The Politics of Peddling
When is a bike not a bike? After reading, and then re-reading the Canada Gazette article I posted about the other day, I keep thinking about those two metal things sticking out the sides of my Veloteq eBike and how, imho, useless they were.
Sure, if the battery fails I could use pedal-power to get me to a subway or something, but very very slowly. My eBikes’ pedal gear ratio is, well, like granny-gear on a traditional bike. Great for going up a hill I guess, but terrible for long-distance cruise.
According the the MTO E-Bike FAQ, in the chart that shows the difference between an E-Bike and a Moped.
“An E-Bike is designed to be propelled primarily by muscular power and to travel on not more than three wheels.” and “a moped must not weigh more than 55 kilograms”.
So here I am, with a 76 kilgram bike that really wasn’t designed to be primarily propelled by muscular power. Have I opened a can of worms?
PS: I still love my Veloteq, but it makes you think, eh?
Explore posts in the same categories: Ebike Design, Reviews, The Law
Toronto Ebike Rider 
April 18, 2007 at 9:32 pm
To be totally honest, the pedals are a clever legal work-around for the ebike. I purchased my ebike because it was a great alternatively-powdered mode of transportation, not because I could cycle it if my battery ran out. As with any new technology, it often takes small legal loop-holes to introduce a product which later has wider adoption. In the end, the pedals (like the requirement as a minimum to wear a bicycle helmet) are current legal hoops that will seem obsolete at the end of the pilot project.
April 18, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Here’s funny one Phil. You now that hill that goes around Spadina Road, up and around Casa Loma? I had to use my peddles man!
May 10, 2007 at 10:33 am
Savings…
Charging the E-bike….costs 5 cents to operate.
less then $1.50 a month to operate in total.
This is what I have found so far.
talk to you later
Joe
May 10, 2007 at 12:31 pm
sorry about putting this comment here, I thought I wa in savings…haha
June 21, 2007 at 5:39 pm
I think with the variety of vehicles that are and may soon start appearing on the road there may need to be some method of clearly indicating on the vehicle (e.g. a sign that says “This is the equivalent of a bicycle.”) of what the vehicle is and how it is to be treated. It might make it easier for the police as well. A similar arrangement might be needed if they permit low power electric cars for city but not highway driving.
As I am riding to and from work, I get the impression that some drivers think that they can’t pass me if I am at the side of the lane . . . or they think that I am going slow just to tick them off.