This makes no sense. A cyclist with a decent road bike can easily go faster than that.
this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2025
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I can go faster than that on the clapped out bike I bought when I was still in school. And I'm 45.
In the UK e-Bikes are limited to 15mph (in that the motor cuts out above that, so you can pedal faster if you want), and frankly that's fast enough. Plenty of idiots can't handle even that, and of course they don't use helmets either because fuck having your brain inside your skull, right?
It also depends on your definition of e-Bike, because I've also seen it applied to what are basically motorbikes with an electric engine. I think that sort of thing should require a license and test to be allowed to ride in public.
When I was younger and in better shape my average speed was 35-40kmh (about 20-25mph).
15mph seems frustratingly and uncomfortably slow. But then again, Iβm not terribly familiar with e-bikes. I know that some only help you pedal and others are basically motorcycles, so lumping them all together doesnβt make sense.
Just for reference cause I was curious.
The average car speed in New York City varies greatly by location, but is generally quite slow. In Midtown Manhattan, the average speed has been recorded as low as 4.8 mph, which is slower than a brisk walk
15 mph speed limit on roads? That is genuinely the dumbest thing I have read in forever. 15 on mixed use paths is still a kind of low limit, but why on earth should ebikes have a different speed limit on shared roads? Am I supposed to brake down every slight incline next time I visit NYC?
Classic legislating the out group from the in group. The idea that the justification in the text is that "ebikes are heavier than normal bikes [so less dangerous]" while at the same time having a higher speed limit for 2 ton pedestrian killers is insane.
because they want people purchasing or renting vehicles, and paying for public transportation.
ebikes and regular bikes undercut city profits and private industries invested in new yorks current infrastructure.
making it difficult, pointless, or seemingly "unsafe and scary" is just another way for them to squeeze the already dry working man for a few more drops.
they want continuous subscribers, not "freeloadin communist lbrl sissies"
I don't think there's some nefarious "they" cabal here, certainly not an organized one trying to discourage biking. Occam's Razor is there are a few different types of people supporting this. Chief among them are just carbrained people who can't fathom biking for transportation, who don't realize how slow that is when they've only toodled on a 35 pound mountainbike recreationally at 10 mph. Then you've also got people who have almost been hit by a delivery scooter thinking "ebikes are a menace" solely because they're new and something some "other" group of people uses, and so it's easy to say "they must be stopped" while ignoring the crazy fast, way heavier cars they're already desensitized to.
Then you've also got people who have almost been hit by a delivery scooter thinking "ebikes are a menace" solely because they're new and something some "other" group of people uses, and so it's easy to say "they must be stopped" while ignoring the crazy fast, way heavier cars they're already desensitized to.
i wonder who invested in the consistent motor vehicle marketing and infrastructure over the last 100 years?
surely not the rich and powerful behind the status quo of american car manufacturing.
that would be insane to think they were somehow involved in maintaining the status quo through bribery and lobbying in one of the most populated and popular cities on earth.
unheard of in the united states! surely new yorks very uncorrupt mayor is above such lowely criminal behaviours.
it would make zero sense for someone to make such a silly law for an ecofriendly and virtually free alternative (after a small initial investment in comparison) that existed well before motor vehicles ever did.
occams razor applies, for sure. this is america afterall.
you're probably right, theres nothing to see here. surely the mayor of new york city couldnt possibly be in a position to profit from such a law. that would be INSANE
16mph is the limitation in germany. If your bike is faster, you have to register it an pay tax, and cant use dedicated bicycle infratructure anymore.
16mph is exactly the speed where I'm fast enough but dont feel like I would die in a crash.
Everything above would require protective clothing like on motorcycles Imo, and that kind of defeats the purpose for ebikes for me. I want to ride my bike but don't want to have to fight against wind and going up the hill.
If an ebike is as fast as a motorcycle, it should get treated as one.
Yeah this proposal is reasonable. I wouldnt want to share my bikepath with old people driving more than 25kmh. They just dont have the reaction time to safely drive at speeds like that and even that is actually waaay to fast for the oldest. If you wanna go faster, use your muscles and/or drive on the road.
This proposal is for the road, which is why it's crazy. 25kmh limit on a bike path is fine. A speed limit on roads that is lower for bikes than cars is insane, when the justification for pedal bikes having a higher speed limit is that they're lighter than ebikes. Cars should have a 5 mph limit in that case.
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This feels like it's purposefully designed to kneecap the adoption of e-bikes by rendering all class 1 and 2 e-bikes illegal and making it harder/more expensive to buy new ones because they have to have bespoke detuning for the NYC market.
Did you read the bill? This is a road speed limit, not a mandated governor for the motor. It's still super dumb, but it shouldn't do anything to class 1, 2, or 3 sales.
Hmm... Well, I guess that's not as bad, but it's still a little inconvenient since it would require Class 1 and 2 ebike riders to more carefully monitor their speed instead of just riding all the way up to the assisted top speed knowing that they're still in compliance.
IMO, it should be 20mph, but it's a software limit. It's nothing to "tune" it.
If you want to go faster, get a motorcycle license. The higher end ebikes are getting ridiculous. Their frames, tires, and brakes are not designed for the power and speed they can put down.
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This is a widely supported issue where I am, mostly because bike lanes are for self propelled vehicles and ebikes are sharing the roads with far heavier and faster vehicles that require licensing and insurance.
They fall between two stools though I am for licensing and insurance of them.
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Why not just add speed limits to areas where higher speeds are an issue? That's been the approach to cars -- no car is limited to 140 kmh despite speeds above that are illegal pretty much everywhere...
Regular bikes can easily go above 15 mph as well, so why should this only affect e-bikes?
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= 24 kilometers/hr for those also wondering
Canuck here. The city I live in only caps ebike speeds on the pathways at 20km/hr (Personally I only see riders going this fast when there's no one else in sight. When they approach others on the pathways they slow right down. Most also slow right down when going around blind corners or bends). You can ride them on sidewalks but must have peddle assist disabled. When riding on the roads you must follow the rules of the road.
Could be an option for NYC. But limiting ONLY ebike speed on roads is not cool. Why should they be forced to go slower when big death traps can go flying past them??
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That sounds pretty fair to me. Very few regular bikers go faster than 20-25. Especially with more weight, like delivery or cargo bikes, and also especially with the e-motor support there is a lot of weight and power behind those bikes.
And bike lines are usually built for "regular" use, not high speed. All the curves, break distances etc. get planned with around that speed and not a whole lot more.
The original purpose of supporting disabled people who can't use a regular bike is still served and people don't have to be afraid of maniacs going 50mph in places where "common sense" would already advise them not to. If you're using a cargo bike, that also still works and you get not so gently instructed to watch the speed with your cargo.
Maybe they could do something where to use a bike lane, it has to be speed capped. Idk.
It's not for bike lanes, the law is for "NYC Streets". It's a very dumb limit.
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Good idea - if you also cap car speeds at 15mph
The state of traffic already does that...
Step 1: Limit e-bike speed
Step 2: Enforce minimum speed limit
Step 3: Profit
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Is this for sidewalk or road? Road speed limit should be same as cars. On the road I try to go faster to be safer. If there are good bike paths, whatever the non-e-bike speed limit is, e-bike same. I don't think bikes belong on the sidewalk in NYC, but here when I am on a sidewalk I think about 17mph is the top speed so yeah 15 seems reasonable.
This is not for sidewalk use, this is for road use. NYC has forbidden vehicles on sidewalks for a long time.
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Love it here on /c/fuckbikes
This thread is full of people who have never been to NYC and think this cap is somehow a good idea and not a death sentence both figuratively for micromobility and literally for e-bikers who have to deal with much faster car traffic.
Is it a road speed limit? or a limit on bike power? If the former, it's not so much an attack on micromobility. Can take the road to pass or go faster. The cars can physically do 120mph, but have NYC speed limits.
It is a ROAD speed limit for ebikes. It's like no one responding to you read the bill. It is not a mandated governor for ebikes, and has nothing to do with sidewalks or bike paths. The speed limit for cars is 25, for human powered vehicles is 25, but they want to limit ebikes because "they are heavier" and implied therefore more dangerous. It is a crazy bad law.
It is the latter, a limit on bike power.
read the proposal. It is definitely vague, but I think it means "normal" traffic speed limits.
You're right, it is indeed a legal speed limit and not a physical throttle requirement, thanks for getting me to actually scrutinize it. However I still strongly disagree that this is not an attack on micromobility: A 15 MPH cap is simply not safe for NYC streets where traditional cyclists, cars, trucks, busses, etc are all traveling > 20 MPH. This bill is designed to score quick points for Adams with reactionary New Yorkers who only encounter ebikes when they're zooming down the sidewalk at the start or end of their trips. It will be selectively enforced, just like the existing ban on riding on the sidewalk is. A far better solution would be to just actually enforce the existing ban on sidewalk riding, and not selectively.
Conservative leaders in NYC and NYPD pull shit like this all the time: Selectively / rarely enforce a sensible law -> Dum-dum voters think no such law exists because they continue to see violations -> Propose new law to "fix" the issue -> Easy votes from dum-dums -> Selectively / rarely enforce the new law -> Wash rinse repeat. Everyone loses.
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