Illegally Modified Electric Pedicab in Westminster, London.

[paultrafalgar]

The lunatics are in charge of the asylum (or is it the Cabby Mafia?):
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LMc-BGBCSDw
20 mph! shocking!
Electric power! shocking!

 

[Malcolm]

Watch it Paul, you'll be next. Spreading talk of socialism and discontent (at Christmas ). You're only one wheel short of a rickshaw you know...

 

[paultrafalgar]

Let's see, should I call myself Scrooge Marx or Rick -1 Shaw?
Comfort and Joy!
Oh! Glad tidings of Conform and Joy!
Best wishes,
Paul
Sorry, Rick-1 Shaw alias Scrooge Marx

 

[Anonymous]

.

 

[vanilla ice]

Cabby mafia FTMFW for sure... dude ok, so a few may have been technically over the legal line. But WTF, why all publicity? And impoundage? Ticket them, make them fix their ish, and go catch some thieves or something. Geesh.

 

[paultrafalgar]

Flog 'em till they peddle, I say!

 

[Jozzer]

Hmm, i've serviced some of these pedicabs from London, I can tell you they are fitted with 4011 motors, 20A controllers on lead acid (the cheapest car batts). Running in a 20" rim these things struggle to get to 12mph even in a bike frame, on a pedicab loaded with 2 people they would not make 10mph.

I think westminster is using it as an excuse to get the scruffy element off the streets.

 

[dogman dan]

Britans ebike laws are clearly not up to date. Don't forget they are supposed to be under 250 watts if I remember correct. I guess to them 1000 watts and 48v is pretty terrifying. Clearly a money motive for the crackdown to benefit the non electric peddies. But actually, if carrying passengers for hire, maybe they should be licenced and insured, even at slow speeds.

 

[recumbent]

I'd bet it was the ICE taxi cabs that were lobbying against these poor guys trying to make a living.

Don't know how wide the roads are in Engish cities, or if they have special lanes for bikes & pedicabs, if not they are probably holding-up traffic also if they cannot keep the speeds up.

The city council should just require a reasonable price, (like half) for a taxi permit of these pedicabs.

 

[Lock]

man I watched this first time (posted here) with no audio but could guess at what I wasn't hearing. Just watched again with audio...

I'd bet it was the ICE taxi cabs that were lobbying against these poor guys trying to make a living.

And they got to the Councillor interviewed in the vid and *he* went to the police to set this off.

The TV host was pathetic about "...just imagine sitting in a restaurant and a pedicab comes crashing through the window!"

The silly ass would prefer it was a car:
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=car+crashes+into+store&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

;->
tks
lOCk

 

[dogman dan]

Indeed that's silly, if a slow moving pedicab makes it through a store or restaraunt window, I'd say building codes are inadequate too. Nowdays, something like that sould be pretty hefty tempered glass.

 

[carbon.nanotube.capacitor]

Unfortunately most people are stupid.

 

[recumbent]

Indeed that's silly, if a slow moving pedicab makes it through a store or restaraunt window, I'd say building codes are inadequate too. Nowdays, something like that sould be pretty hefty tempered glass.

Most likely built many years ago on a shoe-string budget, trying to make ends meet.

 

[dogman dan]

True enough, in europe, sometimes new means post 1700. To us old is pre 2000. Still silly to worry about pedicab accidents when terrorists seem everywhere.

 

[internethope]

i just got my recumbent sorted out finally thanks to people great support on this forum.

it does worry me that policing has gotten a bit bad in the UK , i questioned one a few months ago and i got the distinct impression that there getting enrolled due to there willingness to adjust and obliege to rules and laws . i grew up in the UK and it bothered me totally that we wasn't taught any laws at school.
its a messy business for sure.

i think its more likely that this would have sparked off a huge trend and in the capital of chaos, london. theres a lot of lovely genuingly intersting people in london and im sure they would be over joyed for cleaner air. just think of all that money that would be lost in revenues and buisiness in the motor industry. london being the capitol it would be big news and the ideas spread fast.
when i say the capital of chaos i mean city life being of self interest by nature and capitalistic and non spiritual , again its not the majority of people its the laws and governing bodies.

9 eleven seems to be a bit of a weird subject, its amazing how many people of america feel its a setup . i certainly have reaserched different subjects and have come to understand that the rothchilds bought the independant banks out a good ten years ago and are intending on a new world order and that its not the governments but the banks that are ruling.

also these safe fuel cells didnt come about due to many obstacles and mysterious deaths.

please take me seriously, i think we can mostly all agree that we are under a suppressive rule these days

 

[thomas]

Its cheating

 

[africanandy187]

The electric bike laws in Uk are a joke, what the hell can you do with 250watts??not even make it up a 2 percent incline. pretty much useless other than assisting you. why can't they just limit speed instead of wattage?

This story just completely proves it's nothing to do with safety or trying to protect people, it's just pure upper class snobbery. If it really was they would just fine them and make them get it sorted out, now they have no way of making any money, at least let them do something like this than sell drugs or have to do something else genuinely illegal.

But i guess thats the way we solve problems in the UK, just make some more stupid legislation

 

[monster]

did they measure the weight and impound them because they were over 60kg or did they just impound them on-sight?

 

[Reid Welch]

We have them in colorful, historic (1920s) Cocoanut Grove. They are non-electric and do only short jaunts for the tourist-passengers. They work only at night. They bear no lights and NO reflectors. And they do stunts: the driver/runners (they are not pediccabs are constantly up-ending without warning, stopping, reversing directions, to the merriment of the paying couples having such fun! The operators are all young studs, runners, atheletes, in prime condition of body, but without any sense of danger awareness.

If electrified and, of course, lighted or reflector-fitted, restrict them to ten mph (they are pulled vehicles, not pedaled), and put som g-d blinkies on them.
The authorities do nothing here. No one has died yet so far as I know. It is a very congested tourist area. You can't even see them until you are right on them.

The London crackdown was a PR move, and well-deserved. They are motor vehicles if they go 20 per in tight, crowded city traffic.
It was a fair move, imo.

 

[morph999]

The electric bike laws in Uk are a joke, what the hell can you do with 250watts??not even make it up a 2 percent incline. pretty much useless other than assisting you. why can't they just limit speed instead of wattage?

This story just completely proves it's nothing to do with safety or trying to protect people, it's just pure upper class snobbery. If it really was they would just fine them and make them get it sorted out, now they have no way of making any money, at least let them do something like this than sell drugs or have to do something else genuinely illegal.

But i guess thats the way we solve problems in the UK, just make some more stupid legislation

what happens if you put a 1000w motor on your bike in UK ? Do they stop the motors at customs or will it get through? You should encourage as many people as possible to equip their bikes with motors and that way you will be how they say, anonymous through obscurity. They can't possibly pull everyone over.

 

[paultrafalgar]

...
what happens if you put a 1000w motor on your bike in UK ?

What happens is they take away your car driving license. I can't afford to lose that.
Who killed the electric car? Forget it - concentrate on "Who's determined to kill the ebike"

 

[Miles]

The electric bike laws in Uk are a joke, what the hell can you do with 250watts??not even make it up a 2 percent incline. pretty much useless other than assisting you. why can't they just limit speed instead of wattage?

Actually, 250 Watts will get you (100kg total wt.) up a 2% incline at the max. assist speed allowed....(25 kph) :wink:

 

[paultrafalgar]

I weigh 95kg and the bike weighs 20kg + luggage. What happens when I want to go up a 20% incline. The answer on my Kalkhoff Pro Connect is 5mph! Now, I'm very pleased to have this bike as I'm retired and in no rush, but if I was commuting to work I would want to go 10mph up that hill and 250 watts ain't enough.
Again, I want to put electric assist on my trike (Trice T), but 250 watts is not enough to push me up that hill (and there are a lot of 1in7 hills around here) at 10mph.
250 watts may force me to take exercise, but it won't get Joe Public out of his SUV onto an ebike to commute to work, which is important.

 

[Miles]

Just pointing out that 250 Watts isn't completely useless. 250 Watts limit is for the continuous rating of the motor - maybe one could get 500 Watts for a short period. Yes, 500 Watts will get you up a 20% incline at 5mph, with some pedal input, Paul.

There's very little chance of getting this legislation changed. It would be a better tactic to press for a more logical low-powered moped class, or a high-powered EAPC class with tighter controls.

 

[csm]

The lunatics are in charge of the asylum (or is it the Cabby Mafia?):
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LMc-BGBCSDw
20 mph! shocking!
Electric power! shocking!

Have another link/source for the video? I would like to watch it.