I
Irish John
Guest
The following article appeared in todays Sydney Morning Herald and I think it is of great concern that regulatory reform is being drafted by bodies that have no real knowledge or understanding about motored bicycles or the issues involved. I've contacted Hybriped (now called HybriDude) and he thinks we need to act NOW to save us from being regulated off the roads by mandarins in far away cities who wouldn't know what a motored bike looks like if it ran over them.
Warren from ZBox tells me he hasn't been contacted by any of the bodies mentioned in the report despite being the largest seller of motorised bike kits anywhere. At present the law does not discriminate between engine power and power through the driven wheel axle (two very different things you wil agree). A 25 km\hr max speed would make it faster to ride a normal cycle.
I'd be interested to know what others, particularly Australians, think about this drafting of regulations.
RTA review to clarify controls on pedal-assisted bikes
Brian Robins
May 5, 2009 - 12:00AM
THE popularity of pedal-assisted bikes is likely to surge if a Roads and Traffic Authority proposal to ease controls on the vehicles is adopted.
In Europe the new generation of pedal-assisted bikes has a battery-powered motor to ease the strain of going up hills. They are quiet to operate and low-cost to run, thanks to their rechargeable batteries.
To end confusion over whether they needed to be registered and the rider licensed, the State Government wants to bring controls into line with those in Europe and Japan, while imposing an upper speed limit of 25 kmh.
In the past few years riders of some of these bikes, which appeared to comply with RTA requirements, were later subject to successful legal action by police, who claimed the bikes had to be licensed. This brought sales to a skidding halt.
The RTA is now finalising a discussion paper outlining the proposed changes to clarify what type of bicycle needs to be registered.
"We would welcome any changes, given their rising popularity," Alex Unwin, the chief executive of Bicycle NSW, said.
Under the proposals, pedal-assisted bikes will have an upper speed limit of 25 kmh - there is no limit now - with up to 250 watts of output, up from 200 watts. This will bring NSW into line with European and Japanese rules.
A core requirement will be that the bike cannot be a motorised bike with pedals.
The motor will operate only when the vehicle is being pedalled. Some of the legal problems riders faced were that the pedals on many of these bikes were secondary to the motor as the primary source of power, triggering requirements for registration and licensing.
Bicycle sellers said the idea of pedal-assisted bikes was attractive but the battery was still too heavy to take them seriously.
"The weight is still too much. The idea is to get the weight as light as possible," an employee at one city bike shop said.
"But I don't disagree that more people will be interested in them."
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/national/rta-...ols-on-pedalassisted-bikes-20090504-asmx.html
Warren from ZBox tells me he hasn't been contacted by any of the bodies mentioned in the report despite being the largest seller of motorised bike kits anywhere. At present the law does not discriminate between engine power and power through the driven wheel axle (two very different things you wil agree). A 25 km\hr max speed would make it faster to ride a normal cycle.
I'd be interested to know what others, particularly Australians, think about this drafting of regulations.
RTA review to clarify controls on pedal-assisted bikes
Brian Robins
May 5, 2009 - 12:00AM
THE popularity of pedal-assisted bikes is likely to surge if a Roads and Traffic Authority proposal to ease controls on the vehicles is adopted.
In Europe the new generation of pedal-assisted bikes has a battery-powered motor to ease the strain of going up hills. They are quiet to operate and low-cost to run, thanks to their rechargeable batteries.
To end confusion over whether they needed to be registered and the rider licensed, the State Government wants to bring controls into line with those in Europe and Japan, while imposing an upper speed limit of 25 kmh.
In the past few years riders of some of these bikes, which appeared to comply with RTA requirements, were later subject to successful legal action by police, who claimed the bikes had to be licensed. This brought sales to a skidding halt.
The RTA is now finalising a discussion paper outlining the proposed changes to clarify what type of bicycle needs to be registered.
"We would welcome any changes, given their rising popularity," Alex Unwin, the chief executive of Bicycle NSW, said.
Under the proposals, pedal-assisted bikes will have an upper speed limit of 25 kmh - there is no limit now - with up to 250 watts of output, up from 200 watts. This will bring NSW into line with European and Japanese rules.
A core requirement will be that the bike cannot be a motorised bike with pedals.
The motor will operate only when the vehicle is being pedalled. Some of the legal problems riders faced were that the pedals on many of these bikes were secondary to the motor as the primary source of power, triggering requirements for registration and licensing.
Bicycle sellers said the idea of pedal-assisted bikes was attractive but the battery was still too heavy to take them seriously.
"The weight is still too much. The idea is to get the weight as light as possible," an employee at one city bike shop said.
"But I don't disagree that more people will be interested in them."
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/national/rta-...ols-on-pedalassisted-bikes-20090504-asmx.html