Usually, 20 mph feels fast enough on a bicycle for me and under just pedal power, I seldom go that fast except downhill, but yesterday I took a ride along a country road and was going probably about 20 mph (no speedometer) when a guy dressed in bike gear passed me up going perhaps 7 mph faster just pedaling. Thing is, he didn't slow down going up hills any more than I did, and I had my e-bike. Guess I never realized how fast some people on bicycles really go. Anyway I started pedaling like crazy just to see if I could catch up with him. No chance. I saw him nearly out of sight a few minutes later as he disappeared about a mile ahead of me. I realize how slow 20 mph really is now.
legal speed for e-bikes
- Thread starter dkw12002
- Start date
Racer_X
1 kW
So how did that make you feel? Since you can only go 20mph I assume you are running at 36v? Thats why I run a minimum of 48v. My next build is going to be 72v.+ with 3 speed switch. I will mostly cruise in speed 1 in the city, speed 2 in the back country, and speed 3 when a scooters tries to smoke me. 
Edit: Forgot to mention here in Sweden there is alot of lycra guys who can go 25mph+ on human power alone so i don't know why in the EU they have and even lower speed limit of 15mph (25kph) for ebikes.
Edit: Forgot to mention here in Sweden there is alot of lycra guys who can go 25mph+ on human power alone so i don't know why in the EU they have and even lower speed limit of 15mph (25kph) for ebikes.
dogman dan
1 PW
Yeah, a true 20 mph ebike will really get dusted by a fit cyclist, like a real racer. I would guess your bike is about 350w, while going up that hill he likely puts out 500w at least.
We have a rider like that localy, a lady who races seriously. On my commuter that goes 27 mph, I can barely catch her most days. When riding in a pack of riders, she's always towing several big guys who have their tounges hanging out trying to just stay up with her while drafting her. She never slows down, not even into a 30 mph headwind. Freindly gal too, not at all put off by an old fart on an ebike. None of that holier than thou crap from her.
We have a rider like that localy, a lady who races seriously. On my commuter that goes 27 mph, I can barely catch her most days. When riding in a pack of riders, she's always towing several big guys who have their tounges hanging out trying to just stay up with her while drafting her. She never slows down, not even into a 30 mph headwind. Freindly gal too, not at all put off by an old fart on an ebike. None of that holier than thou crap from her.
10 kW
A fit rider on a light road bike can do 20 mph, no problem. When I ride on the greenway, there are a couple of regular riders that can outrun me, but then again I keep it between 18 and 20 mph because the greenway is bumpy and I don't like to be jostled all the way home. If there is a road biker that can do 18 mph on a greenway, I just stay behind him since I'm only on it for 10 minutes. I figure he/she has the moral high ground. I don't remember who's sig file is "I'm not competing, I'm commuting" but those are my words to commute by. 20 mph suits me fine, but I am only about 7 or so miles from home to work. If it were farther, I'd be trying to get some extra speed on.
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