first. Federal law does not exempt electric bicycles, or tricycles, from state motorized vehicle laws. The federal statutes provide definitions for import, export, safety, and such. Ie under 1 HP is defined as bicycle, not motor vehicle, for tax purposes and required safety equipment. Most states have some law defining a vehicle that must be registered, to include electric bikes. I read NJ and found that only certain specific brands are even legal on the road, defined as, and registered as, mopeds. The only exemption is "self balancing two wheel conveyance" , and some motorized wheel chairs.
E Bicycle. I want one
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Richard
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Weight said:
I believe there's consensus in this thread (so far) that state law takes precedence over federal law re: regulation of motorized bicycles.
Weight said:
Referring to the table of state laws (scroll down for the table) regarding electric- (vs. combustion-) driven cycles, there's a range of values used to distinguish between bicycles that are powered but are not required to be registered as a 'motor vehicle', and those that are powered and are required to be registered:
- CC's: 48 to 150, varying by state.
- BHP/Watts: 750W/1BHP to 1.5kW/2BHP, varying by state.
- Speed: either N/A, or 20mph to 30mph, varying by state.
Richard said:
Yeah no problem here...no worries mate.
I dont usually post snarky, heckling comments, I realize I'm a guest on here, or any forum.
I do sometimes use a bit of tongue-in-cheek sarcasm to make a point. Or to kid around with someone. Even then I don't try to ridicule or 'dig' at someone...its just not the way I am.
But as you pointed out, its very easy to misinterpret things.
As an aside, the word 'motor' is used commonly in the world of trucking, as opposed to the automotive industry and the aviation industry. But this will cause a huge thread drift and I want to help the thread get back to the topic about e-bikes.
So...Over and out, and happy 'motoring'!
bullfrog said:
Good point and it also depends, sometimes, on the size of the town, and how bored the officers are, or how much they feel pressure to make contacts with the public on smaller issues.
Some of them just dont have the time or inclination to bother a middle-aged person whizzing along silently on a quiet residential road on a bicycle, pedaling or not.
But when faced with a young person who is riding fast, maybe aggressively, on some type of higher powered bicycle, thru a crowd of kids near a busy schoolyard, now THAT might draw some attention.
Now here's a motor I could accept on a bicycle...
http://newatlas.com/juicer-old-timey-electric-bicycles/21045/
The blue "cylinders" are the batteries.
http://newatlas.com/juicer-old-timey-electric-bicycles/21045/
The blue "cylinders" are the batteries.
Ballenxj
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Now THAT is a pretty cool E-Bike.johnny b said:Now here's a motor I could accept on a bicycle...
<-------->
http://newatlas.com/juicer-old-timey-electric-bicycles/21045/
The blue "cylinders" are the batteries.
VanKitten
Well-known member
Ok....here is what I like...
It is a pedal assist. Lightweight (I can lift it).
I plan to treat it like a bicycle. Stay over to the side...etc.
Since it is pedal assist..there is no motor that makes it GO without pedal power...just like any bicycle.
On full assist it will go about 20 miles on one charge. Sounds like just what I want.
Nice basket..big enough for a gallon of whatever, and groceries. Or the laundry.
It is a pedal assist. Lightweight (I can lift it).
I plan to treat it like a bicycle. Stay over to the side...etc.
Since it is pedal assist..there is no motor that makes it GO without pedal power...just like any bicycle.
On full assist it will go about 20 miles on one charge. Sounds like just what I want.
Nice basket..big enough for a gallon of whatever, and groceries. Or the laundry.
I was stopped at 3a.m. on a completely deserted street by a very bored and sarcastic Ft Worth cop while riding the one mile or so to the Waffle house. I was on my Golden Technologies scooter with a mind boggling top speed of 9MPH. There is construction in the area during work hours but late night it's deserted, except for me and a cop. Before he spoke I told him I was armed and had my CCP and the pistol was near my right buttock. He never asked to see my permit,just told me to keep my hands on the handlebar, he was more interested in why I was riding a scooter in the street. No ticket and never told me I was doing anything illegal, just told me to stay on the sidewalks.tx2sturgis said:
There were none I pointed out and he told me to be careful and left.
It's always good to know there is no other crime in the City of Ft Worth than some old fart riding a damn scooter.
Vagabound said:
Damn good plan....it should keep Barney Fife happy.
RobndaHood said:
But the important fact you left out is, did you order the hashbrowns scattered, smothered, or covered?
Yeah seriously, since it was 3 AM, he was probably making sure you didnt have a big ol sack of money, stolen from the bank down the street.
I mean, an electric mobility scooter is the perfect get-away vehicle...who would ever suspect?
Florida boondocker
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3 am [font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]waffle house visit half drunk have been some of my best memories ... [/font]
Florida boondocker said:
Then you weren't really that drunk...
RoamingKatAnyone have experience with them? Where do you carry it? How do you carry it?
How do you charge it? What do you use it for?
What do you think? Overall...happy with it?
I do not want to tow a toad. Geez...the toad would be nearly as big as the rig!
But, also want some easy quick way to do laundry, pick up some groceries, etc.
My criteria is that I have to be able to pick it up...so no motor scooter, etc.
I have been riding and traveling with ebikes for years. They are wonderful for shorter trips. in general the cheaper commercial type ones (<$1000) are good for 10 miles pure electric or 20 miles if you pedal with them. The commercial cheap models will have 350 watt or so hubs on them, no good at all for really steep hills, but great for flatter areas. There are slightly beefed up bike racks you can use to transport them that attach to the tow receptacle, just look for an ebike specific bike rack. Ebike are going to be heavy, so you would need to be able to lift 50lbs to get bike on rack. The battery charger for an ebike is typically a 150-300 watt ac 120v charger. I plug it into my inverter and it takes 3-4 hours to fully recharge, my solar has enough energy to power it (260 watts) . I use my ebike for picking up supplies, running errands and sightseeing.
I really like my ebike, and it works well for me. If you want pure utility, and don't mind the noise, a scooter is cheaper and can do more than an ebike, except a scooter is a motor vehicle so cannot go places motor vehicles are prohibited, an ebike can. I like the ebike because it really is considered a bicycle everywhere. I have never been hassled riding my ebike anywhere. In New York they have problems because of the bike couriers who zip in and out of traffic, other than New York you should not have any problems on an ebike as long as you travel near normal bike speeds. The low end commercial bikes wont go that fast anyways, but the assist is really great.
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How do you charge it? What do you use it for?
What do you think? Overall...happy with it?
I do not want to tow a toad. Geez...the toad would be nearly as big as the rig!
But, also want some easy quick way to do laundry, pick up some groceries, etc.
My criteria is that I have to be able to pick it up...so no motor scooter, etc.
I have been riding and traveling with ebikes for years. They are wonderful for shorter trips. in general the cheaper commercial type ones (<$1000) are good for 10 miles pure electric or 20 miles if you pedal with them. The commercial cheap models will have 350 watt or so hubs on them, no good at all for really steep hills, but great for flatter areas. There are slightly beefed up bike racks you can use to transport them that attach to the tow receptacle, just look for an ebike specific bike rack. Ebike are going to be heavy, so you would need to be able to lift 50lbs to get bike on rack. The battery charger for an ebike is typically a 150-300 watt ac 120v charger. I plug it into my inverter and it takes 3-4 hours to fully recharge, my solar has enough energy to power it (260 watts) . I use my ebike for picking up supplies, running errands and sightseeing.
I really like my ebike, and it works well for me. If you want pure utility, and don't mind the noise, a scooter is cheaper and can do more than an ebike, except a scooter is a motor vehicle so cannot go places motor vehicles are prohibited, an ebike can. I like the ebike because it really is considered a bicycle everywhere. I have never been hassled riding my ebike anywhere. In New York they have problems because of the bike couriers who zip in and out of traffic, other than New York you should not have any problems on an ebike as long as you travel near normal bike speeds. The low end commercial bikes wont go that fast anyways, but the assist is really great.
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