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Getting used like illegal mopeds for helmetless kids, or, you know, motorbikes....
What ebike scam?
So when will the scam of dickhead drivers come home to roost?
So when will the scam of dickhead drivers come home to roost?
This is reported in the Netherlands, on cycle lanes.
Interesting comment at the end about helmets reducing injuries.
“The problem is not normal e-bikes, but ever more souped-up bikes that are basically illegal mopeds,”
From the linked article,it's an illegal motorbike problem not ebike problem
No mention of a scam in that article??
Funnily enough though I was talking about the Netherlands with a cycling friend yesterday as she has just come back from there on a work trip. She went to university there also. She was saying how great the cycling was in terms of infrastructure and courtesy to cyclists - except in Amsterdam she said, where it's the opposite.
Yep, no scam - just people doing illegal things - like the 90% of car drivers than go above speed limit (including me).
The derestricted e-bikes are not exactly hard to spot in use and many have converted them to not even require pedalling at all making it even easier. Whether the police have the time or the inclination is another matter though.
To be fair, they are right to point the finger of blame at fat bike riders, not sure of the logical conclusions in this case, but they are bound to be guilty of something.
Interesting comment at the end about helmets reducing injuries.
Not really as it gives no context! 48% of nothing is still nothing afterall!
The e bikes that I worry about the really shonky home brew delivery lash ups with massive batteries, they must he a fire hazard particularly the ones with the gaffer tape battery wrapping.
From the linked article,it’s an illegal motorbike problem not ebike problem
No, it's definitely a bike problem. I see loads of illegal e-bikes around Leeds and they're always being ridden by dickheads usually on pavements or through pedestrianised areas by deliveroo employees or the like. Never seem to be pedaling....
The problem I have is, people see a bike being ridden too fast or dangerously in the wrong place and then associate it with normal cyclists or law abiding e-bike riders.
Yes they become illegal motorbikes, but they look like normal bikes, so that's what people associate them with. Po po's will do bugger all though.
Slight aside but was in London over Christmas and saw a few escooters being carried on the tube which I thought was a massive no-no for fire reasons?
The title of this thread bears almost zero relation to the news story!?
I thought it was going to be about motor reliability and replacement cost.
The title of this thread bears almost zero relation to the news story!? I thought it was going to be about motor reliability and replacement cost
This.
This is why e-bike motor manufacturers are cracking down on shops/dealers who chip bikes. Obviously not the home brew ones but Shimano and Bosch.
Still frothing yourself up OP.🤣
3kph faster than normal bicycles,
I'm outraged and so is my wife.
Common stu that was the legal ones
Fixed the clickbait headline.
The problem I have is, people see a bike being ridden too fast or dangerously in the wrong place and then associate it with normal cyclists or law abiding e-bike riders.
Thus 100% the vast majority of the public don't understand the concept of illegally modified e-bike's, they just see a bicycle.
THe local 'yoof' round here have switched from un-registered MX bikes to electric ones. At least with the engines you could hear them - now they come past popping wheelies at 40mph weaving in and out of traffic, in total silence.
Two of them got wiped out last year at the end of the road. A driver had acidentally pulled out from a limited view side raod as these two whizzed along at speed. It was serious, as the road was closed. It ended up posted on facebook, and a relative responded. The 'lads' weren't kids, and in their 20's. Both illegal electric MX bikes and the convo descended into the usual village idiot bun fest.
The other thing is that these bikes can't stop from speed - most have poor quality components. My MTB has far superior brakes and I'm never really getting that above 25-30 on the road (down a big hill) ever.
Crap ebikes are pretty widespread in this corner of London, my commute see masses of them, at that time of day it’s all builders on lash up jobs. One I spoke to this week said his was virtually a motorbike as it had no chain and was derestricted. As the day wears on it’s deliveroo riders.
They are a bit of a menace, poorly / illegally riddden, probably not sufficiently breaker for the speeds they hit and generally shonky, but I suspect the police have more than enough to do do.
I've not been in Amsterdam recently but it's not a problem I've noticed in quieter parts of the Netherlands. They already allow mopeds on cycle paths which i always found a bit silly as they go much faster than what you expect a cyclist to travelling at. I can see that unrestricted ebikes would be the same.
The problem I have is, people see a bike being ridden too fast or dangerously in the wrong place and then associate it with normal cyclists or law abiding e-bike riders.
Yes they become illegal motorbikes, but they look like normal bikes, so that’s what people associate them with.
The problem there is the person making the association. I see some overpowered cars going over speed limits and doing stupid things but I don't associate that problem with all cars?
What @ads678 said - there are loads of de-restricted ebikes around - which, like the article said, are just unlicenced mopeds and motorcycles that kids can get their hands on, without a licence, and drive amongst us.
They're dangerous. They're heavy and they're used where legitimate cycle and pedestrian traffic should be.
@drac - I know why you've done it but I don't appreciate you changing the thread title. The "scam" is that "ebike" manufacturers know damn well that a large proportion of the motorbikes they sell are only going to be sold because customers know they can be de-restricted.
It's trivial to design them in a way that cannot be de-restricted - and therefore remain legal and officially "not a problem" - but they've taken a leaf out of the definitely-not-corrupt motor industry and are driving sales full in the knowledge that they're enabling easy law-breaking and compromising the safety of the law-abiding.
This was obvious from the get-go. It's just taken a while to get a tiny bit of coverage in the mainstream media.
And singletrack world members? Many of you are part of the problem. How many threads and posts on here have we had specifically asking how to de-restrict your ebikes? About which ebikes are easiest to de-restrict when people are making purchasing decisions? Posts by people saying "the only risk is to them" - ignoring the accidents they can and do cause. Posts about the "stupidity" of the speed restrictions. And, significantly, the number of people who assist, enable and support these people when posting about it - beating down and disregarding legitimate objections.
There are absolutely sensible ebike users - and on this forum. And leaving aside that even legitimate ebikes come with issues (that ebike evangelists refuse to acknowledge) - there is a significant problem here.
The scam is that the industry knows this. That it's making a lot of profit from it and that it doesn't care. And that we all know this is true.
For those that want to rage at the above or engage in whataboutism (fix cars first??! Really??!): I refer you not-so-honourable-gentlemen to the article I posted earlier.
You keep using this word scam, I don’t think it mean what you think it means.
How many threads and posts on here have we had specifically asking how to de-restrict your ebikes?
I don't know, how many?
Can you link to some, because I can't remember any, certainly not recently.
It’s trivial to design them in a way that cannot be de-restricted
I see a great future for you as an electronics engineer at Shimano, Bosch, Brose, Mahle or any of the other mainstream motor manufacturers as none of their current staff has managed it.
Can you link to some, because I can’t remember any, certainly not recently.
They’ll be deleted as soon as reported.
Sur-ron's and the like being used in public places = yep froth away Chevychase
'hacked' 250w normal ebikes including mine = 🤷♂️/meh
If you believe something enough, it becomes true, apparently.
yeah, go on then, how? 🤔It’s trivial to design them in a way that cannot be de-restricted
I find it funny a bitcoin Ponzi evangelist talking about the great ebike scam. Lol.
I was in the Netherlands last summer. I didnt see a single illegal ebike.
The biggest issue with injuries is pensioners on legal ebikes riding beyond their skillset and crashing. Also the speed differential between legal ebikes and the usual dutch pootler
In the uk the main danger or antisocial riding i see is delivery riders. It seems to matter not if they are assisted or not.
Im fully in favour of zero tolerance to all illegal behaviour on the roads. They would be empty of cars in weeks as all drivers got banned
I don't live in the Netherlands, but I live somewhere with mixed use bike paths and I see plenty of obviously chipped bikes and they're a dangerous p.i.t.a., so good luck to them. Singlespeedstu might be tough enough not to be bothered but I don't want badly ridden lumps of metal doing 40kmh that close to me.
I'd agree with tj above that there's a secondary issue of pensioners overdoing it and stacking up... especially when they pile it on going into tunnels and underpasses.
Think I've missed threads where people are asking about derestricting ebikes.
Biggest issue I've seen is deliveroo riders in Manchester. Riding full pelt on footpaths dodging pedestrians.
Anyway think this video will get you frothing a bit more
Stealth edit 🧐
Can you link to some, because I can’t remember any, certainly not recently.
They’ll be deleted as soon as reported.
Ah, fair enough, but that also means the OP is unlikely to have seen any.
Edit, I should just point out, I'm no great fan of ebikes, but neither do I like to see misrepresentative statements posted on here.
Ah, fair enough, but that also means the OP is unlikely to have seen any.
Precisely. There has been hardly any.
Sur-ron’s and the like being used in public places = yep froth away Chevychase
‘hacked’ 250w normal ebikes including mine = 🤷♂️/meh
That’s the second time in a week I’ve seen a post on here from some one saying that it’s ok that they’ve turned e-bike into an illegal moped
Which means on single track I am being encouraged, in at least a minor way, to think it’s ok to chip an ebike
The problem for global bike manufacturers is that the bike are built to one design and then chipped to comply with local laws.
A few seizure events at popular riding spots like trail centres would probably put people off 😉
Crap ebikes are pretty widespread in this corner of London, my commute see masses of them, at that time of day it’s all builders on lash up jobs. One I spoke to this week said his was virtually a motorbike as it had no chain and was derestricted. As the day wears on it’s deliveroo riders.
They are a bit of a menace, poorly / illegally riddden, probably not sufficiently breaker for the speeds they hit and generally shonky, but I suspect the police have more than enough to do do.
Completely agree with all of this. Most of the illegal ones aren't actually that quick, though someone flew past me today on the shared use bit of Park Lane cycleway.
They're stupid, they're illegal, but *most* of the time they're on the road where my view is they're less dangerous than completely legal scooters or motorbikes which can (and are) ridden dangerously and at much higher speeds and are significantly heavier than e-bikes.
I see a great future for you as an electronics engineer at Shimano, Bosch, Brose, Mahle or any of the other mainstream motor manufacturers as none of their current staff has managed it.
and while you're at it can you build an un-breakable/pickable/cutt-able lock for me...
That’s the second time in a week I’ve seen a post on here from some one saying that it’s ok that they’ve turned e-bike into an illegal moped
Yep. Funny isn't it. Yet people in this very thread (including mods) are claiming that they've never seen it.
A criminal admitting it in front of their own eyes but three posts down and still they can't see it.
Funny 🙂
When you actually read that article almost none of the incidents have anything to do with modified E bikes.
Its all much as i said. Its poor sensationalist journalism
That’s the second time in a week I’ve seen a post on here from some one saying that it’s ok that they’ve turned e-bike into an illegal moped
My fully mudguarded built in lights (ie mega heavy) commuter now does ~20mph. Yes it's technically illegal - I'm fine with it.
A criminal admitting it in front of their own eyes but three posts down and still they can’t see it.
Will you visit me in prison?
The e bikes that I worry about the really shonky home brew delivery lash ups with massive batteries, they must be a fire hazard
They certainly are. This was round the corner from me the other month
That’s the second time in a week I’ve seen a post on here from some one saying that it’s ok that they’ve turned e-bike into an illegal moped
Yep. Funny isn’t it. Yet people in this very thread (including mods) are claiming that they’ve never seen it.
Funny thing what you claimed was
And singletrack world members? Many of you are part of the problem. How many threads and posts on here have we had specifically asking how to de-restrict your ebikes?
What I said is if they’re reported they are deleted. I’ve not seen any posts saying how to specifically de-restrict them recently. It would seem neither have you. You seem to have a hate for e-bikes and like to make sensational claims about them.