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police e-bike crackdown

In Texas I see plenty of immigrants on ebikes. They do not misbehave except that they often ride the wrong direction on the street like many locals also do. Willfully reckless riding on Surrons is almost always the work of homegrown overprivileged adolescents.
 
When ebikes were being persecuted under Mayor De Blasio in NYC, I agree that immigant food delivery guys were the worst traffic offenders. Still, anyone who looked Asian on an ebike was stopped. Legal or not, bikes were impounded.
 
docw009 said:
When ebikes were being persecuted under Mayor De Blasio in NYC, I agree that immigant food delivery guys were the worst traffic offenders. Still, anyone who looked Asian on an ebike was stopped. Legal or not, bikes were impounded.
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Man they can be so ham fisted out there.
At least this new mayor is attempting to attack the actual problem that creates the bad behavior instead of punishing the whole class.

I'm not sure if i like him but he gets a point for that.
 
dgc said:
fill, totally agree, seen a few gaffer tape specials myself. I could if needed quite easily build a 1000 watt plus e-bike, but if I was by chance pulled up by the police, driving license etc etc buggered as well as losing the bike, whilst these youngsters can just walk away with a crushed bike.
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A local bike shop owner rides a 1500w DD front wheel, though his commute involves a 3-4 mile stretch of busy bendy 2 lane B rd with of course the obligatory overgrown hedges and verges this time of year. speed and a damn good set of lights are a must..
any slower than 30 mph and you could have someone up your backside round a blind bend before you know it. needs must in that case..

- Ive lived through all nine lives of every cat ive seen on 2 wheels and exhausted every iota of luck and good fortune on the rd.. IM ALIVE!! I honestly cant believe it sometimes. But if i were to fit a 251w rated motor to my ol boneshaker I would no doubt run over a toddler belonging to a mumsnet vlogger who captured the whole thing on camera and is intent on taking my house and pension for damages. And for a push bike i would ride at 8-12mph depending on the headwind pre conversion 3 yrs on im still grinning wide at 15mph uphill with a full load of goodies.

But you cant blame the kids for doing what they see, Perhaps parents ?
 
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When you're fast enough to disappear like a UFO, police no longer matter. Having that capability in a stealth build that initially presents as an "acoustic" bicycle is the way of the future. Screw these leeches.
 
docw009 said:
When ebikes were being persecuted under Mayor De Blasio in NYC, I agree that immigant food delivery guys were the worst traffic offenders. Still, anyone who looked Asian on an ebike was stopped. Legal or not, bikes were impounded.
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They need to do something different than they are doing. 2.5% of the US population lives in New York City, yet 47% of all nationwide ebike fatalities happen there. Ebikes make up 77% of all fatal cyclist crashes in New York City.
 
RunForTheHills said:
They need to do something different than they are doing. 2.5% of the US population lives in New York City, yet 47% of all nationwide ebike fatalities happen there. Ebikes make up 77% of all fatal cyclist crashes in New York City.
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I do not know where you got that data, but I think it is erroneous.

The most lethal recent year for NYC cyclists was 2023, with 30 killed. Nationwide, 1166 were killed the same year. 30/1166 is about 2.57% which is proportional to population. My guess is that NYC is much safer for cyclists per trip and per mile than most US cities, though it is near average per capita based on total population.
 
The Toecutter said:
When you're fast enough to disappear like a UFO, police no longer matter. Having that capability in a stealth build that initially presents as an "acoustic" bicycle is the way of the future. Screw these leeches.
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Running from enforcement is a fleeting solution.
Do it a few times and locals will figure out who is the runner.
Be there, done that.
A day in jail and standing before a judge was effective in changing bad habits.
 
fill said:
But if i were to fit a 251w rated motor to my ol boneshaker I would no doubt run over a toddler belonging to a mumsnet vlogger who captured the whole thing on camera and is intent on taking my house and pension for damages.
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You make a good case for registration and insurance. Down here anyone driving a car or MC could crash into a daycare full of toddlers, the compulsory CTP cover for injury and death is unlimited.

lol, one day one of those "Sovereign Citizens" is going to have a crash and end up in court with a massive damages claim against them. Sure, technically, under Admiralty law :rolleyes: they may not need to register, but they are still liable for damages.
 
https://www.timestribunenews.com/2026/07/02/illinois-rolls-out-new-electric-bicycle-rules/
Illinois bike laws turned out better than average.
Of note:

The new law also created a new tier of regulations for high-speed e-bikes, which have electric motors between 750 and 8,000 watts and can go faster than 28 mph and usually have foot pegs as well as pedals. These will be regulated much like motorcycles – users will need a valid driver’s license, insurance, ownership title and to register the vehicle with the state. They are only to be used on roads — they are prohibited on sidewalks, bike lanes and bike paths. This type of e-bike was not regulated before.

This creates a new legal ebike category that mirrors most state's moped laws.

Currently most states have a moped category, and in that category, you get a gasoline motor capable of doing up to 35mph.
With an 8kw upper limit, this 'high speed ebike' can almost do highway speed.

I'd bother to register and license my bicycle for that, rather than keep an eye out. :)


Speaking of legalities, i wonder if you could register a street legal hot rod ebike if you just called it a moped and kept the gas engine on. But that's too much dead weight to lug around.
 
neptronix said:
Speaking of legalities, i wonder if you could register a street legal hot rod ebike if you just called it a moped and kept the gas engine on. But that's too much dead weight to lug around.
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Just make it a convincing lightweight shell with no heavy internals?

"For example the engine is not real. It is actually hollow. Its made from perforated sheet metal, PVC pipe, and yes those are 'empty' Budweiser cans for the carburetors."

Image and description from C Cab Hot Rod Power Advice
 
99t4 said:
Just make it a convincing lightweight shell with no heavy internals?

"For example the engine is not real. It is actually hollow. Its made from perforated sheet metal, PVC pipe, and yes those are 'empty' Budweiser cans for the carburetors."

Image and description from C Cab Hot Rod Power Advice
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I don't get the appeal. It adds useless mass and drag while slowing the vehicle down. I will be so happy to have an aerodynamic shell again.
 
Agree TC but my post was in response to the idea of registering a powerful ebike as an ICE-powered moped. Probably wouldn't work out anyway, unless it could also make brrrrrrrrrrrraappp noise and emit oily smoke.
 
99t4 said:
Agree TC but my post was in response to the idea of registering a powerful ebike as an ICE-powered moped. Probably wouldn't work out anyway, unless it could also make brrrrrrrrrrrraappp noise and emit oily smoke.
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I'd set a 19cc Lohmann engine up as a generator. It would be functional. It would also make noise when you want it to. And you can run it on a wide variety of liquid fuels.
 
The Toecutter said:
I don't get the appeal. It adds useless mass and drag while slowing the vehicle down. I will be so happy to have an aerodynamic shell again.
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I always found 'EV as gas vehicle' type things to be a strange. I think it should be the other way around because electric motors came first, and are also a superior technology.

But aesthetics are pretty subjective!
 
neptronix said:
I always found 'EV as gas vehicle' type things to be a strange. I think it should be the other way around because electric motors came first, and are also a superior technology.

But aesthetics are pretty subjective!
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It makes sense if you want the versatility of recharging your battery with liquid fuels and/or being able to run the vehicle off of liquid fuels directly. Personally, I'd like to add that feature for my own vehicle.

Solar panels + pedaling(and regen downhill) + Lohmann engine + rechargable from grid electricity = unkillable Mad Max machine that you will always be able to keep fueled, one way or another.

I'm all for that.
 
I digress for a second, I drive an old diesel and a modern petrol hybrid, didn't fancy a full electric due to range problem. So the both of them do 60 plus miles to the gallon on the same route, the diesel weights 1,149 kg and the hybrid weights 1,447 kg. 300 kg of battery, control gear and drive motor.
 
dgc said:
the hybrid weights 1,447 kg. 300 kg of battery, control gear and drive motor.
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Can you at least plug it in and get 40+ km all-electric range? Because that is a massive amount of weight to add if you cannot.

My electric Triumph GT6 conversion has 300 kg of battery/motor/controller/wiring, and it's 20.8 kWh using battery and control tech that is almost 2 decades out of date paired with a 50+ year old motor. While I haven't tested its range, on paper it should be almost 300 km. It peels out at a stop in top gear and wants to go sideways, so it needs a limited slip differential.
 
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I clarify, the hybrid doe's 60 plus miles to the gallon with the help of the battery, what the electric motor is there for is pulling away, very short trips around town, on the motorway comes it in when you go to over take, it's a self charging hybrid, do not plug in the wall.
 
dgc said:
I clarify, the hybrid doe's 60 plus miles to the gallon with the help of the battery, what the electric motor is there for is pulling away, very short trips around town, on the motorway comes it in when you go to over take, it's a self charging hybrid, do not plug in the wall.
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They need to make self charging hybrids with diesels and the new solid state sodium batteries.
 
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