I’ve walked away from working on moto-trashed trails before, I don’t see how it would be any different.
ebikes on the Shore
I was riding Fromme on Saturday and ran into a couple of dudes lapping Expresso/Lower Expresso on what I've learned were electric unicycles. These things could cook up Dempsey just as fast as the automobiles. I don't know if it was the fact that they were poaching it on a Saturday afternoon, parading them to the delight of other trail users, or the requisite selfy stick - but I found it pretty annoying. These seem like a nice gateway to full motorcycles. I’m becoming a grumpy old man, and I wasn’t very nice. Is this an acceptable use case now?
For reference:
Definitely not acceptable in my opinion. EUCs are illegal to use on anything but private property. I would assume this to mean public roads as well as public trails would be off limits. I hear you on the grumpy old man thing, the way these EUCs, one-wheels etc. are being ridden always seems to rub me the wrong way. Problem is, the lack of enforcement and ignorance of the current regulations means instances like this will likely become more common.
Posted by: shoreboy
Definitely not acceptable in my opinion. EUCs are illegal to use on anything but private property. I would assume this to mean public roads as well as public trails would be off limits. I hear you on the grumpy old man thing, the way these EUCs, one-wheels etc. are being ridden always seems to rub me the wrong way. Problem is, the lack of enforcement and ignorance of the current regulations means instances like this will likely become more common.
I got passed by one of these on the Beach Ave bikeway yesterday. Buddy was cruising at 40+ kph with no helmet and a cigarette in his hand. Ugh. Saw a cop pull one over on the Burrard st bridge recently. He told the guy to get off and walk, then drove away. Not very effective enforcement!
Posted by: skooks
Posted by: shoreboy
Definitely not acceptable in my opinion. EUCs are illegal to use on anything but private property. I would assume this to mean public roads as well as public trails would be off limits. I hear you on the grumpy old man thing, the way these EUCs, one-wheels etc. are being ridden always seems to rub me the wrong way. Problem is, the lack of enforcement and ignorance of the current regulations means instances like this will likely become more common.
I got passed by one of these on the Beach Ave bikeway yesterday. Buddy was cruising at 40+ kph with no helmet and a cigarette in his hand. Ugh. Saw a cop pull one over on the Burrard st bridge recently. He told the guy to get off and walk, then drove away. Not very effective enforcement!
We don't enforce the basic BCMVA regs, not holding my breath for these to be cracked down on either. I haven't seen them on the trails, but from what I've seen on the street I am not a fan. They go very fast and based on a few close calls I've had it's clear they have no ability to stop in a reasonable distance. Might take a lawsuit to get some action on them, inevitable there'll be a bad collision if there hasn't been already.
I wonder where our sport would be now if we had always followed all of the regulations.
Posted by: tashi
I wonder where our sport would be now if we had always followed all of the regulations.
Regulations will be nothing compared to an ebike catching fire, burning down the forest and leaving us with a torched mountain. What do you think the land managers and city councils are going to think of biking, in any form, is going to be. This does not take into consideration the fire is really large, burns down houses or causes fatalities. Overreaction? Maybe. But prevention is always better than reaction. This one could cost us it all, and I see it as a "when" not "if" scenario. And it will only take one incident. Local, in the US or abroad, I think many land managers are looking for a way to legitimately get bikes out of the back country, and this would be it.
If this seems outrageous, consider that WBP has separate gondolas for ebikes on the fire risk, and local Shore bike shops get a visit from the FD, and not for exit signs, doors or extinguishers. They are looking at ebikes, batteries and motors.......never happened until ebikes showed up.
That’s right.
Posted by: Polymath
Posted by: tashi
I wonder where our sport would be now if we had always followed all of the regulations.
Regulations will be nothing compared to an ebike catching fire, burning down the forest and leaving us with a torched mountain. What do you think the land managers and city councils are going to think of biking, in any form, is going to be. This does not take into consideration the fire is really large, burns down houses or causes fatalities. Overreaction? Maybe. But prevention is always better than reaction. This one could cost us it all, and I see it as a "when" not "if" scenario. And it will only take one incident. Local, in the US or abroad, I think many land managers are looking for a way to legitimately get bikes out of the back country, and this would be it.
If this seems outrageous, consider that WBP has separate gondolas for ebikes on the fire risk, and local Shore bike shops get a visit from the FD, and not for exit signs, doors or extinguishers. They are looking at ebikes, batteries and motors.......never happened until ebikes showed up.
here in europe every second day a whole forest burns down just because of all the burning ebikes, so sad
Last edited by: Sethimus on Feb. 29, 2024, 2:14 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
here in europe every second day a whole forest burns down just because of all the burning ebikes, so sad
Absolutely frightening. And every other day, a smoker riding an ebike, burns down another whole forest.
Well no wonder, you don’t have any regulations on things over there, that’s what you get!
Posted by: Sethimus
Posted by: Polymath
Posted by: tashi
I wonder where our sport would be now if we had always followed all of the regulations.
Regulations will be nothing compared to an ebike catching fire, burning down the forest and leaving us with a torched mountain. What do you think the land managers and city councils are going to think of biking, in any form, is going to be. This does not take into consideration the fire is really large, burns down houses or causes fatalities. Overreaction? Maybe. But prevention is always better than reaction. This one could cost us it all, and I see it as a "when" not "if" scenario. And it will only take one incident. Local, in the US or abroad, I think many land managers are looking for a way to legitimately get bikes out of the back country, and this would be it.
If this seems outrageous, consider that WBP has separate gondolas for ebikes on the fire risk, and local Shore bike shops get a visit from the FD, and not for exit signs, doors or extinguishers. They are looking at ebikes, batteries and motors.......never happened until ebikes showed up.
here in europe every second day a whole forest burns down just because of all the burning ebikes, so sad
It's all a joke until it's not. Anything with a lithium battery pack and a motor is a fire hazard. Period. It is a question of when, not if. And with more ebikes being prevalent every year, that time factor gets smaller.
Go ask Samsung about their batteries in phones and cancellation of use or carry on airplanes......ring a bell?
There is a price for everything. Some cost more than others.....some, it all.....
I'd rather not find out the hard way. If we do, don't say I didn't say so.......
Last edited by: Polymath on March 1, 2024, 4:46 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
Yes, also correct.
Posted by: Polymath
Posted by: Sethimus
Posted by: Polymath
Posted by: tashi
I wonder where our sport would be now if we had always followed all of the regulations.
Regulations will be nothing compared to an ebike catching fire, burning down the forest and leaving us with a torched mountain. What do you think the land managers and city councils are going to think of biking, in any form, is going to be. This does not take into consideration the fire is really large, burns down houses or causes fatalities. Overreaction? Maybe. But prevention is always better than reaction. This one could cost us it all, and I see it as a "when" not "if" scenario. And it will only take one incident. Local, in the US or abroad, I think many land managers are looking for a way to legitimately get bikes out of the back country, and this would be it.
If this seems outrageous, consider that WBP has separate gondolas for ebikes on the fire risk, and local Shore bike shops get a visit from the FD, and not for exit signs, doors or extinguishers. They are looking at ebikes, batteries and motors.......never happened until ebikes showed up.
here in europe every second day a whole forest burns down just because of all the burning ebikes, so sad
It's all a joke until it's not. Anything with a lithium battery pack and a motor is a fire hazard. Period. It is a question of when, not if. And with more ebikes being prevalent every year, that time factor gets smaller.
Go ask Samsung about their batteries in phones and cancellation of use or carry on airplanes......ring a bell?
There is a price for everything. Some cost more than others.....some, it all.....
I'd rather not find out the hard way. If we do, don't say I didn't say so.......
so do you ride with your lithium battery phone or do you leave it at home to safe the forests?
Posted by: Sethimus
so do you ride with your lithium battery phone or do you leave it at home to safe the forests?
Huge size difference between the battery in a phone and an e-bike.
There was a really interesting presentation at the BC Bike show last weekend from an engineer who has been working with ebikes and battery for 20 years, in short after seeing many fires and doing extensive forensics and testing their conclusion is that the quality of the batteries (the best are 18650s from Panasonic, Samsung, LG) is the primary predictor of fires. It's not user misuse or bad charging, cells made with poor QC are more likely to fail and cause thermal runaway.
Not that I needed any more convincing that cheap ebikes are dangerous, but nice to hear it spelled out.
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