eBikes. Are they bikes? Do they belong in the bike lane?

What's the deal with the lady flying past me at 20mph? Does that thing belong in the bike lane or the street? It's like an electric moped.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on June 6, 2016 at 6:29am

Not thinking bad things, just wanted to ask if you were able to confirm it was an eBike. :-)

"What's the deal with the lady flying past me at 20mph?" My only point is that this speed is easily possible without an eBike and with cyclists needing to train, should there be areas that have speeds posted? I think this is probably a bigger issue than eBikes. I am surprised at how many people ride way too fast around Oak Street Beach and North Ave on the bike path.

Permalink Reply by Maurice on June 6, 2016 at 7:05am

It makes perfect sense for the law to distinguish based on bright lines such as "solely by human power."

 

The arguments in this thread about whether a particular bike can go more than 20MPH are not the sort of arguments that you want cyclists having with police officers on the bike path.

 

Clear, easily enforceable laws are good laws.

Permalink Reply by V W on June 6, 2016 at 7:47am
It also makes sense for the laws to be modified to keep up with the times and account for technological progress.
Permalink Reply by millenial removing Bernie tattoo on June 6, 2016 at 8:34am

Here's California's new regulations: California ebike law

Once manufacturers start building to legal specs, I don't see enforcement as that big of an issue. Homebrew e-bikers are SoL but I don't see them as being relevant in the future.

Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on June 6, 2016 at 10:03am

This is probably where it's going, whether I like it or not.  Manufacturers of ebikes are doing a whole lot of lobbying, and success grows where the money rolls in America.  The PR machine is in full swing, creating fake organizations and web sites extolling the glory of ebikes, complete with pious testimonials.  I would love to know how many of those come from paid plants.

Chicago, though, is a home-rule city.  Chicago itself, not the state of Illinois, makes its cycling regulations.  And I think that when people realize that the ebike lobby wants ebikes on the already-congested and chaotic lake path, and even the sacred 606, there will be resistance.  

Permalink Reply by Maurice on June 6, 2016 at 9:58am

Technological progress is the reason that we need bike lanes to keep the motorized vehicles away.

Permalink Reply by V W on June 6, 2016 at 11:48am
So you'd rather tell grandma she can't ride her 15 mph max speed pedal assist e-bike on the bike path because it's too much effort to legally distinguish that from an E scooter that goes 20+mph?

I dont think the law is incapable of making that distinction. You don't need an officer to verify the top speed of each bike in each instance, you can require self certification from manufacturers and sellers.
Permalink Reply by Maurice on June 6, 2016 at 5:33pm

I'd rather write laws based on reality than writing them based on hypothetical grandmas and hypothetical manufacturer certificates that would have the force of law.

Permalink Reply by V W on June 7, 2016 at 1:32am
Self certification by manufacturers is reality, for example, with regulation of noise. We don't say you can't make a motorcycle that makes any noise at all. We set decibel limits. We don't expect police to regulate the bulk of this, it's required at the manufacturer level. It's not a huge stretch of the imagination that this can work with E bikes to separate the types of E bikes that need stricter regulation from those that don't and should be treated the same as normal bikes.
Permalink Reply by V W on June 7, 2016 at 1:45am
Btw, read the post about the new California E bike law, above. Is that not reality? Is that not a law that accounts for technological advancements, to keep up with the times? Does it not distinguish between types of E bikes instead of treating them all the same? I think your bias against E bikes is leading you to overstate the difficulty of up with such a law.
Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on June 7, 2016 at 2:28am

No, that is a law passed by pro-ebikes trade associations and their lobbyists and proxies in order to gain access to bike lanes and trails for their souped-up vehicles.  Its intention, in fact, is to eliminate the distinction between ebikes and bicycles so that vehicles that would otherwise be restricted to streets can take advantage of bikeways.  From everything I read, the majority of actual cyclists are not in favor of that.  As far as self-certification is concerned, I trust corporations about as far as I can throw them.  

Permalink Reply by V W on June 7, 2016 at 4:09am
I'm not saying the law is perfect, but it's one thing to disagree with where to draw the line as to which E bikes should be classified the same, legally, as normal bikes, and it's another thing to say that all E bikes should be treated differently than all other bikes. This is your own language "if they're going 20 miles an hour, that place is in the street"- doesn't that imply that if an E bike's top speed is under 20, they should be allowed to share the bike path?

I realize that's techically not the case in Chicago but I'm talking about what the law should be. Obviously pro E bike industry is going to pull one way and those who are anti E bike may pull to the other extreme, but I think a reasonable outcome is to be found somewhere in the middle.

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