municipal bylaws

[Aberfoyle]

E-bikes are starting to catch on in Ontario, Canada. When councillors on municipal councils hear that the e-bikes are cut off at 32 km/h, their knee jerk reaction is to ban e-bikes from multi-use trails. I want to prepare a list of facts to present to my local council when the time comes to show that there is no need for this type of bye-law. So, I would appreciate feedback on the reasons that e-mtb are not to be feared on multi-use trails.

 

[Tonybro]

First and foremost is they are a bicycle and travel no faster just because they are electrically assisted when pedalling. The person riding and in control determines the speed and that's the same for normal bicycles too! If you stop pedalling on the flat it will slow down like a normal bike...

 

[04fuxake]

I have a 32km/h e-mtb. The only time the motor ever gets me up to that speed is on the road to and from the trails. Everywhere else on the trails I’m going uphill as fast as an elite rider and downhill as fast as an average rider.

Also, the argument about weight on the trails causing damage are dubious. A light person on an eeb will weigh the same as a heavy person on an XC bike.

The motor makes far less impact than many people think.

 

[skinipenem]

I don't have the links at hand, but search for studies done comparing ebikes to mountain bikes, social intrusion, and trail damage. Usfs and some other entities have performed such studies with results supporting ebike use on trail