Ch00paKabrA said:
I am confused. Why should there be regulations? All they do is add to cost and limit freedom. In the US the federal regulations appear to be sufficient. Under 20mph, 100 pounds, and less than 750 watts is a bicycle. Over 750 watts or 20 mph or 100 ponds is a moped and needs to be registered, insured, and licensed.
What more would really be necessary?
Anything else is really just to make some politician feel like he/she "did something" or is just a money grab.
I suppose there are two phrases I would like to ban from this thread:
- "should"
- "in America / US"
Writers in America / US who wish to write on these two subjects should set up their own new thread and have a jolly old time talking to themselves. Please refrain from hitting the
Submit button on this thread. Your comments do nothing more than clutter the thread so its serious intent is diluted and the useful posters give up.
For the rest of the world (and probably in some blue US states), governments write regulations and the regulation writers are often functionaries who look to experts for advice. Hence, the helmet making companies employ lobbyists to provide expert advice that says bicycle riding is unsafe and helmets must be mandatory. In the absence of a user group giving counter advice (bicycle riding is safe, and helmets should only be required for learners [children] because children fall off of bikes), the helmet companies get the rule.
We are right now in the early stage of a new technology. The rules are sparse, in some cases too restrictive (like Europe, Israel and Australia's), and in other cases baffling (like New Zealand's). It's a bit like the PC business was before IBM came out with the Personal Computer. Radio Shack types, handy with the solder gun, were building their own PC's, and creative types were playing with Jobs & Woz's fruity box. Only when IBM came out the the PC did the industry go mainstream. Something similar is happening right now with the ebike industry. In the West (meaning
not in Asia), the recent advances in Chinese-made motors and batteries is a game changer... very competitively priced, far more sophisticated and reliable, bolt on aftermarket kits. On our island in New Zealand, we are now seeing bikes everywhere, and most of them have Chinese electric motors, controllers and batteries. This is new. The riders do not wear lycra. They sit upright and they pedal up hills at the same speed they pedal on the flat (about 18 km/hr).
Because this is a shift in technology, the current rules
WILL be rewritten, both here and elsewhere. New York City
WILL rewrite their rules, as will Portland, the Bay Area and other blue state cities. Our job, if we choose to accept it, is to come up with a clear consensus as to how those rules should be written so that they do not "add to cost and limit freedom".
This means a rule that is clear, that is easy to enforce (meaning a police officer can do a rapid inspection and tick "legal" or "infraction"), yet works from a functional standpoint so it serves users' needs.
I am beginning to think that it may be a set of controller specifications that the manufacturer can put as a certified sticker. Controllers can do anything. So perhaps the allowable motor can be a huge, grunty thing (no Watts in the reg) that has gobs of torque to get a beast of bike and its 300 pound rider up a hill with no strain (but still pedal assist), but then not exceed a particular speed under power on the flat. With all due respect to some posters, 50kph (30 mph) under power on the flat is not a bicycle anymore. It's a moped. The brakes of a bike that you can buy at Walmart (sorry, but the lowest common denominator is the rule) will be dangerous at 50/30. The tires at that speed need to be better than Walmart tires (by the way, I live in Auckland and we have no Walmarts in the country, so I use the Walmart standard uninformed, please do not argue the comment, it's not important).
So, let me direct this thread ONLY to forum members who understand controller profiles. All the rest of the libertarians (and other forum members who feel every posting requires their comment), please do not respond. I'm asking technical questions and I am looking to members with more expertise than mine.
How could the profile of a controller be programmed to have a high torque spec, but control top speed (and possibly acceleration), that automatically adjusts for load? Also, would it be difficult or costly to incorporate a GPS system that would eventually have a map of every road, so it could provide real-time real-location analysis of roads and adjust performance accordingly? This latter question is called future-proofing, but GPS technology is moving so fast that it may be something to consider. The main question for regulations would be a set of words that a controller maker could easily follow and certify. It might also include a setting that would show when the controller was reprogrammed by the user, sort of like the seal that when broken voids the warranty, except that it would be electronic. This should be enough to be defensible in court, meaning that when an infraction is alleged, the defendant is able to show they relied on a manufacturer's certificate.
If you understand how controllers work, and can offer precise language that a manufacturer could follow, and it would produce a safe ebike standard, please reply.
Thanks