That’s why I’ve long advocated that electric bike riders, even those with no interest in motorcycles, take a rider training course. The HyperScorpion gets more respect on the road than my other ebikes, but it’s not fast enough to keep up with crazy traffic. Well, the bike only tops out at around 32 mph, which is still impressive, but unfortunately, many drivers around these parts only take the speed limit as a suggestion. It has been found that e-bikes can present a greater risk to older people than other age groups.
While I’d rather crash at 15 mph on an e-bike than 50 mph on a motorcycle, the slower e-bike is likely to be passed repeatedly by cars, or as Ryan so eloquently puts it, “buzzed more often than a public urinal.” Truth be told, I’m an observer of this section, as I ride a road bike and keep up with the e-bike scene. You’ll probably agree that, in fact, an e-bike and a regular bike have far more similarities than differences between the two. However, on the other hand, e-bikes can also present certain advantages that can make an electric bike ride more fun and enjoyable.
Ebikes have their place, as they allow people with less riding ability to keep up with more fit riders. I know exactly how the brakes on my e-bikes respond, and I know how I need to brake to keep them from locking up. E-bike riders are often seen as responsible, eco-friendly people who make the selfless sacrifice of cycling to work to replace cars on the road and benefit us all, while motorcyclists are more commonly derided as organ-donating daredevils whose very act of riding a bike is seen as an unnecessary risk. At one point I was going to build a 40mph ebike to get to my parents’ house (about 40 miles outside the city I live in on country roads).
Always start in a lower electric gear (ECO or even OFF) and then gradually accelerate as you gain speed. According to DiMaggio, director of the injury research program in the division of trauma and surgical critical care at NYU Langone Health in New York, the study found that injuries from e-bikes were more severe. Those injured by e-bikes were older, averaging 31.9 years, compared to 29.4 years for electric scooters and 25.2 years for traditional bicycles.