Video doing the rounds among cyclists. Hampton Rd, Freo.

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[โ€“] 3 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Is this actually an ebike rider? It looks to me more like an illegal, unregistered, electric motorbike.

(The key difference: the ability to ride without pedalling.)

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 23 hours ago (1 child)

    The difference is the power output. Looks like they had to pedal pretty hard to catch up.

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  • [โ€“] 2 points 3 hours ago

    It's a bit hard to tell what's going on.

    It's possible that he pedalled to get a bit of a power boost, but the way I define it, if it could go faster than a walking pace without pedalling on flat ground, it's not an ebike, it's a motorbike. If it requires pedalling but has been deregulated to continue providing motor assistance above 25 km/h or can do more than 250 W, then it's an ebike, albeit an illegal one.

    I don't think he was pedalling in this quite as hard as it seems at first glance. The seat is very low, which creates a very weird exaggerated look when attempting to pedal, and makes the pedalling highly inefficient. The optimal setup has your knee close to (but not quite) straight at the bottom of the stroke, with your ankle angle slightly greater than 90 degrees. This guy seems to have knees not far from 90 degrees even at the bottom of the stroke. It's a setup that people who expect to be pedalling a bunch probably are not going to have, but one which makes a lot of sense for a motorbike where you're only pedalling if you really want to accelerate.

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  • [โ€“] [S] 1 point 1 day ago

    It's a bit difficult to tell, but I think it's legit. I know that road, the parts where he isn't pedaling are downhill stretches.

    I could be wrong, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

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