petition to increase the speed limit

youngoldbloke

Pedelecer
Apr 27, 2018
69
25
76
South West
I don't keep a record of all releases but the Merc on the link below is a new release of something easily capable of carrying what you want to. You'd have to do a charge during the run to cover 350 miles but that need only take under 30 minute at its 110 kW charge rate.

Mercedes EQV

Not cheap though, e-cars never will be.

You'd have to wait slightly longer for as big choice of Berlingo type vehicles, so far the makers have concentrated on hatches of all sizes, very fast stuff, crossovers and now a wide range of vans. Seeing all the vans I imagine more vehicles like the Berlingo will be next. Of course Covid-19 with dealerships closed and shows cancelled has slowed this years big program of launches.
.
Thanks - actually a little too big for our needs, and getting on for £80K! Diesel Berlingo - less than £25000, and well over 350 miles on one tank of fuel. Guess which I will probably be buying.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: flecc

sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
3,642
2,652
Winchester
my bike is not road legal i have been riding round for the last 5 years braking the speed limit smoking war heads and drinking cider rolling round the area.

the police wont even chase me :(
Makes me want to sign up as a policeman in your area, just for the fun on the chase. (Sadly, I don't think they'd have me.)
 
  • :D
Reactions: flecc

Wicky

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2014
2,823
4,011
Colchester, Essex
www.jhepburn.co.uk
As the Honda Cub, BSA Bantam and Italian Vespas provided cheap post war mobility - here's a modern take on it

 
  • Like
Reactions: flecc and Swizz

Swizz

Pedelecer
Oct 1, 2017
211
161
48
Sk14
As the Honda Cub, BSA Bantam and Italian Vespas provided cheap post war mobility - here's a modern take on it

Love Honda Cubs & cannot wait to see the electric one become reality!

Did anyone see Vintage Voltage on Quest last week? They converted a Royal Enfield Bullet to electric, looked really nice.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,760
30,348
As the Honda Cub, BSA Bantam and Italian Vespas provided cheap post war mobility - here's a modern take on it

They are probably anticipating the possibility that a ban on i.c. motorbikes will follow the i.c. car ban eventually.
.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,760
30,348
Thanks - actually a little too big for our needs, and getting on for £80K! Diesel Berlingo - less than £25000, and well over 350 miles on one tank of fuel. Guess which I will probably be buying.
Yes, e-cars will never be cheap and I've long thought that is the political intention anyway. A public almost universally running around in their own cars has been a huge inconvenience in so many ways, providing for them, coping with them, the crimes they assist, the pollution, the social costs in deaths and serious injuries.

So much easier to have us queuing for buses or caged on station platforms if many of us just can't afford to own cars. VW's ID3, the latest electric replacement for the Golf is over £35 k after the government grant, which itself has been reduced twice. £35 k for a small hatchback!
.
 
Last edited:

Wicky

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2014
2,823
4,011
Colchester, Essex
www.jhepburn.co.uk
They are probably anticipating the possibility that a ban on i.c. motorbikes will follow the i.c. car ban eventually.
.
Developing it in parallel as a foot in the door for more widespread use - and a model that can help that gain development and manufacturing experince for a model that can be readily sold (to those that afford it) ICE version OTR price £3,400ish

I've noticed folk wanting free to insure / tax and 125cc bike levels of performance - but govts over the years put training / testing / licence hurdles up / stringency to bring down death / serious injury rates.


"It was introduced in Great Britain on 1 December 1990 as a means of reducing accidents on the road caused by inexperienced drivers by reviewing aspects of riding both on and off the road with a qualified motorcycle instructor registered with an Approved Training Body (ATB)."

Allowing a free-for-all use of 30mph moped/motorcycle performance pedelecs would be a bit contradictory.

As Flecc says models are available to zoom about at whatever speed you want if you have the necessary licence.

I have a pedelec for pottering about locally, a Honda Transalp for pottering about about a bit faster and longer (175 tank range) and a Honda Firestorm if I need to zip around quickly (tank range 80 miles) ...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Swizz and flecc

georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
1,425
1,251
Surrey
Gosh, I got back from work last night to find that my little "Ford Fusion" comment to rather naughtily prod flec, love him as I do. on the electric car debate had led to a furious debate.

Anyway to bring some nice karma back to the thread here are some pictures from my 12 mile ride to work on my Haibike yesterday while the debate was simmering nicely, and 10 mile ride home. I set off at about 18:00 to be at work by about 19:30, to start work at 20:00.
Ride to work before summer holiday 2020 001.JPG
Start of my off road route in beautiful evening sunshine.
Ride to work before summer holiday 2020 003.JPG
Dappled evening sunshine spotlighting the Haibike through the trees.
Ride to work before summer holiday 2020 004.JPG
Steep challenging entrance to another wooded single track path
Ride to work before summer holiday 2020 006.JPG
Another sun drenched field, it is a hard life. I will try to remember this sun drenched evening ride in the Winter all to soon to arrive.
Ride to work before summer holiday 2020 008.JPG
Got to love a pig. An enclosure I pass by.

So last night was the last of six days of work. All but one commuted to and from by ebike. The one that was done by car was due to a mechanical mishap and the first time I have used my own petrol car all year. I fitted my first Schwalbe Marathon plus mountain bike tyre and the bloody thing went mostly down 4 miles in. Turned out to be the valve in the tube. One of those things.

So 108 miles by ebike in 5 days commuting. My 2015 Haibike Yamaha has now done 12,426 miles, and is still using its original battery.
 

georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
1,425
1,251
Surrey
I purposely left out my average speed on my 10 mile late at night undulating B road return home.

Some people use an ebike so that they do not sweat on the way to work and then get their exercise fix on the way home.

I guess I get an exercise fix in both directions but use my Haibike in a different way going to work compared with getting home.

Going to work off road I only use lowest eco setting and no assist at all for quite a few sections I know I can and maybe as much as a third of the route, getting plenty of exercise and getting quite sweaty. I can give myself a sluice down at work before getting into my work clothes, and predominantly work completely on my own. The Yamaha crank drive motor rides really well when used with no assistance seeming to add no friction at all.

Going home late at night I want to get home as quickly as I can on normally empty roads. I still predominantly use eco, but also the next assist level up, standard, to maintain speed on steeper hills. I still turn the assist off for the steeper downhill bits. But my Haibike can assist me above the cut off point, and I average 20mph for my 10 mile journey, 30 minutes give or take a minute or too.

The advantage on longer slightly uphill gradients where you would hit a wall on at 15 ish miles an hour is that in eco pushing hard on the pedals I can maintain 21 to 23mph. I used 34% of my 400Wh battery getting home last night. I use about 25% travelling two miles further getting to work off road. As I said my battery is the original one and holding up very well.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Swizz

RoadieRoger

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 8, 2010
720
196
Well done georgehenry for keeping the Country going when we are led to believe that most are sat on their arses at home and being paid for it . The exceptions being the Saint who owns Pimlico Plumbers and his Employees .
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292
Ok , Mmm , Well i am a police officer in England , and handy to know , now ive just got
your details thanks .
the police was at my house today the 1 guy was more interested in my bike as going to buy one soon and wanted to know what sealant i was using and what to service when ect pmsl.

i even said he could have a go but said he could not as was on duty esp with a dongle but gave the wink as what he is looking for and easy to remove.

he said my new helmet was badass and i said thats what the dongle is called ;) :p
 

budsy

Banned
May 16, 2020
269
36
the police was at my house today the 1 guy was more interested in my bike as going to buy one soon and wanted to know what sealant i was using and what to service when ect pmsl.

i even said he could have a go but said he could not as was on duty esp with a dongle but gave the wink as what he is looking for and easy to remove.

he said my new helmet was badass and i said thats what the dongle is called ;) :p
Ok good to know , ill hav a good word with his Sergeant :D
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,971
6,292
he also said with the ebike law on speed limits it is not enforced as it is impossible and would only get involved as a last resort ie you kill someone or rta.

said the same thing about scooters and kids riding them as well as not a road they will be going down same as enforcing face masks only as a last resort.

tho they did have them on but then said i stank off weed when i just smoked a roll up and said your not the drugs squad then and those mask are doing jack shite if you can smell that and i vape weed anyway for the last 15 years.

i even had about 1g on my side in a pot and not interested they all seen it as searched the hole house and shed.

they know as well as i do it will be a waste of there time and mine and it will go no where cps wise.



S1030523_01.JPG
 
  • :D
Reactions: budsy

jimriley

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 17, 2020
561
384
he also said with the ebike law on speed limits it is not enforced as it is impossible and would only get involved as a last resort ie you kill someone or rta.

said the same thing about scooters and kids riding them as well as not a road they will be going down same as enforcing face masks only as a last resort.

tho they did have them on but then said i stank off weed when i just smoked a roll up and said your not the drugs squad then and those mask are doing jack shite if you can smell that and i vape weed anyway for the last 15 years.

i even had about 1g on my side in a pot and not interested they all seen it as searched the hole house and shed.

they know as well as i do it will be a waste of there time and mine and it will go no where cps wise.



View attachment 37536
 

Spitz

Pedelecer
Jan 23, 2020
26
10
Now that we are leaving the EU and their beloved level playing field we need to be bold and derive our own rules on Pedelecs etc. Start by scrapping the Pedelec Classes L1e and L1e B that few understand and just have the normal Pedelec , but allow a maximum speed of 20 mph . This would allow the E scooters to be a class below and limit them to 15 mph . Then allow the 50 cc Mopeds to exceed the silly maximum speed of 28 mph and cap it at 40 mph .
We are about to make new laws and have wholesale changes after December 31st, so start as we mean to go on . I have two Classic machines a 1982 Suzuki Roadie 50cc that is restricted to 30 mph which cannot keep up with modern traffic , even in Towns . My other a 1982 Suzuki X7 caused the Law to be changed, as it was too fast for the 250 cc Class . It is capable of 100 mph but I won`t be doing that on it , in 10 years I have not passed 70 mph . Which brings me to the point that just because something like a Pedelec could be designed to reach 20 mph , it doesn`t mean that all Riders are going to be riding everwhere at that speed as some seem to suggest .
The Covid Pandemic and Brexit gives us a perfect opportunity to sort out the Laws on small powered machines and we ought to do it soon .
I don’t understand this oft repeated phrase about the desire for a peddlec to be designed to reach 20mph. On a flat or even slight incline I do not find it difficult to maintain a cruising speed around 20mph on my ebike with only a little effort. Downhill this obviously rises further.

While I am a regular cyclist I am not especially fit, but do feel the benefit of having to work a little to maintain unassisted speeds.

No need to change the existing laws in my opinion as they represent a good compromise between allowing for a very efficient mode of transport but keeping some of the health benefits of getting out on a bike.
 

Wicky

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2014
2,823
4,011
Colchester, Essex
www.jhepburn.co.uk
Govt has thrown millions at Shared Use cycle / pedestrian path infrastructure


Some of it daft* (Grayling was involved!) with some Councils badly implementing schemes but by its nature of mixed users it would preclude 20mph pedelecs / sub mopeds bowling along.

* https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/14467014.council-to-press-ahead-with-controversial-750000-cycle-path-scheme-in-mile-end-road-colchester/

 
  • Informative
Reactions: flecc