123Taff

The Metropolitan Police do have purges at times stopping bikes in pedestrianised areas. But then they may have the manpower to conduct such purges and the bike riders are largely compliant with nowhere to go to get away. The problem arises due to non compliance and riders just making off causing the problem of whether to pursue or not in view of being criminally liable for any deaths from a pursuit as in the case of the Cardiff incident. The problem with clamping down on sales is that derestricted machines are legal to be used on private land so the only way to legislate this is to make them totally illegal even on private land, and I can’t see that happening. The only other way is to make them fully legal but with the proviso that they are registered as motor vehicles with index plates displayed, as are all motorcycles/mopeds. Many of the food delivery concerns are only going over to illegal ebikes to save them the expense of registering mopeds/scooters. Should they then been seen on pavements or places where they shouldn’t be, then in theory, they could be traced and prosecuted, just as other users of motor vehicles are.

One of the major problems here is the utter ignorance of most of the public including this MP of the difference between legal pedalecs and illegal electric bikes and scooters. I ride a legal pedelec and use shared paths and canal towpaths and old railway lines on a regular basis. I go out of my way to ensure that pedestrians are given their precedence and I am ultra polite to all I encounter. Despite this I do sometimes come across the belligerent, who will go out of their way to impede any cyclists sharing the path, with some even questioning the legality of riding along these shared paths, despite the signage they have just passed. In the urban setting, in most cases cycling on pavements or pedestrian areas is prohibited whether the bike has a motor or not. This is exacerbated by the increasing riding of illegal electric bikes, especially by food delivery outlets. There is no need to ban such machines, they are already illegal, but what is needed is a clamp down on the use of these machines. That is now proving difficult in as much as there are two Police Officers still under criminal investigation after the two young lads died in Cardiff after crashing their illegal electric bike after the two officers were “following” them in a Police van. I really don’t know what the answer is. Damned if they do ,and damned if they don’t.

I have a 2019 Carrera Cross fuse and find it a brilliant bike for my purpose of attempting to keep myself relatively fit. I say relatively, because I turned 70 in June and I think that my regular bike rides are a huge part in that goal. However, I live 600 feet up a Welsh hillside in the South Wales Valleys, so every trip I take ends with that climb from the valley floor and I climb around 5000 feet on an average trip due to the hilly geography, so a heavy Pedelec is an essential. In that time all has gone well but something is spoiling those efforts recently and that is saddle weariness. I have tried various different saddles over that time and wear padded shorts, but lately, the "weariness" has become more acute with me having to stand on the pedals at much more regular intervals and it is spoiling the experience. Is there anyone on here who has suffered the same "niggle" and has overcome this issue and is there an alternative to "uncomfortable" saddles out there. I have been looking at the "Moon" saddle, but unfortunately, that appears to be only available in the USA, being made in California. Anyone with any suggestions please?

I appreciate that it is fraught with technical problems, but I cannot help but think that an awful lot of energy is wasted when peddling hard without the "pedal assist" in operation. Does the motor still revolve without power when peddling? This was what I thought happened, The rotating part of the motor was constantly turning whilst the bike crank was moving and being powered by the stator, in which case I thought there would be no more strain on the drive chain (and in fact less when the motor is engaged) and it was just a matter of reversing the role of the motor from that to a "generator" which surely would be just a mater of electronics and wiring? I realise that it might be a tad more expensive in the short term, but surely, this the way that development should go?

I have a Carrera Crossfuse pedal assist bike which I use to supplement my attempts to maintain a reasonable level of "retirement" fitness. I sometimes ride an old colliery railway track up a local valley. It is a very steep climb, climbing some 1200 feet over 10 miles. This means that traveling back down is a fast unassisted run at around 20 mph, which got me thinking. Cannot pedalling at that rate be turned into a recharging power for the battery whilst not being used to pedal assist. Surely, all pedalling without assistance has the potential to recharge the battery, so why don't electric bike manufacturers think of and develop this aspect. It would save a lot of home charging and contribute to less carbon use?

Hi everyone. I am a 66 year old retired Ambulance Officer living 600 feet up the side of a Welsh mountain in sunny South Wales. I have always used cycling as a means to keep a level of fitness by mainly mountain biking over the local hills. Having had a knee replacement 3 years ago I have turned to road/cycle path cycling but could not stand the thought of that 600 feet climb at the end of every session. I therefore purchased a Carrera Crossfuse electric bike and can now use it regularly to maintain a reasonably good level of fitness at my age. Obviously, these sessions have been restricted by Covid at the moment, but I am enjoying the freedom the electric pedal assist has given me. I try to use the pedal assist as little as possible, but it is there for when it is needed.