this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2023
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micromobility - Ebikes, scooters, longboards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobility

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Ebikes, bicycles, scooters, skateboards, longboards, eboards, motorcycles, skates, unicycles: Whatever floats your goat, this is all things micromobility!

"Transportation using lightweight vehicles such as bicycles or scooters, especially electric ones that may be borrowed as part of a self-service rental program in which people rent vehicles for short-term use within a town or city.

micromobility is seen as a potential solution to moving people more efficiently around cities"

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'm sure that if you see the fine print, this means that pedal-assist ebikes that have 250W motor and are limited to 25kph (15mph) are considered bicycles. Something like a Surron is still considered a motorbike and needs to be registerated, insured, needs a licence and is only allowed to be driven on the roads among cars - as they should.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's not a fine print, that's a definition for ebikes. Surron is 100% a motorbike. They don't even look like bicycles and never targeted the bicycle market.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's a spectrum and the limits are quite arbitrary. Plenty of people would agree that Surron is a motorbike, but some of those same people want to be able to drive without pedaling, have more powerful motor than 250W, go faster than 25kph or all of the above.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There's no spectrum, that's the thing.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

No spectrum? Okay. So there's no difference between 250W pedal assist limited to 25kph, 250W pedal assist limited to 40kph, 400W pedal assist limted to 25kph, 400W pedal assist limited to 60kph, 250W with a throttle limited to 25kph, 500W with a throttle limited to 50kph etc. These are all the same and it's only when we get to the Surron when it goes from bicycle to electric motorbike?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Sounds exactly how it was regulated in Germany, except for the license I think. It's pretty much handled the same as a moped, which I think is totally fair.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Don't you need a licence for moped in Germany? In Finland you need one unless you're born before 1980 I think. Same with motorcycles.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not if they're capped at 25 kilometers per hour.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Huh. We don't have those. Here moped is defined as having maximum of 50cc engine and speed limited to 45kph. You need a license for those which you can get when you're 15.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

They're popular with younger people, some of which also illegally unlocked them of course.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

According to the article, those limits are regulated on EU level. Which also makes perfect sense, since that allows for a single market of e-bikes.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Yes, they're now. Those laws existed for much longer within Germany already though, hence why I compared them.