13
‘They’re a 25km/h missile’: The case for and against e-scooters in the city
(www.brisbanetimes.com.au)
this post was submitted on 22 Sep 2023
13 points (88.2% liked)
Brisbane
1072 readers
20 users here now
Home of the bin chicken. Visit our friends:
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
don't need that much roads or heavy bridges, dont need 2 tons of metal 😍
i suspect bikes would injure just as much if people who dont ride them otherwise will use them at 30 kmh outside of bikelanes
Would they? Riding bikes is taught quite early on in most kids lives, and the bigger wheels and more room for suspension makes me inclined to believe that there's less chance of being thrown off an ebike because of a shitty footpath or bad turn, at least for a basic commuter type bike. You've also got to be putting some effort in to get over 20km/h, ebike throttles are supposed to be limited to walking speed. I dont have firsthand experience with escooters, though, so theres a chance I may be missing something here.
Ebikes can't have throttles, pedal assist only, in Qld.
The pedal assist can be in effect up to 25 km/h, the same as the escooter speed limit.
Over 20 km/h on a push bike is very easy. In fact I'd call 20 the hard minimum, and on a downhill especially it's actually quite awkward to go slower than that. On the flat with no wind I'd be calling about 24 km/h a comfortable standard speed for a slow rider. More like 30 as a basic comfortable cruising speed for a strong rider.
What you say about wheels and escooter safety is basically correct though, to my knowledge.
You're allowed to go up to 6km/h using the motor but without pedal assistance, according to the Qld Transport website, which I assume means you can use a throttle here..
I'm a regular cyclist, both electric and non-electric, so I know exactly what you mean about the ease of cruising at those speeds. I've got a torque sensor ebike where you have to use your legs a bit, and forgot about how little effort is required on a cadence sensor ebike like I think the rental ebikes here use. I've been wanting to do a ride with my non-cycling partner, her on the ebike. That may educational, since she seems to be more the target audience for rental escooters and might have a different perspective, whereas we seem to be more experienced on 2 wheels