Physically Unable to Pedal?

A recent post expressed the sentiment of how many cyclists here on the forum have set up their bikes for comfort as opposed to pedaling efficiency. It was pointed out that my bike has the seat too low for the efficient pedal stroke. But actually, when I sit at a light, both my feet are on the ground, but just the toes. I can't put the foot flat on the ground without leaning the bike. I find this most comfortable and as the electric propulsion is my primary objective, and pedaling is just if I breakdown or run out of juice.

The icing on the cake for me is having extreme diabetes where I have no feeling in the feet and they continuously slip off the pedals. Forget pedaling.

So this raises the question: how many out there have physical restrictions like myself, and how many just prefer electric as the primary propulsion in general?

If you have some impairment and no-pedal or can't pedal eBikes work for you and give you pleasure, ride it any damn way you want !!!

I've thought of this and the laws with regard to some members... We have a parapalegic who rides a chopper, according to the law he could never exceed 20mph because HE CANT PEDAL but personally I'd like to see a cop try to ticket him for "not using pedals", if he didn't beat the cop half to death I might

My recently got a bicycle worth poop friend who still doesn't have an eBike makes fun of me when I talk about riding 20 miles since I only pedal maybe 30-40% of the time... just wait till he starts riding the 20" FS folder I've built him, lets see who pedals at all then

In short, as I said before... enjoy the ride !

-Mike

I definitely lean towards the "comfortable foot rests" versus "functional pedals" but it also depends on the bike power as well. My 2kw bike gets maybe three pedal turns a month but my 250 watt folders need pedaling on uphills so I keep those a little closer to a comfortable pedal stroke height.

I tend to do most of the pedaling for starting up then cruise from there. I never wanted to pedal past 20mph since I would need some special gearing and keeping my setups simple is a priority to me.

Each member is going to have a diff opinion.

If I could replace the pedals for a set of pegs, I would!

sacko said:

If I could replace the pedals for a set of pegs, I would!

Click to expand...

Haha Like that didn't crossed my mind before!

Transverse tear of meniscus. Cycling motion actually feels pretty good but too much force and there's a sensation of grinding and common sense tells me to stop. Might do surgery someday but any surgery is risky and I can still walk and hustle up/down subway stairs. Just hard to pump pedals for more than a few hundred yards at a time.

Considering recent NYC eBike witch-hunt, maybe I should get a note from my orthopod?

If the knee doesn't hurt too much, healing it in motion is the thing to do. Healing it stationary will just heal it stuck with no range of motion. So faux pedal a few blocks a day would be my instinctive approach. IF it didn't hurt a lot to do it.

I have Myalgic Enchepalomyelitis. AKA post viral fatigue. Before, I loved to pedal, not very hard, but I wanted to pedal every mile. Kept my ass comfortable, and my heart in great shape. Now I wish I could pedal. I can for a short ride, but a long one will kill me, even just faux pedaling.

I hate it, but what can you do? Oddly, improvement with my problem hinges on good diet, rest, and just the right amount of exercise. Perfect for the ebike, since I can pedal lightly a few blocks or even miles on a good day, then ride home no pedaling when I feel it that I better stop exercising. Avoiding over doing is crucial.

Just wish getting better took ten months, instead of 10-20 years. Could be worse though, at first I thought I had a cancer.

As far as the law about pedals goes, it varies greatly in the USA. Some places just say the bike has to have functional pedals. No law says you have to be pedaling them or have your feet in a particular place. Other places make no mention at all of pedals, so take em off if you wish there. Still others say pedals, and your feet on them, but no requirement to actually move the pedals in circles. 50 states, I bet there is at least 49 variations.

We always pedal since we do the trike thing for exercise. Trikes are really a godsend if your balance sucks (like mine). Keeps you out of the ER and you can use the "clipless"pedals to keep your feet attached to them. Much more comfortable than sticking your feet straight out without support on a recumbent. Ya do have to have a pair of bike shoes but they are about $50 on sale.
otherDoc
Oh yeah my knees are shot but pedaling is much more comfortable than walking!

sacko said:

If I could replace the pedals for a set of pegs, I would!

Click to expand...

Man, I don't see why not. It certainly would mitigate any public perception that you're trying to get away with something on the cyclists' tab. It would also let you remove a few pounds of expense, wear, and maintenance items in most cases. No more "how do I get my 8-speed doodad to work?" problems if you're rocking a zero-speed.

Pedals are for folks who can and do use them, IMO. Don't dig 'em? Great. Don't have em. That way, we can keep our checks separate, so to speak.

The bans on e-bikes in New York, Ontario, and other places are not a result of people on pedelecs, I 'm guessing, but rather the result of folks riding e-scooters on pedestrian and bicycle rights-of-way. The fact that those e-scooters have "pedals" and conform to some interpretation of e-bike definitions has muddled the issue for all parties.

I think an e-powered bike or scooter used as a mobility aid for someone with a physical disability should have all the respect and access of a wheelchair used by someone in the same condition; in other words: anywhere and anytime you like, on the condition that you need it. (But it should also be marked/tagged to assert its privilege, and operated appropriately for the environment it occupies.)

Here's one way to have pegs on your bike: Get the cups from an old loose-ball bottom bracket. Get a 15" long piece of 5/8" steel rod. Install the cups into the frame, center the rod in the empty bottom bracket, and tack weld the rod into the fixed cup (only one cup). Remove the cups, finish welding the rod to the fixed cup, grease the threads and reinstall tightly. Find some round tool grips for 5/8" handles and stick 'em on. Now you have footpegs.

Here's another way: Just install the BB cups, get a couple of BMX axle pegs, a 14mm axle, and a couple of matching axle nuts. put the axle through the BB, and use a ratchet with deep socket and extension to firmly tighten the axle pegs onto the sides of the BB. A lot of those things are deeply knurled or grooved and made in diameters up to 2".


T

Thanks Chalo, I was actually wondering about converting a bike to BMX pegs this morning - you've saved me the trouble...

My knees were put together with titanium 2003 because i wheeled over one big two-stroker at 50mph, after building it hundreds of hours. Four months in two different hospitals total. Surgery succeeded, but because of all that damage and metal there now, so-called natural lubrication on my knee joints does not work anymore well. So they wear out rapidly. I propably have around two years left of time when i"m able to walk without severe pain. Cycling is good for my knees, light-to-medium power cycling. As much rotation as possible with medium power max. This is what E-bike provides really well. I pedal like hell, but not with full power. If my knee occasionally starts to hurt bad somewhere far from home, it is great that i can now still get back home without cursing by using the throttle more. It"s like insurance, guarantee. I will keep light pedaling as long as i can, because it eases the pain.
Just started new cruiser bike project today. I got only "26 frame on my livingroom now. I go looking for rear wheel for it today.

Regular cyclists need to understand ebikes are not cheating for people with disabilities. It simply gets them back in the game. Cyclists can add to their ranks and numbers by embracing the ebike crowd.

Police crack down on mobility scooter mayhem as drunk and drug-driving pensioners become 8 mph menace to society

Click to expand...

150 people killed each year in the UK
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1302571/Police-crack-mobility-scooter-mayhem-pensioners-8-mph-menace-society.html#ixzz2SbcRYMrV

While bikes are not allowed on pedestrian pavements, as there not traveling at pedestrian speeds, 8mph scooters are causing deaths. Maybe that is the answer for nyc travel.

FWIW, Texas, where Chalo is, does not require the ebike to have pedals at all.

dogman said:

FWIW, Texas, where Chalo is, does not require the ebike to have pedals at all.

Click to expand...

And you can have an extra 5mph legally if it conforms to "motor-assisted scooter" instead of "electric bicycle" standards. But you aren't allowed to travel along roadways with over-35mph limits on a motor-assisted scooter, and you can with an e-bike.

I don't think there is a cop in town who actually knows any of this. What they do usually know is that the City tolerates such vehicles.

dogman said:

FWIW, Texas, where Chalo is, does not require the ebike to have pedals at all.

Click to expand...

Chalo said:

And you can have an extra 5mph legally if it conforms to "motor-assisted scooter" instead of "electric bicycle" standards. But you aren't allowed to travel along roadways with over-35mph limits on a motor-assisted scooter, and you can with an e-bike.

Click to expand...

Huh??? Where did you guys get that info?

SamTexas said:

dogman said:

FWIW, Texas, where Chalo is, does not require the ebike to have pedals at all.

Click to expand...

Chalo said:

And you can have an extra 5mph legally if it conforms to "motor-assisted scooter" instead of "electric bicycle" standards. But you aren't allowed to travel along roadways with over-35mph limits on a motor-assisted scooter, and you can with an e-bike.

Click to expand...

Huh??? Where did you guys get that info?

Click to expand...

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/docs/tn/htm/tn.551.htm

Subchapter E is what you want to look at.

I was mistaken about the 25mph limitation. (That applies to NEVs which were approved in Texas at the same legislative session, so I must have mixed up what I learned back then.) It looks like there is no speed restriction on motor-assisted scooters, except the prevailing speed limit and the fact that they're only allowed on streets of 35mph and lower.

You might look at this article. I write for him, but then he edits or adds to articles as he wishes after he buys the story.
http://www.electricbike.com/electric-bike-law/
Near the end of the article, I try to give some examples of how to dope out what the codes mean, for a typical direct drive ebike motor kit. I used Texas as an example.

Note that, in section 24, definition of an electric bicycle, there is no mention of pedals whatsoever. It can be human powered, but there is no mention that it must be human powered or have pedals.

Definitions is usually in another section of statutes, and often overlooked by people looking up the laws.

dogman said:

Note that, in section 24, definition of an electric bicycle, there is no mention of pedals whatsoever. It can be human powered, but there is no mention that it must be human powered or have pedals.

Click to expand...

I guarantee you that logic does not work with a judge. If it does, then brakes, handlebar, seat/saddle, lights (at night), etc... are not required either since none of them was mentioned. All the above, including pedals, are implicitly implied in the word "bicycle".

Texas law does define bicycle much more strictly, and does require pedals, brakes,etc. So the judge should be reading that when deciding if it's a "bicycle".

I was referring to the Texas law defining "electric bicycle". In other places in the statutes, Texas law states explicitly where the "bike" law does not apply to electric bicycles. It's rather well spelled out in Texas. But as you just pointed out, Judges DO have quite a way of doing what the frock they want. Nothing written, whether statute or constitution is going to sway some folks who sit on the bench.

If you read that whole article, Lukes quote really does say it best. It's not the judge you need to pass the test with, it's the cop. Pass the cop test, and you are riding a legal ebike eh? Catch 22 is nobody ever passes the test with some cops. I grew up dealing with one of those Barney Fife characters.

In the article, I tried to point out that I was making my personal interperetations of the laws in the examples, and advising people to also make their own, rather than taking a sales persons interperetation as gospel. Land in court, and you will be at the mercy of the judges interperetations of the statutes.