A new bill introduced in the Oregon Legislature aims to prohibit the operation of Class 3 electric-assisted bicycles on sidewalks, bicycle lanes, & bike paths.
If you think that’s fast, you haven’t seen the Lycra-class in my city, lol. They go way faster than class III speeds on a road bike while on flat trails. One family friend actually got pulled over for doing 64 km/h on his standard road bike (with hills)
Yes, an experienced road cyclist can go faster than 50km/h in certain circumstances, and while I’d never condone those speeds in bike lanes, there’s a high level of training that acts as a gatekeeper to achieving those speeds. It’s also difficult to maintain those speeds for very long.
Ebikes enable people to go faster than they otherwise would, but it requires no skill or experience, which is where the risk comes into play.
In the elderly, ebikes are causing a massive spike in injuries, even in the Netherlands (ruling out poor infrastructure as the cause).
Speed limits should be common sense in bike lanes, but assholes will be assholes regardless of what the law says.
Fwiw, the average speed of a tour de France cyclist is only around 40km/h, and that’s with the benefit of drafting behind other riders.
If you think that’s fast, you haven’t seen the Lycra-class in my city, lol. They go way faster than class III speeds on a road bike while on flat trails. One family friend actually got pulled over for doing 64 km/h on his standard road bike (with hills)
Nobody can keep up with them in the bike lanes.
The context is important.
Yes, an experienced road cyclist can go faster than 50km/h in certain circumstances, and while I’d never condone those speeds in bike lanes, there’s a high level of training that acts as a gatekeeper to achieving those speeds. It’s also difficult to maintain those speeds for very long.
Ebikes enable people to go faster than they otherwise would, but it requires no skill or experience, which is where the risk comes into play.
In the elderly, ebikes are causing a massive spike in injuries, even in the Netherlands (ruling out poor infrastructure as the cause).
Speed limits should be common sense in bike lanes, but assholes will be assholes regardless of what the law says.
Fwiw, the average speed of a tour de France cyclist is only around 40km/h, and that’s with the benefit of drafting behind other riders.