E-bikes are just bicycles with a motor. Therefore, e-bikes are motorcycles.

Comments

• Michal@programming.dev ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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  • Fmstrat@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    So does the US, with tiers though so it’s a bit less straight forward, and some state laws like in NJ are doing some wacky things. In any event, OP just didn’t educate themselves before posting.

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• fizzle@quokk.au ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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  • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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    • fizzle@quokk.au ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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    • starlinguk@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      No, you’re not.

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  • Professorozone@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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  • Kolanaki@pawb.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    The confusion between these things is causing harm

    Seems like one possible solution should be calling motorcycles enginecycles so there’s no confusion.

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    • someguy3@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Changing the name of an existing system is a non-starter. That’s why the new entry is called something else: ebike.

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    • fizzle@quokk.au ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I think this would generate a lot of confusion.

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  • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    There are also fully electric, battery powered, full-on motorcycles, like those by Zero.

    Image

    zeromotorcycles.com

    There are also … I don’t even know what you call these, mini-bikes? Mini-motorcycles?

    Like the Honda Grom:

    Image

    powersports.honda.com/motorcycle/minimoto/grom

    Which, as you can see, are pretty dang close to the same size as some E-Bikes.

    Which one is street legal, where?

    What exactly is each of these things categorized as, legally, colloquially?

    … who the fuck knows!, basically.

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  • YellowParenti@lemmy.wtf ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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    • gnu@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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).

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• BenderRodriguez@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  OP thinking he cracked the code to ride a motorcycle on the sidewalk.

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• Professorozone@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Really? Because I don’t remember pedaling my Honda 750.

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  • Psythik@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I don’t remember pedaling my eBike, either. With a big enough motor, they’re all but completely vestigal.

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    • starlinguk@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      eBikes require pedaling. I don’t know what you had, but it wasn’t an eBike.

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    • Professorozone@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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  • Paranoidfactoid@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Try pumping the clutch shift and rear brake. It’ll probably do something. Not sure what.

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  • pHr34kY@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Can we use the same logic for motorscooters?

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• Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  This is actually a really good one.

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• Paranoidfactoid@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  The Honda Goldwing is a six cylinder outdoor Campervan Winnebago.

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  • redhorsejacket@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Does it smell like a steak and seat 35?

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    • baggachipz@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!

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    • Paranoidfactoid@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      It seats ten midgets comfortably.

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• umbrella@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  some of the cooler enginecycles comes with two-cycle engines

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• resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Don’t tell that to e-bike fans. They’re very vocal and easily triggered.

  And don’t dare suggesting helmets or licenses. They will crucify you.

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  • vala@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Ebike fan here. Can confirm. My pitchfork is already out.

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• friend_of_satan@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Isn’t it the electric equivalent of a moped?

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  • starlinguk@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    No. Because you have to pedal.

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    • Iconoclast@feddit.uk ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Mopeds used to have pedals as well. The term comes from Swedish words motor and pedaler

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    • friend_of_satan@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      You don’t on class 3.

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  • NotJohnSmith@feddit.uk ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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 :)

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• Fourth@mander.xyz ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Really unfortunate this classification system has happened. What you’re thinking of is an electric moped, but it’s all getting lumped together. Check this out.

  youtu.be/bB6hBLmBhPA

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• autriyo@feddit.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  There’s definitely two stroke/cycle motorcycles out there. They’re less popular nowadays due to emissions but have lasted quite a bit longer than 2 stroke cars or trucks have…

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  • CADmonkey@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I have a really old two smoke dirt bike, it’s noisy and smelly and tries to kill me almost every time I ride it.

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  • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    they ended in 2021.

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• boonhet@sopuli.xyz ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Well first off, whether or not an internal combustion engine is called a motor or an engine differs by region for English-speakers and in fact in my language there’s only “mootor”, for both electric and combustion engines.

  Secondly, the engine on an enginecycle could also be a two-cycle engine, that’s common in small engined dirtbikes and moped particularly.

  Thirdly, this may depend on your local legislation, but where I live, a low-power e-bike would be a moped and a high-power e-bike would be a motorcycle. In terms of the license requirements anyway. If it’s limited to 25 km/h and requires pedaling, then it’s an assisted bicycle and requires no license and no helmet (provided you’re over 16).

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  • baggachipz@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    k

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• teft@piefed.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Not all motos are 4 stroke. My buddy rides a two stroke KTM and that thing cooks.

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• Proprietary_Blend@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Upvote for the thought.

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• fubo@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Etymologically speaking, “engine” means any invention, whereas “motor” means specifically something that makes things move.

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  • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Downvoters don’t know about etymonline.

    Engine

    Motor

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• klymilark@herbicide.fallcounty.omg.lol ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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

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  • Pat_Riot@lemmy.today ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Motorbike has been used interchangeably with motorcycle for most of their existence.

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• Eh_I@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Some motorcycles have starter motors, these are hybrids now.

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  • XeroxCool@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Honda goldwings use the starter motor run backwards and engage to the transmission directly for a reverse gear

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• Jerb322@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  My friend said something similar to me a long time ago. I said, General Motors…?

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• baggachipz@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  ITT: y’all be taking my random before-bed shit thought way too seriously.

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• Stitch0815@feddit.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Great video by Fort9 about this topic

  www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-DnpTjE0ck

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• rc__buggy@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Is an e-scooter a motorcycle?

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• HubertManne@piefed.social ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  ice cycles. I really am not fond of ice on so many levels.

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• YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Not all the time. My engine cycle has a three cylinder 2 stroke. It’s scary fast.

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• jasoman@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  If it can go on the highway it is a motorcycle if not it is a moped.

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• Alvaro@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Anything is everything if you blur the lines enough.

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• drmoose@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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• Etterra@discuss.online ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Depending on State, a small enough engine on a bicycle doesn’t count as a motor vehicle.

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• someguy3@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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  • XeroxCool@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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    • someguy3@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      [deleted]

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• forrgott@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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