escooter & ebike regulation

Macy0161 wrote: »

I'd say you'd have to be seriously over the limits to be pulled and/or acting the eejit, and then failed the "don't be a dick to the cop" to end up in court tbh.

Seems a bit like that - chap done in ennis was told to stop using it on the pavement by Gardai and then went and used it on the pavement again in front of them.

I've been suing mine all year no issue

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

I am seeing a lot more escooters about.
Some lads are on footpaths and are really going too fast coming up to corners. Not sure if they have a protector in case they run into somebody.

I saw another lad on a public road with 2 or 3 cars behind him.

I'd imagine they would be very popular for hire on the greenways.

They should really be in bike lanes (how they are used in other countries, treated like a bike)

Most can hit 25kmh but can stop in a couple of metres so are good at avoiding any collision.

Even on the road they go as quick as most cyclists so they are not really any more of a hindrance to a motorist.

Would never use on a pavement.

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

I wonder what would happen if a car hit someone on the road with a scooter. Bit of a grey area given that they are not legal yet.

Great little device though. Hopefully they will sort out the legal issues.

Never considered it to be fair, I am sure there is some precedent with all the kids going round on scramblers....

Probably a case of no problem for the driver assuming they were following the rules of the road.

Tigerandahalf wrote: »

I wonder what would happen if a someone driving a car hit someone on the road with a scooter. Bit of a grey area given that they are not legal yet.

FYP.

But the driver of the car still hit something on the road. It'd be up to the court decide (then it would probably depend on helmet and builders jacket).

Bike shops will change the little tyres etc and many keep them in stock. Halfords offer actual servicing after that, but I happened to be enquiring near Christmas and was told they wouldn't be able to fit me in until late January, so I can't vouch for the quality of the service or the lead time under normal circumstances.

I'm aware of a collect and repair service operating in Dublin somewhere but the name escapes me at the moment.

All that said - a big part of the reason the Xiaomi M365 in particular tends to be recommended as an entry level one is because parts and tutorials to service them yourself are very easy to find. Maybe a bit slower to get parts now Aliexpress takes a bit longer and gets taxed, but they have every conceivable part there, and Youtube will tell you how to install it (pretty much the only thing you won't be able to do yourself with the right parts/tools is installing solid tyres, if you want those).

The M365 is basically the Ford Mondeo of escooters.

If you read the proposed (and European) legislation, the 250 W refers to 'maximum continuous rated power'. So in practice, peak powers can be double this at certain points on the power graph. This characteristic can be optimized to suit say heavy riders. To give a concrete example, woosh bikes(uk) have got (european) approval for their gran-camino bike that is suitable on road for riders up to 25 stone (156kg). The bike has very strong motor and controller is rated at 20 amp and 36volts which equates to 720 w input power and this should give well over 500w mechanical power at the wheel (at say 70% efficency). So its just a question of the right bike becoming available. (imo)

https://wooshbikes.co.uk/?gran-camino

I really wish I had stayed longer in Physics class so I could understand these things better... 🤔😣😮

The important information on e bike maximum power is the controller current and this multiplied by the battery voltage gives the motor electrical power. Both are shown on their website. You have to figure out the rest yourself. The mechanical power will be less due to inefficiency. If you want this spelled out more clearly, Halfords show on their manual for the Pendleton their ' Nominal Power' of 250W and their 'maximum motor power' of 400W for that model (page 5, or 6 on pdf.) https://washford.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/Somerby%20E%20Bodo%20Workshop%20Manual

I have attached a copy of EN15194 that explains this. Its quite complicated but page 18 (21 on pdf) graph clearly shows the maximum power (Pmax) to be more than the 250w Pcr. (power continuous rated)

As far as I know, if a bike manufacturer/supplier makes/imports a particular bike, if not done already,one bike/sample goes for 'type approval'. Its tested and if found ok, the whole batch get 'approved'. Of course, this is open to abuse, as bikes can be modified (e.g dongle/shunt mod) but this is also the case with other vehicles. But many people who claim they need more power really mean they want more speed, so I presume this (speed) can be easily tested.

Anyhow, my main point I was trying to make is that the 250w 'maximum continuous rated power' can be made adequate for a 25 stone rider.

PS You might be interested in the link below.

https://www.ebikeschool.com/myth-ebike-wattage/

there's a fella round my way flying around on a escooter with his young daughter (LIKE THIS) every evening without fail, no helmets no nothing, it will all end in tears i fear😦

...any point in reporting him, are helmets mandatory?

Re point 3, there is a 10% speed tolerance mentioned in EN15194 (page 14 & 33). Some people (myself included) have been known to have bikes that cut out at 27 km/hr. I wonder will this apply in Irish law?

A second question I have is what defines an electric scooter.Can an electric scooter have a seat? If one removed the pedals and chain from an ordinary say hybrid bike and then fitted footpegs, along with a motor and throttle, would this then be an electric scooter? I ask this second question because I know an elderly person with bad knees who cant pedal and wants his bike converted with a throttle.