Escooters vs Emtb so unfair

[scrufy]

So I stopped by my nephew's house today to see his new scooter.
Took it for a spin and noticed it was fast. Like, really fast.
He told me he had his gps on it and was going 35 mph and not even top speed.

How can they limit us to half that? Just thinking about what is more stable, scooter vs emtb.

Just have to wonder how they come up with some of these regulations.
Not really a rant, Just a whine I guess.. lol

 

[Bummers]

But it's 'illegal'. He can't actually use that lawfully on anything but private land.
You can chip your bike and it's the same thing.

 

[RustyIron]

We're talking about mountain bikes here, and I seriously doubt your nephew's scooter is a mountain bike. Do you REALLY think that a 35 mph scooter is suitable on a single track trail? Do you think that a 35 mph scooter is suitable for a walking path? Do you think that a 35 mph scooter is suitable on the road with cars and trucks?

Frankly, I don't see these children's toys as being suitable for much of anything. They're a nuisance.

 

[AshMilo]

Apples and oranges…Is it a scooter (moped, e-moto) or a class one bicycle?
The real issue is on the trail when these two very different ‘classes’ can look identical - class 1 Emtb and suron with pedals. Average trail user sees 2 bicycles with motors…

 

[scrufy]

Yeah you guys are right, just struck a nerve, I didn't realize that they are actually not classed the same.

 

[Koban]

When I use the full potential of a 35 mph bike. Then I'm riding the wrong trails ;-)

Personally I do not experience any issues of the speed limitations of (25 kph / 15.53 mph)

 

[scrufy]

I was more thinking it woukd be nice to just have one bike to commute on too and 20 mph here for 20 miles with cars isn't fun.
I think I probably get avg about 5-7 mph on the trails.

 

[Bummers]

I was more thinking it woukd be nice to just have one bike to commute on too and 20 mph here for 20 miles with cars isn't fun.
I think I probably get avg about 5-7 mph on the trails.

We're stuck at 15mph here in the UK, 20 would be nice!

 

[ClaudeM]

I don't think 35 mph is too slow. Do you even know what traffic is like in big cities these days? There are speed limits everywhere, and traffic is often so heavy that you can't go faster than 35 mph anyway. You might want to check out off-road electric scooters if you don't want to ride a scooter that looks like a kid's toy. These e-scooters usually have more powerful wheels and suspension, making them suitable for off-road terrain. In the end, you'll get a ride that's good for both the city and countryside trips.

 

[arTNC]

Hold my beer! 35 mph?...that's for losers. I built a 2003 Santa Cruz Bullit with a Bafang BBSHD, and it would run just over 40 mph.

But honestly, that doesn't have much bearing on reality. Here in Texas, there's not much oversight about what gets ridden on the streets in the bicycle category. Even though it may be technically illegal, as long as the users aren't doing stupid things, almost no one cares. That's the way life and rights ought to be, but we know it can only take a few knuckleheads to bring the spotlight of big brother down on us.

My Bullit was built to use exclusively for MTB'ing, and it worked great. As Koban mentioned above, if you're actually riding a real trail, you can't go 35-40 mph hardly anywhere anyway. I achieved that 40 mph on my Bullit on pavement with throttle only just to see what it would do. Trying to use that throttle on the trail was almost unusable. It worked great using the pedal cadence system it was designed with.

The definition of "scooter" probably needs clarification. When I think of scooter, I think of electric or gas scooters that are motor vehicles requiring licensing. Anything else is just a mish-mash of components with a fuzzy design goal.

 

[steve_sordy]

For me a "scooter" is either one of these:

OR it's one of these

Either can come with an electric motor, but neither are suitable for trails. Both are used for commuting, but the electric stand up one is probably illegal (widely ignored it would seem).

i would not be seen dead on either. I'm more likely to ride a unicycle.

 

[arTNC]

C'mon Steve, you can admit right now that the scooter in the second pic is sitting your garage at the moment...in your color.

 

[steve_sordy]

C'mon Steve, you can admit right now that the scooter in the second pic is sitting your garage at the moment...in your color.

I freely admit to having a few pink shirts and even a floral one, but a Vespa! NEVER!

 

[Mabman]

Here in Oregon USA the Scooter class is allowed a 25mph top speed while eBikes are set at 20mph. Go figure....Some states in the US allow for a 28mph top speed for Class III eBikes but are realistically only applicable for road use. And I would wager to say that the Class III bikes designated as such won't have effective gearing to pedal effectively at that pace nor enough watts to sustain it except on level ground.

I have a drop bar bike with a 1000w direct drive front hub motor that will go up to 35mph on level ground with the gearing available to still pedal effectively at that speed. One time I averaged 30mph for a ride of 18 paved miles just to see if it was possible and it was the most nerve wracking experience I have ever had on a bicycle.

How road bike racers are able to ride in a peloton at those speeds, even 200mile gravel races are won at average speeds of 20mph+, is beyond me.

 

[Ride 2d@y]

One of these machines costs 6X more than the other one - and tops out at only 32kph
(yes I know not apples to apples comparison)