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🚨 New York City is holding a public hearing on Mayor Adams's controversial proposal to cap e-bike speed-limits at 15 mph. People can file a written comment until 5 p.m. πŸ“’ (rules.cityofnewyork.us)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/fuckcars@lemmy.world
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Today is a big day for the future of e-bikes in New York City. A hearing starts at 10 a.m. You can file a written comment until 5 p.m. You can also send an email to rules@dot.nyc.gov until 5 p.m

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[–] 34 points 1 year ago (18 children)

This feels like it's purposefully designed to kneecap the adoption of e-bikes by rendering all class 1 and 2 e-bikes illegal and making it harder/more expensive to buy new ones because they have to have bespoke detuning for the NYC market.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago

    This is a widely supported issue where I am, mostly because bike lanes are for self propelled vehicles and ebikes are sharing the roads with far heavier and faster vehicles that require licensing and insurance.

    They fall between two stools though I am for licensing and insurance of them.

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  • [–] 22 points 1 year ago (8 children)

    IMO, it should be 20mph, but it's a software limit. It's nothing to "tune" it.

    If you want to go faster, get a motorcycle license. The higher end ebikes are getting ridiculous. Their frames, tires, and brakes are not designed for the power and speed they can put down.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    IMO, it should be 20mph, but it’s a software limit. It’s nothing to β€œtune” it.

    You're talking about vehicles that typically aren't open source and don't have a firmware update mechanism. There is no reason to expect they're even possible to change without swapping out the entire controller.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    That's just factually incorrect. This 25 km/h limit has been law for years in (most of?) Europe. And it is totally possible to "jailbreak" virtually any common platform.

    The real problem is that if you get into an accident you might get sued and dropped by your insurance company, and be held liable for all damages. No thanks.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    People really need to stop buying those. The companies are parasites for reasons that go far beyond this.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    The people who ride these ebikes are usually immigrant delivery guys who have little to no cash and not many alternatives.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    And they'll be fucked when the company involved stops updating their app. It will happen sooner or later.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

    I don't think most delivery guy ebikes have an app... They're a battery-powered motor with a throttle, that's about it. There are low-cost mechanics who specifically service the delivery guys, a lot of the motorized parts are custom rebuilds by those dudes.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Like a Bafang? Because those controllers are completely customizable with open source tools. That's how I built my ebike, and it can set custom assist limits.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Did you read the bill? This is a road speed limit, not a mandated governor for the motor. It's still super dumb, but it shouldn't do anything to class 1, 2, or 3 sales.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Hmm... Well, I guess that's not as bad, but it's still a little inconvenient since it would require Class 1 and 2 ebike riders to more carefully monitor their speed instead of just riding all the way up to the assisted top speed knowing that they're still in compliance.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    I don't know if there's a shadier reasoning behind it, and there very well might be, but IMO it's a pretty reasonable speed limit for using bike infrastructure. Most people on standard bikes could only ever get to those speeds with a decent amount of effort. Many wouldn't even be able to.

    If you want to go that fast, you should get in the car lanes with the other dangerous people.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Do you live or work there? I see ebikes being used on sidewalks by delivery guys all the time. Limiting speeds makes sense for NYC IMO

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago*

    I lived and worked there for 15+ years, was a daily cyclist (Non-motorized). eBikers do ride onto the sidewalk at the very start or end of their trips. But they're already not allowed to do that - NYC has long had a blanket ban on riding any vehicle on sidewalks. The city should consider actually enforcing their existing rules before making new (IMO very stupid) ones. This is just reactionary pandering.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    My lowly non-NYCer opinion is that that sounds like a reason to crack down on sidewalk riding, rather than the speed.

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