class 3 is technically prohibited on our multi-use trails, but I still see some idiots zooming through surrounded by a cloud of dust.
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@citivas Thank you for this description. On the bike (recreational) path I use to commute to/from work, I’m one of the few ‘regular’ bike commuters; the rest are e-bikes but some, as I’ve always suspected, are these e-mopeds going entirely too fast on a path that isn’t for ‘motorized’ vehicles. It’s scary for walkers/runners, little kids riding bikes and us ‘slow’ bikers. That said, to the OP’s question, I don’t ride an e-bike now, doing all my riding on a road bike, but envision that might be something I’d like later on! (at reasonable speeds around alot of people). A vacation tour on e-bikes sounds really fun!
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Dumb question - what happens if you break 20mph? Does the bike brake? I remember training for my triathlon, and I could hit 30-35mph going down our hills without barely pedaling at all… The first time I hit that speed I just sat and cried the whole way down, lol.
I actually was a tester for an E-bike company one summer, I believe about 12 years ago. It was definitely a pedal assist kind. I don’t recall it having a max speed limit though. I had a big hill to go up/down on the way to work and don’t remember it restricting me on the way down. It most certainly helped on the way up!
The Police Dept also tested a few. One of the officers wrecked his.
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@1214mom Yes, a guided e-bike/barge journey - after exhaustive research (including watching a passenger’s 35 minute video of the reverse itinerary) I decided on BoatBikeTours - my itinerary is Amsterdam to Bruges.
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I have reached about 26 MPH on my e-bike and braking was totally fine. Obviously on any bike or vehicle braking distance will be relative to speed before braking, and jamming the brake is not great. But I found my bike does a smooth braking very much as I would expect and predict. And not fundamentally different than my old non-e bike did (better actually because the e-bike has nicer brakes).
To be clear, what I wrote previously was there is a max speed limit that it provides assistance to, not that it physically restrains the bike to that speed. Like any bike, you can achieve higher speeds if you sustain a long downhill run and do nothing to moderate it through braking. The result would be exactly the same whether the bike was non-powered or an e-bike with pedal assist. Other than downhill, it would be extremely hard to get to and sustain that speed eve with an e-bike which would stop helping in the 20’s. There are different certification class levels for e-bikes. Class 1-2 max assistance at 20 MPH. Class 3 at 28. Individual manufacturers can choose not to achieve those maxes but they cannot exceed them (though some bikes can be modified/hacked by users to exceed them – which is what is common in the throttle models, particularly by delivery people).
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Thanks! That’s what I was wondering. If it would just stop assisting or if it wouldn’t let the bike go faster than 20mph (or 28)
As a runner, those throttle/moped type e-bikes are absolutely terrifying to me. Idk if they are supposed to be on trails here or not, but they absolutely are. It seems that most folks who ride those are NOT experienced bikers. They rarely alert runners/walkers as they are passing. They obviously weigh much more than a road bike. I do not like encountering them on my runs.
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I’m back to thank all of you who recommended Chamois Buttr (the one made for women is amazing!), and bike shorts. I am now the proud owner of both, and am happily riding my bike with zero issues!
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For those considering an ebike, just be aware that they are very heavy. No problem on rides, since you’ll have assist as needed. But…. if you have to put it into a car, it’s not as easy as a normal bike.
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Even wheeling it into the van was tough. Yes, my bike weighs 70# - for reference I’m 146#. It is Heavy!
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H has an e-bike and I just bought Zizzo Campo folding bike (not e-bike) to fit inside the back of our camper. It’s 30 lbs but compact when lifted. I rode it around and learned how to fold and unfold it. I am short so it fits me. Not sure it would work with a tall person. For $300 so far so good.
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