Meanwhile UK is the other way round, limits are so low that legal ones are almost useless for a healthy adult to have much reason to bother with.
E-trikes are useful for elderly or disabled users, so at least there is some use. But otherwise you pretty much need an illegal one for it to be worth bothering with.
One idea I have heard that sounds interesting is to limit the power OR top speed, rather than both. So you could either have +250w all the time regardless of speed, or as big a motor as you like but always limited to 25kmh. The bigger motor can be useful for steep hills or heavy cargo bikes, small motor at any speed is useful for commuters who would already be cycling at the current cut off speed limit.
As you mention the motor is great for hills and weight, like my heavy chain and not-so-Litelok. It’s also good for wind.
I was looking around a city in France (forgot which one, but not Paris) on street view and was noticing that there were not really any bike lanes, hardly even any painted on. Bicycles were mixed in with the traffic on the street. Seemed really scary! And then I noticed the speed limit was 30 kph (~18 mph). And suddenly it all made sense and I was jealous. Around town I have to ride all these crazy routes through residential areas and such in hopes of a little safety, often doubling (or more) the distance I have to ride to get somewhere. Would gladly have an 18 mph speed limit if I could ride on safer streets and just go directly there, it’d be much faster. Although, from what I’ve read, 30 kph isn’t universal in France, as the standard seems to be 50 kph (which is still only 31 mph) and I’d imagine those areas probably do have bike lanes.
Meanwhile UK is the other way round, limits are so low that legal ones are almost useless for a healthy adult to have much reason to bother with.
E-trikes are useful for elderly or disabled users, so at least there is some use. But otherwise you pretty much need an illegal one for it to be worth bothering with.
One idea I have heard that sounds interesting is to limit the power OR top speed, rather than both. So you could either have +250w all the time regardless of speed, or as big a motor as you like but always limited to 25kmh. The bigger motor can be useful for steep hills or heavy cargo bikes, small motor at any speed is useful for commuters who would already be cycling at the current cut off speed limit.
As you mention the motor is great for hills and weight, like my heavy chain and not-so-Litelok. It’s also good for wind.
I was looking around a city in France (forgot which one, but not Paris) on street view and was noticing that there were not really any bike lanes, hardly even any painted on. Bicycles were mixed in with the traffic on the street. Seemed really scary! And then I noticed the speed limit was 30 kph (~18 mph). And suddenly it all made sense and I was jealous. Around town I have to ride all these crazy routes through residential areas and such in hopes of a little safety, often doubling (or more) the distance I have to ride to get somewhere. Would gladly have an 18 mph speed limit if I could ride on safer streets and just go directly there, it’d be much faster. Although, from what I’ve read, 30 kph isn’t universal in France, as the standard seems to be 50 kph (which is still only 31 mph) and I’d imagine those areas probably do have bike lanes.