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Apologies in advance if this is the wrong section for this message. Mods feel free to relocate.
I was riding the Webberville-Manor loop, one of my regulars. I was northbound on Blake Manor Rd, less than a mile from reaching Manor, when I noticed a "no bikes" sign.
I'd never noticed that sign before. I was a more than a bit annoyed since it's not near any turnoffs that a bike could take, and since the road hadn't suddenly become less hospitable to bikes.
I'm wondering if anyone knows how long that sign has been up and what the story behind it is. Seems like it exists only to give the local gendarmerie an excuse to hassle cyclists.
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It's relatively new. There's a story behind it ...
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/n … keban.html Cyclists oppose new road ban in Manor
City officials cite safety concerns on Blake Manor Road.
http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/2564/Bike-Ban.aspx Bike Ban
(And there's a lot more about it out there.)
As for moving the question, seems fine to me where it is.
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Thanks.
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Has anyone with an ebike tested enforcement of this ordinance against TC551.106? REGULATION OF ELECTRIC BICYCLES. (a) The department or a local authority may not prohibit the use of an electric bicycle on a highway that is used primarily by motor vehicles. The department or a local authority may prohibit the use of an electric bicycle on a highway used primarily by pedestrians.
I'd love to see that protection expanded to all bicycles, especially since part of the definition of an electric bicycle is that it can't exceed 20MPH using its own motor, which means it has no "keeping up with traffic" advantage over a nonelectric.
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I'd love to see that protection expanded to all bicycles, especially since part of the definition of an electric bicycle is that it can't exceed 20MPH using its own motor, which means it has no "keeping up with traffic" advantage over a nonelectric.
Of course it has a "keeping up with traffic" advantage over a non-electric!
Most cyclists can't sustain 20 mph -- assuming you've got an electric bike that's right at the limit of what's legal, it can. (In practice, some can't go that fast, and some can go faster (illegal, yes, but i rarely enforced) and some can go significantly faster.) And if you put a cyclist that can do 20 mph on an electric bike that can do 20 mph -- together they should be able to do 25 mph or so.
Also, the bike could be designed with a governor where the motor won't propel the bike over 20 mph, though the motor is capable of doing say 30 mph. If the governor limits you to 20 mph then that's fine, but the extra power might be useful for going up a hill at 20 mph where the cyclist by himself couldn't go over 8 mph.
It's an interesting way around the ban, but I don't see how this protection could be extended to all bicycles -- if all bicycles are to be protected, it shouldn't be through an extension of the electric bicycle laws, it should be through the normal bicycle laws.
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Most cyclists can't sustain 20 mph
Not on climbs, but certainly on downhills, and many can on flats. If the ebike isn't actually governed at 20MPH, but simply doesn't have the power to go faster, then it's going to be somewhat slower on climbs.
I've been tempted to find a used-and-abused 6V powered hub that can barely go, and mount it with a 4AA holder just so I could abuse that section if needed.
Maybe if I just stuck a battery-powered fan on the back rack and called it a propeller...but I guess they could say it actually has to move the bike at least a little bit.
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My point is that a (typical, effective) electric bike DOES have a significant "keeping up with traffic" advantage over a non-electric. Yes, any benefit in the law for this is likely an accident, but the difference is there and real. The advantage is smaller for a strong cyclist than a weaker one, but even then it's there.
Do you live in the area or are actually affected by the ban? Even if you've found a loophole that allows you to ride there, what's the point? It doesn't help cyclists get the ban overturned, and the odds are not so low that things could end up in court and you'd still lose, even with the actual law on your side. You've written about Chipseal, so you're obviously aware of how he's lost (so far) even with the law on his side. And it's not like finding a loophole in their law really "punishes" them anyways, and it could very well cost you significant amounts of money.
As for making a minimally electric bike, if you really want to do this, I'd suggest something that actually works, or they'll probably nail you in the court room. But it doesn't need to have a lot of stamina -- perhaps get a hub motor (relatively cheap, easy to install) and some very small SLA batteries that add up to the right voltage? Or something that drives one of your wheels like a bottle generator? Perhaps gut an electric scooter and have the wheel on top of your back wheel, driving it?
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Do you live in the area or are actually affected by the ban?
Not that specific ban, but my city has a ban on bicycles for parts of two primary through streets that are hard to go around, (about 1/2 mile of road, and the alternate route is nearly 3mi) to the extent that I would not be able to commute to a fair number of employers by bike. Fortunately, my current job is the other direction, but I do have applications in with companies that are beyond the "no bike zone."
You've written about Chipseal, so you're obviously aware of how he's lost (so far) even with the law on his side.
The quality of the wording of the law has a lot to do with how winnable a case is. If ChipSeal could point to a law that said "cyclists may not be prohibited from riding in the lane" I suspect even the Ellis county courts would have a hard time getting a conviction.
As for making a minimally electric bike, if you really want to do this, I'd suggest something that actually works, or they'll probably nail you in the court room. But it doesn't need to have a lot of stamina -- perhaps get a hub motor (relatively cheap, easy to install) and some very small SLA batteries that add up to the right voltage? Or something that drives one of your wheels like a bottle generator? Perhaps gut an electric scooter and have the wheel on top of your back wheel, driving it?
I'd love to have one with about a 1mi range and regenerative capability just to help me over a couple of hills and charge up on the downslopes, but regenerative hub motor prices I've seen are way too high, and most of the folks looking for electric bikes seem to be more interested in just getting an electric motorcycle with vestigial pedals.
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A brushless motor (aka a three phase A/C motor) is exactly the same as a three phase A/C generator. So the regenerative function should just be in the controller.
That doesn't mean it's going to be cheap, however. Ultimately, it shouldn't be too expensive, but an economy of scale is needed to keep the price down. (China should have this economy of scale going on already!)
Such a device would certainly be nice, if the weight could be kept down and the efficiency kept reasonably high.
As I see it, it's batteries that make electric bikes expensive. If the price of the batteries could come down a lot, I'll bet we'd see a lot more . I suspect you're right about vestigial pedals, but even so -- it's a bike, and it's a start.
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The last few posts are off-topic. They do not address Blake Manor Rd in Manor.
Please move the electric bike discussion to another thread.
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Fatality occurs on Blake Manor Rd. near bike ban segment:
http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ … or_au.html
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