On 14 Sep 2015 at 21:27, Peri Hartman via EV wrote: > Those are certainly bike characteristics but do they really make it a > bike? If you use only the throttle and don't pedal, are you riding a > bike? One can certainly design a scooter with pedals, small bike-like > disc brakes, and spoked wheels. Is it a bike?
I'd say yes. I'm pretty sure the Quando is a bike with an electric motor added - that is, the fundamental design is "bike." It looks the part. The battery is mounted to the seat post, so not that conspicuous. The hub motor is subtle, too. As long as I pedal even a little, I doubt that anyone watching me realizes it's anything other than a folding (pedal-only) bike. On the other hand, I think it's possible to design from scratch for electric drive and still have a bike rather than a scooter. IMO, it's a "look and feel" thing. Take, for example, the e-bikes with batteries INSIDE their tubular frames. And on the third hand (or left foot), consider the Electroped I owned for a while back in the 1990s. the poor thing had an identity crisis. It had a bike frame, with moped tires. The front brake was a moped type, but the rear brake was a bike coaster hub. The name suggested "moped," but it had no VIN and no place to mount a registration plate. Thus it was arguably a bike in legal terms. It had pedals and in fact I HAD to pedal to start out, because it had no controller. The motor drove the front wheel with a friction puck, and if I didn't pedal, the puck would shred the front tire. Even with all that, it STILL didn't feel like a bike. It just didn't ride like one. A lot of the reason was its weight. Two U1 size wheelchair batteries (24lb each) were mounted (too high) on either side of the rear wheel. A friction puck drove the front wheel. The total was perhaps 75-80lb, but it felt like much more because the center of mass was high. I've never owned a motorcycle. I've been a passenger on a few, and once rode a friend's (about a 175, I think). I remember them as being rather heavy and uncomfortable to handle, compared to a bicycle. The Electroped reminded me of that impression. Legally, I guess it was a bike; but in use, it was just too awkward to really qualify as one. > The new all-terrain bikes have fat tires the size of motorcycle tires. > Are they bikes? Why would anyone doubt it? <puzzled> > > These are subjective viewpoints and open for disagreement. That's no doubt true, unless / until the traffic code says otherwise. It's off topic, so please don't comment on this, but this discussion reminds me a little of the chats I've had about what classical music is. Everybody agrees that Mozart and Brahms are classical composers. Most think Stravinsky and Poulenc are, even Schoenberg. But then you get to John Cage and Eliott Carter, and thought the academics say they are, some listeners aren't so sure. How about Terry Riley and the other minimalists? Are filmscores by John Williams and Rachel Portman classical? What about the legions of pianists who compose their own new-agey instrumentals and call themselves classical musicians? There's no really good definition, so it's down to how it sounds to you, and something you think sounds like classical music might not to me (or vice versa). Similarly, it might be that whether an electric-powered 2-wheeler is a bike or a moped or a scooter depends on how it rides for you or for me. What I say is a bike, you might say is a scooter. In the end, though, what counts is what the DMV says. David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA EVDL Administrator = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EVDL Information: http://www.evdl.org/help/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Note: mail sent to "evpost" and "etpost" addresses will not reach me. To send a private message, please obtain my email address from the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
