"Runaway" / possessed electric bike? 🚲⚡

[SoftwareEng]

I'm considering getting a powerful ebike -- ideally, not a mere pedal assist but a real twist throttle to go ebike.

My major concern is a possible "runaway" where the motor could start on its own at a bad time - e.g., I'm waiting at a busy intersection, or on top of a mountain, or at another very inopportune moment. The bike could carry me into a buttload of danger. If there's a short circuit, a wire gets loose, a button "sticks", the brake lever stops reporting the stop condition, or there's a bug in the CPU, is this a real possibility? Even Toyota had a "sticky pedal" (Unintended Acceleration) issue with their cars!

What do you think?

Thanks!

 

[pcgeek11]

In my opinion your fears are unfounded.

If you are bothered that much by it get a kill switch installed as they have on a Jet ski. Pull the cord and the bike loses all power. Like an emergency stop switch.

 

[SoftwareEng]

In my opinion your fears are unfounded.

If you are bothered that much by it get a kill switch installed as they have on a Jet ski. Pull the cord and the bile loses all power. Like an emergency stop switch.

But then do I need to get a kill switch for the kill switch for that kill switch? I get it, it's a good idea.

 

[pcgeek11]

I personally wouldn't worry about it to begin with.
You seem concerned about it so I made a suggestion that should be relatively easy to install.

 

[BoomerD]

There is a shop here that rents the e-bikes...soon to be two shops that rent them. I've never heard of any runaways yet. I've seen a few crashes though...some people just seem to have forgotten how to ride bikes.

 

[Sukhoi]

Do you drive an automobile?

 

[DigDog]

ok so, a couple of considerations here.

1. my CBR1100XX would move in first gear with the idle gas alone. With 149hp and nearly 13kg of torque it was ridiculously easy to kill yourself and/or other people with that thing. That was a bike from twenty years ago.
Motorcycles are inherently dangerous because of the high power / low weight combo and you should drive one only if you are ok with having to be super-focused all the time.

2. it's a motor vehicle. It had to pass regulations before it can be sold.
Not only is your fear unfounded, but if you are afraid that your e-bike could do something crazy, you're not ready for a bike, for any bike.

 

[snoopy7548]

Ask @cheez. He knows everything about electric bikes.

 

[drnickriviera]

My bike has 2 brake switches, so 3 things would have to fail. Even if it did, i would just get off the bike.

 

[Captante]

What do you think?

Thanks!

Cheezus MAY try to kill you!

 

[brianmanahan]

Cheezus MAY try to kill you!

if that happens, just throw the bike in the river

checkmate, jesus

 

[BoomerD]

if that happens, just throw the bike in the river

checkmate, jesus

If it's an electric bike..will throwing it in the river make the fish shit lightning bolts?

 

[Red Squirrel]

I figure the odds are about as slim as it happening with a car. Worse case scenario you just drive it towards the river if it happens and crash into it.

Also check the laws in your area, since an ebike with no pedals might be classified as a different type of vehicle that requires insurance etc, so you may be better off getting one with pedals.

 

[SoftwareEng]

Do you drive an automobile?

I do indeed, but I figured with all the strict federal laws, checks, and safety measures, my car is a much safer vehicle than an e-bike off AliExpress

 

[SoftwareEng]

Why is it so funny? Sh*t happens...
Segway company owner rides scooter off cliff, dies:

Segway company owner rides scooter off cliff, dies

A British businessman, who bought the Segway company less than a year ago, died after riding one of the scooters off a cliff and into a river near his Yorkshire estate.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[SoftwareEng]

If it's an electric bike..will throwing it in the river make the fish shit lightning bolts?

You get penalized under Section 5 of the Natural Resource Protection Act for incorrectly disposing of batteries

 

[SoftwareEng]

Cheezus MAY try to kill you!

He won't have to try very hard: I just took a shower (risky!), drove my car on the highway (risky!), and ordered food from Wendy's - the opportunities were plentiful ;-)

 

[SoftwareEng]

My bike has 2 brake switches, so 3 things would have to fail. Even if it did, i would just get off the bike.

As they say, "everyone gangsta" until their e-bike goes 0 to 20 into a busy intersection with them sitting on it (most likely, without a helmet)

 

[SoftwareEng]

ok so, a couple of considerations here.

1. my CBR1100XX would move in first gear with the idle gas alone. With 149hp and nearly 13kg of torque it was ridiculously easy to kill yourself and/or other people with that thing. That was a bike from twenty years ago.
Motorcycles are inherently dangerous because of the high power / low weight combo and you should drive one only if you are ok with having to be super-focused all the time.

2. it's a motor vehicle. It had to pass regulations before it can be sold.
Not only is your fear unfounded, but if you are afraid that your e-bike could do something crazy, you're not ready for a bike, for any bike.

Motorcycles are definitely more dangerous than e-bikes (I'm referring to bicycles in my post), but you still had to pull the clutch to get any acceleration, didn't you? I'm mostly concerned with a glitch/failure that could prompt the e-bike to take off on its own

 

[DigDog]

you have to *release* the clutch to get acceleration. And an eBike would have to do so as well. I'm sure that clutchless designs can exist, if the engine is in the wheels, which it isn't on electric motorcycles (it's like that in scooters). eBikes still have moving parts; and engine breaking is important in how you go around bends .. that's why two stroke bikes, which have negligible engine breaking, are much harder to drive - you cannot decelerate during a bend.

i need you to understand that the same failures which you imagine eBikes could have can happen on combustion engine bikes as well. the eBike drivetrain does not rely on software to power the wheels, but on mechanical force.
Ofc shitty design can happen, but since these are road going vehicles, they need to pass licensing. THIS is what they look for. No vehicle design prone to accidentally killing pedestrians would be allowed on the road.

 

[Captante]

The most important things to keep in mind riding ANY kind of 2-wheel vehicle on the same road with people driving cars are:

(1) Be sure your health-insurance is paid up.

(2) Be sure your life-insurance is paid up.

Keep in mind I've ridden since I was a kid and owned a 1200cc Sport bike for a long time so when I say this I speak from experience. Too many people out there don't care about driving at all.

I would be extremely hesitant to ride today anywhere there's much traffic, especially on something which put me at the mercy of other drivers like an e-bike or a moped. A big plus for a motorcycle is that power which can kill you can also get you OUT of many "sitting-duck" type situations.

 

[sdifox]

Why is it so funny? Sh*t happens...
Segway company owner rides scooter off cliff, dies:

Segway company owner rides scooter off cliff, dies

A British businessman, who bought the Segway company less than a year ago, died after riding one of the scooters off a cliff and into a river near his Yorkshire estate.

www.nbcnews.com

Shit happens all the time. Where in that article did you see mention of the
Segway malfunctioning?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Don’t be a nerd and scoot around on some funky electric bicycle. Get a used Motorcycle and be cool. Gas cost is irrelevant.

 

[Torn Mind]

E-bikes brake like regular bikes, no?
Whatever little motor it has to overcome that opposing force.

 

[Brainonska511]

No vehicle design prone to accidentally killing pedestrians would be allowed on the road.

Lol, have you seen the latest pedestrian killer pickup models? They wont drive into pedestrians on their own without operator input, but they're still really bad for pedestrians compared with smaller vehicles. We have no problem putting vehicles on the road that are dangerous for pedestrians.