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jsaucedo t1_ivfg6ld wrote

Why are there foot pedals?

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ScuddsMcDudds t1_ivfgiuj wrote

A lot of electric (and some gas-powered) mopeds have pedals since they’re light enough to manually pedal if you run out of fuel

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[deleted] t1_ivfz3dq wrote

[deleted]

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WiartonWilly t1_ivg677c wrote

Yes. Those pedals are just decorations. Doubtful the seat or pedals are in the correct position for anyone. Doesn’t look very adjustable.

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sonofthenation t1_ivg3bnb wrote

Some also have mandatory pedal assist. So you have to pedal to get the emotor to work.

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1live4downvotes t1_ivg0i8j wrote

uggg in my state/city the rules are so dumb! The bike lanes are filled with people on electric scooters/bikes that really shouldn't be there. You know what I love? Being on a bike in the bike lane and having a dude on an electric bike zoom past me way to close going 20-30mph. At this point in time a lot of these things are essentially just motor cycles/mopeds which are not allowed in bike lanes. If you want to make the argument that it's safer for them to be in the bike lane, then people are missing the point of having bike lanes.

We really should start requiring more people to register these devices, like mopeds and motor cycles, and require the scrutiny. AKA head lights, brake lights, turn signals, etc. Even the people who ride unregistered dirt bikes on the road have better common sense than a lot of the electric scooter/bike people (sans the dirt bike gangs that over take entire roads doing wheelies).

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[deleted] t1_ivg14wp wrote

[deleted]

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1live4downvotes t1_ivgdru9 wrote

It may also be selection bias (or some other bias), but it also seems like a large percentage of e-bike/scooter users in my city just disregard the rules of the road. I don't think I have ever seen someone on an e-bike/scooter stop at a red light/stop sign and just do a lot of, for lack of a better term, stupid sh*t lol.

Like I said, this could just be some type of bias due to me remember annoying people more than others, but I think the e crowd has attracted a lot of inconsiderate people. I saw something similar happen with cyclists when COVID first happened. People who never road bikes in a city started getting bikes/renting them more but were riding them like they were the only ones on the road.

It is just sad because it gives the rest of the people a bad name. I cannot tell you how many people have screamed at me for being on a bike when I am doing everything correct. Had one dude scream at me at a red light for "cutting him off", despite looking, seeing I had room to change over to the left turn lane, signaling, and finally turning. I ended up yelling back at him "I SIGNALLED" and did the same signaling move I did before. He then calmed down and was like "oh shit you know what you're right, you did signal it just didn't register".

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tossme68 t1_ivgs9id wrote

Very few people on bikes, e or otherwise pay attention to stop signs or traffic lights. I'm totally fine with treating stops signs as yields (like they do in the Netherlands) but stop lights are a different story. I've been biking in a city for 35+ years and spent some time as a bike messenger so I know how to ride in traffic and blowing through a light at 20+mph on your ebike is a quick way to go to the hospital.

I think we are reaching critical mass as far as e-vehicle regulation. Call them e-whatever they are still motorized vehicles and need to be treated as such, I love the idea of ebikes, they are a great alternative to a car and I will likely buy one in the next year or two but the execution has just been a free for all.

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1live4downvotes t1_ivgyjn2 wrote

> blowing through a light at 20+mph on your ebike is a quick way to go to the hospital.

Whenever people ask me how I ride in a city, I just tell them I have 3 rules.

  1. Wear a helmet

  2. Assume no one can see your, and if they can they are actively trying to hit you.

  3. BE PREDICTIBLE! This means stopping or at least yielding at stop signs/red lights. Biking with traffic (I cannot tell you how many idiots bike against traffic... even when there is a bike lane on the correct side of the street). Not salmoning through traffic (I know this is a thing a lot of people do, but I don't do it because no one is expecting a bike to zoom past them when waiting in a line of cars at a red light). etc. etc.

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Far-Employment-1192 t1_ivh4w2k wrote

My area the local bicycle riders always run the red lights. They’ll keep going and a few times flip off drivers who were merely just going on a green light.

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tossme68 t1_ivh6n6m wrote

totally. As I said I was a messenger way back when so I don't have a lot of love for people in cars, they don't like to share the road and don't take a lot of responsibility for driving a 4000lb piece of steel. Every messenger I knew had at least one bad wreck, I went through 2 windshields in my short career and neither was my fault -both drivers excuse was "they didn't see me"....when they drove into me. The thing is there are enough assholes to go around on both sides, but the guy on the bike is always going to lose. I do think part of the issue is that cops just ignore the guy on the bike unless he's being a complete ass and they are "clamping down" or "making an example" -they just need to enforce the law, if some bozo blows through a light write them a ticket, it's not hard. Both sides need to learn to respect the other side and both sides needs to take some more responsibility for their actions.

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ThrowRA76234 t1_ivg475v wrote

Philly?

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53881 t1_ivgelyr wrote

Lol phillys dirt bike gang on 95

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1live4downvotes t1_ivgfzzv wrote

whenever I'm biking and hear them approaching, I'll get off the road as fast as I can lol.

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IdiAmeme t1_ivhcas4 wrote

Are you nuts? People ride regular bikes at 20 mph plus all the time.

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nickstatus t1_ivfz3yc wrote

In the past I've had a gas moped, I currently have an electric moped, and on both those pedals are essentially useless. You're not going anywhere with those pedals. I think they are included as a sort of legal fig leaf. Also, they're not light, at all. My electric moped weighs 120 lbs.

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kreygmu t1_ivfitk0 wrote

Mopeds used to have pedals! That's what the "ped" bit in the name means. I actually think there's something in having a compact vehicle like this that can have pedal assist to boost its range/flexibility, guess Honda think something similar.

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mjh2901 t1_ivg0v5b wrote

No one remembers that there where mopeds that where pedal start, like push starting a car.

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Haterbait_band t1_ivhcrbh wrote

As far as I know, all mopeds have pedals. It’s what makes them a moped. People confuse motor scooters with mopeds all the time though.

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PlayfulParamedic2626 t1_ivfnlx4 wrote

It counts as a bike for local government rules and bike trails. You can software lock the speeds to a class 2 bike for New York City for example

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surnik22 t1_ivfldhg wrote

So it can legally be an electric bike and ride in bike lanes without motorcycle license. Depending on top speed.

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LonelyGameBoi t1_ivfzt5f wrote

moped is motor - pedal

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PlayfulParamedic2626 t1_ivgs1j9 wrote

Then by that definition, this is an ebike, with as much power as a 55cc motor.

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LonelyGameBoi t1_ivgt4im wrote

Im pretty sure ebikes are optimized for pedaling occasionally assisted by a motor whereas mopeds are meant for motors occasionally assited by the pedals.

Not to mention that ebikes and mopeds have different gearing and form factors

Either way its I think its neat

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mechapoitier t1_ivg8iy8 wrote

It’s literally in the name. Moped = motor and pedals. You can ride it as a motorbike, pedal bike, or both.

In gas engine form they used to be popular but by the 1990s that was falling off. People will erroneously call motor scooters mopeds now even though they look significantly different.

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Blue-cheese-dressing t1_ivgbhcq wrote

Another reason: depending on your state DUI/DWI laws, if it’s XXcc or equivalent and has pedals you can use it for semi motorized transportation with a suspended license.

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Popomatik t1_ivgq47z wrote

With pedals it’s considered a moped, in my state it’s 50$ to register for 2 years and needs no insurance. Without pedals it’s considered a motorcycle and has to be registered and insured similar to a car.

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Bigred2989- t1_ivg28r5 wrote

Article says it's if the motor can't get you up a hill.

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Ihatu t1_ivhxjdr wrote

Literally says it in the headline: moped. It is a motorized pedal vehicle.

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