Restricting bosch performance line?
Posted by camp_jacking_roy@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 18 comments
Hey all, my local trail karens have restricted my favorite bike path to class 1 ebikes only. I currently ride a Bosch performance line speed class 3 ebike. Can I restrict my bike so it only goes 20mph? I've found plenty of info in the opposite direction, but very little on how to slow down my bike.
Ideal would be to have the ability to switch between modes so I can still navigate traffic on my way to the path, but I want to set a good example/obey the rules on the path if I can.
pfhlick@reddit
Sooner or later, manufacturers are gonna have to start including a local speed compliance feature to deal with this. For now I think the best way to deal with it is to ride extra chill so no one tries to stop you and check the decal on your bike. That's as much testing as anyone is likely to do, and even if your bike is programmed to act like class 1, the decal will still say class 3. Lousy sitch but it's the industry's fault for putting a throttle class in between two speed classes. You're likely not who they're trying to regulate.
camp_jacking_roy@reddit (OP)
I think this is the answer. I've never seen any kind of enforcement on the trail but MA is trying to implement laws around speed so I suspect they will start enforcing at some point/after enough complaints. I always ride safely around other people but that doesn't prevent angry people from causing issues.
I will likely try to swap to a class 1 at some point but I still have 5 miles to travel on a 45mph road until they finally finish the rail trail 2 years from now. The 28mph keeps me feeling a little safer around cars.
Behbista@reddit
Yeah, i would view it just a speed limit if you’re using e-assist. My car goes above 65 mph. I drive slower than its max speed.
AdBoring4472@reddit
To be clear, the classes are product requirements, as sold and designed. The user being able to switch the bike mode from class 3 to class 1, doesn't make it a class 1 ebike and provide any legal protection. It is still class 3 regardless. Unless the performance is switched by the manufacturer in the locked firmware, the bike will still be considered the class it was sold as by the law. Whether police/enforcement can make these distinctions is another question, but the law is pretty clear on this if they are able.
This is no different than say a machine gun in the US. Machine guns are illegal to use or possess (unless you have certain government permissions). Semi-automatic guns are legal. Most machine guns have safe/semi-auto/automatic modes, but even if you only ever shoot it in semi-automatic setting, it is still considered a machine gun and illegal. It is a characteristic of the product, not how the product is used.
So, no. Industry is not going to add the ability to 'switch' between classes, unless they dont care about the laws and are interested in selling non-road-legal ebikes. This will be the market strategy for some(mostly foreign brands who dont care about US laws), but not for most.
In the end, people can bitch about the laws all they want, but this is what we have, and likely will have for the years to come. Enforcement is only going to increase going forward, so if you want to avoid trouble with riding your ebike, you are better to just understand them and operate within the laws. Frankly, these laws are meant to protect legal ebikes as modes of transportation that are still accessible to most of the population without license, registration or insurance. Ignoring/flaunting them is more likely to result in all ebikes being restricted or more regulated, than winning you any further freedoms. The public roadways are just that, public use spaces. You can drive whatever you want as fast as you want on them, but if your vehicle is not road-legal and/or you are driving faster than the speed limit, then you need to be ready to accept the consequences. Without basic rules on the equipment and use, they would be far more unsafe, and far fewer people would use them.
BadgersAndJam77@reddit
The Quiekat Apex has that. You can switch between Class 1-3 or an unrestricted performance option. The promo video literally advertisies it as the "Performance you want, with the compliance you need." (Or something like that.)
Superb_Raccoon@reddit
Yeah... it called "slowing down"
Worried_Document8668@reddit
you can set max assist speeds in the flow app
camp_jacking_roy@reddit (OP)
Purion display :/
Ok_Plenty4953@reddit
Im in the process of upgrading my Purion100 (no Flow connection) to the Purion200 which has connection to the Flow app. I will post up on if it works and how much if a PITA it is for this upgrade.
camp_jacking_roy@reddit (OP)
Do post back if you can remember. Honestly at this point I will just continue to ride it as is and will look to swap to a class 1 when I have the opportunity- I've always added a suspension fork, better rack, fenders, and a 500w battery. I don't want to have to add a new display as well.
Sphere_3N@reddit
20mph feels so slow. I find sweet spot to be 27-35mph. Over that and it’s too fast would need full gear and that ruins point of a e-bike imo.
Tell the trail Karen’s to fuck off. Personally I ride fast but when approaching people I’ll slow down to like 10 mph yell “on your left” just for them to not hear me bc headphones but whatever. This burns through brakes which is fine but I get people not wanting someone shooting by at 28mph+.
camp_jacking_roy@reddit (OP)
Honestly I will typically speed between pedestrians but slow down when approaching and overtaking. I take the risk to drive above the speed limit just like everyone else does in their car, but always use caution at intersections and interactions and am typically on the trail during low-use periods.
I will probably end up just breaking the rules as they won't be enforced except for like once per year. I'd much rather have blanket enforcement of the speed limit than a class ban, but the Karens got their way.
CerebralAccountant@reddit
Eco mode should be slow enough to keep you under 20 mph, but you'd need a newer Bosch system or something from a different manufacturer to have a toggle between Class 1 and Class 3 speed limits.
camp_jacking_roy@reddit (OP)
Bummer, thanks!
miknob@reddit
Can’t you just not ride over the speed limit? Don’t blame “the Karen’s” because you speed on the trail.
camp_jacking_roy@reddit (OP)
I will continue to blame the karens as they are the ones who lump class 3 ebikes with surrons. I ride a class 3; it was legal a week ago and now it's not. Speeding or not, I am banned from the trail entirely. I would like to find some middle ground that will avoid attention before having to buy another ebike and sell this one. I can certainly slow down but that doesn't solve the issue either. If I can at least restrict my class 3 to class 1 speeds, then at least any interaction I have with enforcement will be met with a "it can't go over 20" and hopefully a conversation that I'm not trying to break the rules.
There is usually a grace period when things change (shit, we still have pre-ban automatic weapons) so I'm hoping I can fall in that until I can buy a class 1.
Stoked_Otter@reddit
When I was a young hoodlum we used to buy 125cc scooters and peel off the stickers that said "125cc" and put "50cc" stickers on them so that we could legally ride them without a license.
GreenBirbz@reddit
If you have a kiox, you can adjust the wheel circumference settings to the highest (tricks your bike into thinking it has bigger wheels) and while it may report 28 mph it will actually be going slower than that.
If you have a purion, you can upgrade to a kiox kit for a few hundred—ask yourself if this is even worth it or if you can just ride slower (stay 20 mph or under) and nobody will be able to tell you have a class 3 bike