What we have called “motorcycles” should actually be called “enginecycles”. Also, the engine on enginecycles is a four-cycle engine.
ITT: y’all be taking my random before-bed shit thought way too seriously.
E-bikes are just bicycles with a motor. Therefore, e-bikes are motorcycles.
Submitted 14 hours ago by baggachipz@sh.itjust.works to showerthoughts@lemmy.world
Comments
baggachipz@sh.itjust.works 1 hour ago
Michal@programming.dev 13 hours ago
Enginecycles? If you specifically refer to internal combustion engine (ICE) then it’d make sense to call them icecycles. It sounds weird, maybe icicles?
But seriously EU has a definition of what an ebike is, it’s not just a bicycle with motor, there’s max allowed power, max assistance level, and importantly it should only assist when pedalling. Anything beyond that, yes, is classified as a motorbike.
fizzle@quokk.au 12 hours ago
I’m a bit triggered by this, so let me apologize in advance for the incoming rant.
You might be kind of right etymologically, but bikes, e-bikes, motorcycles, and likely in the near future e-motos, are specific things defined by law. The confusion between these vehicle classes is causing harm.
An e-bike is a pedal powered bicycle with an electric motor that assists the rider while pedalling up to 25km/h. You might be able to switch modes between more assistance and less assistance but there is no throttle.
If you purchase a cheap walmart / k-mart bike, swap the rear wheel with a powered hub from alibaba and strap on a battery from temu, that’s not an e-bike. They have a throttle and no limiter and in most cases can propel a 12 year old idiot at 50km/h but some times more than 70km/h. This is not an e-bike and more accurately described as an unregulated electric motorbike.
The frame isn’t built for this kind of stress, and the riders often have no capacity to understand the danger they’re imposing on themselves and others - zipping past kids playing and so on.
It’s an emerging disaster in Australia and I imagine other places as well. It’s turning the population against e-bikes when they’re not the problem.
We urgently need more appropriate legislation drafted to clearly define the classes of vehicle, and we need police with the right skills and equipment to enforce those laws.
Professorozone@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Your statement is only partially true. In Florida, where I live, yes Florida, I know . . .there are three classes of ebikes. Class 3 ebikes must have pedals but can have a throttle and can operate without pedaling. By law, it IS still an ebike. So I believe it comes down to jurisdiction.
The rest of what you said is pretty much true and it’s a problem here too. I absolutely love riding my ebike. Mine has gears and is every bit a bike. For me the assist helps with hills (yes we have a few small ones here) and mostly wind. But it also serves another purpose. Making the ride either easier since I’m getting older or faster means I’m more likely to use the bike than a normal bike. I believe for these reasons I actually get MORE exercise with my ebike than my normal bike, at least until someone hits me with a car. So yeah, these guys with their over-powered “ebikes” are going to ruin it for the rest of us by getting us banned from trails and such.
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 10 hours ago
Your definition is just yours - I see ebikes doing 35mph+ on the sidewalk all the time.
How do I know they’re going that fast? Because that’s how fast I’m going on the street, and I’m not passing them.
fizzle@quokk.au 9 hours ago
Sorry you may not have understood me correctly.
In Australia and most other jurisdictions an “e-bike” is defined by law as a bike with pedal assist up to 25km/h.
If a bike has an electric motor which is propelling it faster than that, then it is by definition not an e-bike. It’s most likely an unregulated electric motorbike, or e-moto. They’re incredibly dangerous for everyone involved.
starlinguk@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
No, you’re not.
Kolanaki@pawb.social 12 hours ago
The confusion between these things is causing harm
Seems like one possible solution should be calling motorcycles enginecycles so there’s no confusion.
someguy3@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Changing the name of an existing system is a non-starter. That’s why the new entry is called something else: ebike.
fizzle@quokk.au 10 hours ago
I think this would generate a lot of confusion.
YellowParenti@lemmy.wtf 11 hours ago
I’ve been following the surron and talaria bikes. These are electric dirt motorcycle. Half the vidoes I’ve seen are ppl riding them on the street. They’ve gotten so fast. They write all over their websites its for OFF ROAD USE ONLY. I want one so bad. Im sure if I ride them slowly on the sidewalk for my commute. I shouldn’t get pulled over.
gnu@lemmy.zip 10 hours ago
Depending on where you are you might be able to get a road legal one. Talaria and Surron have both sold road legal versions of some of their models here in Australia, I believe they’ve also done so in the UK and I did read something about some US states letting you register them once appropriate lights are installed.
Of course this does require you to treat them as a motorbike and keep off footpaths, have the appropriate licence, etc. Once you’ve got the licence you can ride other motorbikes as well though so I don’t see this as a downside (it’s an enjoyable method of transport and more people should do it).
umbrella@lemmy.ml 5 hours ago
some of the cooler enginecycles comes with two-cycle engines
BenderRodriguez@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
OP thinking he cracked the code to ride a motorcycle on the sidewalk.
Professorozone@lemmy.world 8 hours ago
Really? Because I don’t remember pedaling my Honda 750.
Psythik@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
I don’t remember pedaling my eBike, either. With a big enough motor, they’re all but completely vestigal.
Professorozone@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
It’s true that there are different classes of ebikes. Class 3 ebikes with enough power can be basically motorcycles disguised as bikes. Mine is a class 1 and very much a bicycle. If the distinction can be made that some ebikes do not require pedaling and are therefore motorcycles, by extension it is equally valid to say that ALL ebikes must have pedals so all ebikes are bikes. The truth is really somewhere in-between. Not sure how important that is to a shower thought though.
starlinguk@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
eBikes require pedaling. I don’t know what you had, but it wasn’t an eBike.
pHr34kY@lemmy.world 7 hours ago
Can we use the same logic for motorscooters?
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
This is actually a really good one.
Stitch0815@feddit.org 7 hours ago
Great video by Fort9 about this topic
friend_of_satan@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Isn’t it the electric equivalent of a moped?
starlinguk@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
No. Because you have to pedal.
Iconoclast@feddit.uk 2 hours ago
Mopeds used to have pedals as well. The term comes from Swedish words motor and pedaler
friend_of_satan@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
You don’t on class 3.
NotJohnSmith@feddit.uk 7 hours ago
You’re right but the word “moped” has lost meaning in most countries.
Here in the UK I suspect the majority of people asked wouldn’t appreciate it originally had pedals and would point to a vespa image if asked.
I have an electric vespa-shaped vehicle (goes about 80kmh) that as you can see i really struggle to name as “electric scooter” most people think of one of those stand on things so I’ve landed on calling it an “electric moped”. It works as equally in no way can someone accuse me of trying to make it sound cool :)
teft@piefed.social 12 hours ago
Not all motos are 4 stroke. My buddy rides a two stroke KTM and that thing cooks.
Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Upvote for the thought.
fubo@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Etymologically speaking, “engine” means any invention, whereas “motor” means specifically something that makes things move.
Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 10 hours ago
klymilark@herbicide.fallcounty.omg.lol 13 hours ago
Not actually sure on this one, because the terminology for motorcycles is… Weird.
Motorcycles are what we’re all thinking of, Harleys, Kawasaki’s, Yamaha’s, etc. Mopeds and scooters look the same, and both usually have manual transmissions, but have a floor in them. I don’t know that there’s a word that encompasses both, much less including ebikes? Maybe motorbike
Pat_Riot@lemmy.today 12 hours ago
Motorbike has been used interchangeably with motorcycle for most of their existence.
drmoose@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
I live in south east asia and motorbikes are the dominant transporation tool here and yes fast e-bikes are absolutely motorbikes. They would be treated here the same way and law wise but the adoption is very low because compared to a motorbike it’s mostly a meme/entertainment vehicle as good ol motorbike is far superior and actually cheaper vehicle.
rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works 12 hours ago
Is an e-scooter a motorcycle?
YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 10 hours ago
Not all the time. My engine cycle has a three cylinder 2 stroke. It’s scary fast.
Etterra@discuss.online 8 hours ago
Depending on State, a small enough engine on a bicycle doesn’t count as a motor vehicle.
someguy3@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
The difference is in power and control. Ebikes are power capped, and pedel assist are ones that only turn on the motor when you are pedaling. Throttle control ebikes are capped even more than pedal assist, but I think they should be banned because of jailbreaking and it puts you in the mental state of operating a machine rather than pedaling a bike.
XeroxCool@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
You can buy e-bikes on amazon that weigh more and travel faster than a Honda Cub, a registerable motorcycle. They’re in Grom territory. This idea, at least in the US market, that they’re fitting into the two classes of safe e-bike is disproven with 30 seconds of observation in any city or adjacent suburb. The only riders pedaling are the leisure riders in parks.
Fortnine has two videos on the topic, one of the 60mph e-bike and one of converting a Cub to EV, making it faster than stock.
forrgott@lemmy.sdf.org 11 hours ago
Uh, no. Maybe check the definition of a word before you accuse people of using it wrong?
Besides, there is literally no benefit to this kind of approach. The most popular use of a word is the definition of the word, not the other way around. And yes, this means it will change over time. So even if motor didn’t literally refer to a certain type of engine, the definition of the word motorcycle is not dependent on the definition of the word motor. So, even if there was a contradiction between the definition of the two words that’s literally irrelevant. There’s no point getting all annoyed about it, that’s just how language works. But you will not help anything by trying to force people to change how they’re using a word. It’ll just cause confusion and make communication even less clear.
Jerb322@lemmy.world 25 minutes ago
My friend said something similar to me a long time ago. I said, General Motors…?