More fun, more speed and less effort. E-bikes seem like a no-brainer. But not so fast. These innocent little electric bicycles are a lot closer to motorcycles than pedal bikes when it comes to injury rates.
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27 Comments
3:12, you completely glossed over that Pedestrians have the same fatality rate as pedal cyclists do. Why are Pedestrians dying at the same rate if your argument is that e bikes are equal or more dangerous than motorcycles?
"This is how I gear up for e-biking"
I don't even have to watch the video to know that's stupid. 60km/h is 60km/h.
with bicycle there another problem (don't mind nasty comments BTW) – in UK at least, very few follow road rules – the reason, no registration, who is going to fine them? Put registration as they do in some other countries, things will dramatically change.
The main problem with ebikes I think is that, not only are they dangerous because they're generally not built to handle higher speeds, the people who ride them don't understand anything about safety. Most haven't been on a bicycle since kids tooling around the suburban streets of their home town which are basically car free and then go rent a ebike from one of the many kiosks that are today littering the world's streets and then flying around on them with all abandon, running stop signs and red lights without any understanding of the pitfalls of doing so. This holds true for these scooters as well, perhaps even more so.
I came to cycling 30+ years ago from motorcycling for the previous 15 years. I grew up riding motocross, did transcontinental tours with my parents, did track road racing, and commuted on motorcycles. High speed throttle control level 3 ebikes legitimately raise the question of “why not just get a motorcycle already?” With electric motorcycles now, riders don’t even have to deal with gas and engine maintenance. High speed eBikes don’t belong on multi-use singletrack or bike lanes, but their riders belong on motorcycles. For real.
1:21 isn't the helmet supposed to fracture?
It's not about whether a bicycle has electric assist or not; rather it's about how much assist is provided and how stupid the rider is.
I love the comments so much :)) I have been riding bmx for 15 years and using it as a primary mode of transportation. No brakes, no protective gear of any kind, no taillight, I just assume everyone else on the street is blind and deaf and had no incident ever.
e-bikers are by far the most degenerate participants on the road. All the unpredictability and rule breaking of cyclists; most of the lethality and speed of motorcycles.
Of course they are more dangerous. Whenever I take it easy on my motorcycle and slow down a bit more than the cars… I almost always have a few close calls.
In my experience you’re more likely to crash your motorbike than your e-bike, but you’re more likely to be crashed into on your e-bike than your motorbike. Ben knocked off my bicycle and e-bike twice. Never crashed a motorbike.
This is why bikes belong on sidewalks lol
I took all three MSF courses available in my state. It saved my life – practicing emergency swerving allowed men to swerve out of the way of an idiot who made a left turn in front of me. Other skills such as looking through curves, avoiding target fixation, etc. are equally important. I wish the MSF would allow people to take the basic course on their e-bikes, or have a section for them. An e-bike is a motorcycle with pedals. I wear my motorcycle helmet, my leather jacket and my draggon jeans when riding as well. Thanks for pointing some of these things out.
What kind of e-bike are you riding that goes 60km/h
I ride in the U.S., FL, where nobody can drive. I've added mirrors, brake lights (on both my helmet and rear), and headlights to ensure maximum visibility at night and during day, as well as wearing motorcycle grade helmet, gauntlets, and gear. I get many snide comments about how I'm 'overprepared', but I've already been nearly killed multiple times on account of distracted drivers or drivers that likely shouldn't be on the road.
My case is certainly an extreme one, but I do recommend any e-bikers to at the very least get a motorcycle certified helmet, it'll probably save your life.
That’s why countries like the Netherlands have the traffic infrastructure they have, to allow people on bicycles to drive safely.
ALWAYS use a mirror like mirycle
Well regarding both motorcycles and bikes I wouldn't say more dangerous but more in danger or more dangerous than motorcycling
eh, difference being. 1. The average e-bike doesn’t nearly reach the speed that the average motorcycle can. Hell even the e-bike used in this video is considered above average as most e-bikes only reach a top speed of 15-28mph (24-45kmh). You get outliers such as the one in this video. The fastest e-bike currently goes 80mph which is super fast and dangerous for sure, but you have to take into account that it’s also $2,000 and for that price i’d rather just get a used motorcycle and i’m sure most people would agree which is why faster e bikes are niche and not the ones that you’ll see most often. 2. Between 2017-2022 CPSC estimated 104 e-bike related fatalities in the U.S. Compare that to motorcycle fatalities at 6,335 in 2023 ALONE. Tell me which you genuinely think is more dangerous. Riding an e-bike is dangerous, yes but it’s dangerous because we have shit biking infrastructure. Riding a motorcycle is dangerous because of it’s speed. HUGE difference in my opinion.
Looks like I’ve got fresh motivation to burn fat the old-fashioned way on a pedal bike, and even more reason to steer clear of overpriced, accident-prone e-bikes.
You sort of touched on the major issue – novices hopping on e-bikes not wearing appropriate attire (e.g. helmets), and not following the rules of the road. Where I live I see a lot of older people on e-bikes who haven’t ridden a bicycle in decades and even when they did back then probably were unsafe.
A lot of the crashes and near misses you showed were the result of poor judgement arising from lack of training/experience. I am 74 and have been riding bicycles since I was in high school. I have had my share of accidents and close calls, but I learned from them and became incrementally safer. But I was also riding a non-motorized bike which is much lighter and traveling at slower speeds.
I've been a motorcyclist since I was a teenager, including some time as a safety instructor. Luckily I have avoided any serious accidents. At 77 years of age I reluctantly decided to give up piloting 800 lbs. of motorcycle, and stick with my RV. I did buy an e bike as an accessory for local use while camping, and I have to admit that on public roads it terrifies me. I cannot monitor traffic behind me, and I am a cutely aware that most of the car's whizzing by me do not see me. If anyone can recommend a cure, I'd love to hear it.
that is not a regular E bike, thats a spaddalac or something, point is where im from you need a licence to drive these and a number plate too. Ofc where im from there is also correct infrastructure
Bikes are not dangerous it's the stupidity of car drivers there thick and stupid and should be banned from driving for life I slapped the head of a guy yesterday he cut me of on the road I knocked him out flat !don't mess with us
I sent my friend a post from the dealership that was congratulating me on my purchase of a new motorcycle. His response is a reel of a motorcyclist getting killed….like wtf bro
in US if you are on motorbike you are like rabit, as biker you are like sheep and on foot like pedestian you are total prey… in eu you need licence for ebikes with speeds where you can go with only motor over 25km/h. The sellers are obligated to turn off motor help when speed is over 25kmh. With that said people use software to turn off the guards.. sure for their detrement cause the insurance wont cover in case of crash.. Thats for another rant.. Here in the driving license school you learn a lot about bikers and pedestrians.. Here if you crash biked or pedestrian you better have some convincing evidence it was his fault 100%.. in bike lane or crosswalk you have almost no chance.. in that case the fine is the least problem you will have… here are also idiots in cars or on motorbikes.. you in canada are more on eu side than us side of things/events.. The other things when you drive a ebike over 25kmh yes you are meatball without protection..
4 years later… it's all gotten even more out of control.