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In Europe, or at least in the EU, I'd argue it's impossible that any ebike capable of more than 25km/h will ever be allowed on cycle lanes. I can see it happen in places like America though.
I agree they're a good alternative to the classic 2-stroke motorcycle, but I don't think there's any gap in the market at all.
2-strokes were replaced by electric mopeds everywhere - where I live, a tiny city in Portugal, mopeds were always very popular and these days you don't see any ICE ones at all, they're all electric. The same thing happened in Chinese cities much earlier. That gap has been filled already. I don't think there's even public interest for ebikes with higher speeds aside from vanity projects or sports, certainly not for transport.
Zebra-
I don't think there's even public interest for ebikes with higher speeds
There certainly is if they don't have the regulatory burdens that mopeds have. In London there are already shitloads of electric bikes and scooters that go well over 20mph with no rider assistance.
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45km/h (L1e-B) bikes are allowed in (and required to use where available) cycle lanes in Switzerland and the uptake here is huge. You can't use shared use paths unless you turn the motor off. You need to pay for a registration plate and a nominal annual fee and wear a normal bicycle helmet. But you do not need a moped licence. Also funny, L1e-B bikes must be sold with the brakes 'moto-style' (Right hand front brake) in all EU countries.
I don't see why a 45km/h bike shouldn't be allowed to use a cycle lane, that's not any faster than a lot of people ride anyway. Yes the brakes need to be maintained well (I heard in the UK it is mandatory for L1e-B vehicle to have a MOT lol) and I agree that riders should have some kind of mandatory training. -
In Belgium high speed pedelec are able to use bike lanes and they do 45kmh?
Also they don’t just float up to 45 like a moped, you have to work to get over about 30
aggi
chiroshi
TM
The impression I was getting from TheVerge and this T3 piece was that the journalists saw these as something that could run in cycle lanes away fron the nasty traffic rather than on the road with cars...I am all for them acting as an alternative to cars and motorbikes (less pollution, less noise, less waste) but dont want to see this come at the expense of human powered vehicles