Ooh! No it's the police 👮

[Gasmantle]

My guess is they will be legalised in the UK once they become more popular but with restrictions in power output that will make them next to useless.

[stephen]

3 minutes ago, Gasmantle said:

My guess is they will be legalised in the UK once they become more popular but with restrictions in power output that will make them next to useless.

Next to useless is unsafe you need the power to keep you upright ☹️ . In just going to keep on riding where i want 😁

[Gasmantle]

3 minutes ago, stephen said:

Next to useless is unsafe you need the power to keep you upright ☹️ .

I agree but the government won't be interested in that - safety will be low on the agenda, they'll be more interested in how much taxation they can raise.

[stephen]

5 minutes ago, Gasmantle said:

I agree but the government won't be interested in that - safety will be low on the agenda, they'll be more interested in how much taxation they can raise.

I wish they would make money on us and let us insurance our wheels and not worry about police 👮,, Make them legal👍

[Gasmantle]

5 minutes ago, stephen said:

I wish they would make money on us and let us insurance our wheels and not worry about police 👮,, Make them legal👍

They will do that, but like I say the restrictions they'll impose will make them next to useless.

[mrelwood]

While EUCs are indeed legal in Finland up to a point, they also should not be able to exceed 25km/h or have a more powerful motor than just 1000W. But unless speeding, both of these are extremely difficult for the police to confirm, so as long as I ride with common sense, in practice it doesn’t seem to matter that both values are doubled on my wheel...

I think even a 250W motor power limit would be a great step for UK, since that would make an EUC at least possibly legal in the eyes of the police. It’s not like they would start stopping riders to test the output power. Maybe to check for a required insurance, but one could just carry an insurance card for an ancient learner wheel in his pocket.

Edited October 7, 2019 by mrelwood

[stephen]

35 minutes ago, mrelwood said:

While EUCs are indeed legal in Finland up to a point, they also should not be able to exceed 25km/h or have a more powerful motor than just 1000W. But unless speeding, both of these are extremely difficult for the police to confirm, so as long as I ride with common sense, in practice it doesn’t seem to matter that both values are doubled on my wheel...

I think even a 250W motor power limit would be a great step for UK, since that would make an EUC at least possibly legal in the eyes of the police. It’s not like they would start stopping riders to test the output power. Maybe to check for a required insurance, but one could just carry an insurance card for an ancient learner wheel in his pocket.

Yes legalization would be a good start .i did this with my ebike and bought a bigger motor rather than the 250watt legal one 😁

[BoseHeadphones]

On 10/6/2019 at 6:01 PM, EkW said:

Here in Tucson all motorized vehicles are barred from the segregated path and plenty of signs inform us of that fact. At least with my e-bike I can turn the assist off and since it is pedal assist it takes a bit of effort to notice that it is electric. No such luck with an EUC or a scooter. I stay away from the heavily trafficked sections, even on my regular bike. Zipping around all of the walkers and runners and cyclists would be very likely to draw scorn and derision.

Whilst riding a regular bike I have argued with nasty 2-stroke motor powered cycle operators about keeping off of the path( even faced down a car trying to take a short cut once. Driver didn't run me over or shoot me).  E-bikes can at least be stealthy, especially if the speed is kept down, it is being pedaled, and it looks close to a normal bike. It is hard not to notice a gasoline engine on a bike/pedestrian path or to otice tnat a scooter or EUC is not human powered. I doubt that anyone has complained about the guys in their motorized wheelchairs.

As in many other places the path is often the safest way to reach one's destination so one must trade the risk of tickets/warnings against playing in traffic. I'd rather risk getting stopped than getting crushed or smashed by a car.

Interesting perspective, until l got my OneWheel I wasn't a fan of the Loop--filed it as another example of wasted government spending. Now between my OneWheel and EUCs I've put about 200 miles on the Loop having a blast the whole way. A serious effort to enforce the no motorized vehicles regulation would kill any support I have for maintaining and expanding the path. If I'm passing people safely and respecting the other users of the path I don't see any logical reason PEVs should be banned. Makes me wonder how often anyone has been cited for having a motorized vehicle on the path--I've yet to see a uniformed officer or deputy anywhere near/on the Loop.

I'm encouraged that of the hundreds of people I've encountered on the path nearly all had a positive response. The 4 negative encounters I've had I remember as much for their odd battle cry of "NO MOTORS" as the fact they blew by me at 25+ mph on their racing bikes. It felt like they'd be equally annoyed by my presence if I was cycling slower than them,, the PEV just gave them something obvious to latch on to. A bit surreal to see someone have such strong feelings not over anything I've done, just what I happen to be riding .

[Planemo]

12 hours ago, stephen said:

Yes legalization would be a good start .i did this with my ebike and bought a bigger motor rather than the 250watt legal one 😁

Funnily enough I find my ebike with 250w to be OK, but then I am quite happy to just potter around with it, don't have any major hills and of course I wont faceplant if it's overly laboured. Also, my kit (Oxydrive) was bought some time ago in the good old days when throttles were supplied and a simple adjustment on the control panel allows 24mph max speed

I actually find it a brilliant, cheap mode of transport (and of course legal - ish) but mind numbingly boring compared to an EUC!

[Retrovertigo]

I am in a similar situation with my ebike. Bought a 250w model, which actually comes with a throttle that is supposed to help you take off to a maximum of 4mph. I contacted the seller and explained that my legs were in a bad way and that if I was ever caught out on the bike and in a lot of pain, was there anything they could do about the throttle so that I could get back home ok. 

They unlocked the throttle to take the bike to it's maximum speed, and also unlocked that maximum speed from 15.5mph to 28mph   Though to be fair, because I needed a folding ebike and it doesn't have any gears, 28mph pedal assisted is actually too fast as I can't pedal that quick  

But as Planemo has said, an ebike (which at first was incredibly exciting to ride) is really boring compared to an EUC. In fact since I got my EUC a couple of months back, I haven't ridden my ebike at all. I spend my spare moments practising my EUC riding.

Edited October 8, 2019 by Retrovertigo

[Planemo]

17 minutes ago, Retrovertigo said:

They unlocked the throttle to take the bike to it's maximum speed, and also unlocked that maximum speed from 15.5mph to 28mph   Though to be fair, because I needed a folding ebike and it doesn't have any gears, 28mph pedal assisted is actually too fast as I can't pedal that quick  

Oooh...very naughty for a company to do that! Result for you though

Mine free-spins at about the same 28mph but the most I get out of it without pedalling is 24mph on a fresh battery. Mine is a full sus Giant Trance built from bits over the years and it's geared for about the same due to a very un-trendy front 3-ring setup but it's the best option given the electric kit. And it still managed to get me down the mountains in Morzine (despite the muffled guffaws from the single ring crowd).

Funnily enough I haven't ridden mine either since getting an EUC

[Retrovertigo]

10 minutes ago, Planemo said:

Oooh...very naughty for a company to do that! Result for you though

Mine free-spins at about the same 28mph but the most I get out of it without pedalling is 24mph on a fresh battery. Mine is a full sus Giant Trance built from bits over the years and it's geared for about the same due to a very un-trendy front 3-ring setup but it's the best option given the electric kit. And it still managed to get me down the mountains in Morzine (despite the muffled guffaws from the single ring crowd).

Funnily enough I haven't ridden mine either since getting an EUC

Yeah it was naughty. But they did it on the proviso that I wouldn't ever divulge it to anybody I know that might be interested in buying the same model  

As it happens though, a five minute search on YouTube and I found the digital display that matched mine, and just how easy it is to unlock all that stuff! So if I ever did get stopped, I'd just tell the police I unlocked it myself.

Edited October 8, 2019 by Retrovertigo