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01-28-2007, 06:48 PM

In article <E%6vh.14142$ji1.920@newssvr12.news.prodigy.net> ,
"Mike Jacoubowsky" <mikej1@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

> As I'm reading an article in this-morning's San Jose Mercury News about
> newfound popularity of electric bikes, and their limitations (max speeds
> 25mph or less; need to be recharged after 8-20 miles), I'm thinking yeah,
> same old stuff that's been out there, heavy, expensive to repair, cause
> parts & frame failures on modified bikes etc.
>
> Then the article mentioned that an engineer has a recumbent design he's
> trying to bring to market that will go over 100 miles on a charge, at speeds
> greater than 30mph. And at that point I'm wondering-
>
> What's gonna happen when people try to show up on a century (or, for that
> matter, any other organized bike ride) on one of them? So far, it's been a
> non-issue due to limited range. But if that's no longer an issue...

Well...I would think that on one hand, it hardly makes sense to keep
their times, but on the other hand, an electric (or electric-assist)
bike is not a completely horrible thing.

Some of it depends on your jurisdiction: locally an electric-assist bike
that has an electric-powered top speed of less than 32 km/h on level
ground and "a continuous power rating of less than 500 watts" is usable
as if it were a bicycle (no license, no registration, use bike lanes,
etc.)

http://scooterteq.com/ebike_regs_bc.htm

My inclination is for charity rides and casual or popular group rides to
allow an "electric-assist" category because such riders aren't really
likely to cause a problem (at least as long as their batteries last...).

I think the bright line would pretty much be randonees of any type,
since the finishing times are logged (though these are not races).
Moreover, the rule with randos is that you can draft any vehicle on the
course, but you can't prearrange for a drafting vehicle. E-bikes in the
same ride add a new wrinkle, and are a bit bigger problem than the
occasional tandemist (heck, the last time I did the Pacific Populaire, I
didn't see a tandem rig after the first 50 feet; I was in with the fast
group).

That said, my bet is the first person to try doing an organized century
on an E-bike will either DNF or be fully self-propelled for the last
quarter of the ride.

--
Ryan Cousineau rcousine@sfu.ca http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

01-28-2007, 06:48 PM	#11 (permalink)
Ryan Cousineau Posts: n/a	Re: electric bikes on centuries In article <E%6vh.14142$ji1.920@newssvr12.news.prodigy.net> , "Mike Jacoubowsky" <mikej1@ix.netcom.com> wrote: > As I'm reading an article in this-morning's San Jose Mercury News about > newfound popularity of electric bikes, and their limitations (max speeds > 25mph or less; need to be recharged after 8-20 miles), I'm thinking yeah, > same old stuff that's been out there, heavy, expensive to repair, cause > parts & frame failures on modified bikes etc. > > Then the article mentioned that an engineer has a recumbent design he's > trying to bring to market that will go over 100 miles on a charge, at speeds > greater than 30mph. And at that point I'm wondering- > > What's gonna happen when people try to show up on a century (or, for that > matter, any other organized bike ride) on one of them? So far, it's been a > non-issue due to limited range. But if that's no longer an issue... Well...I would think that on one hand, it hardly makes sense to keep their times, but on the other hand, an electric (or electric-assist) bike is not a completely horrible thing. Some of it depends on your jurisdiction: locally an electric-assist bike that has an electric-powered top speed of less than 32 km/h on level ground and "a continuous power rating of less than 500 watts" is usable as if it were a bicycle (no license, no registration, use bike lanes, etc.) http://scooterteq.com/ebike_regs_bc.htm My inclination is for charity rides and casual or popular group rides to allow an "electric-assist" category because such riders aren't really likely to cause a problem (at least as long as their batteries last...). I think the bright line would pretty much be randonees of any type, since the finishing times are logged (though these are not races). Moreover, the rule with randos is that you can draft any vehicle on the course, but you can't prearrange for a drafting vehicle. E-bikes in the same ride add a new wrinkle, and are a bit bigger problem than the occasional tandemist (heck, the last time I did the Pacific Populaire, I didn't see a tandem rig after the first 50 feet; I was in with the fast group). That said, my bet is the first person to try doing an organized century on an E-bike will either DNF or be fully self-propelled for the last quarter of the ride. -- Ryan Cousineau rcousine@sfu.ca http://www.wiredcola.com/ "I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos