Electric bikes in bike lane/MUP

[jseko]

Wow...I got passed today by a woman on an electric bicycle. I was doing about 12 MPH in the bike lane and the woman just zipped by and kept going in the bike lane an into a MUP. Weird thing is that the bike has pedals and crank but she didn't move her legs at all. Is this still even a bicycle? I mean it looked like it could travel under human power but it seems more like an electric moped.

[AndrwSwitch]

Would you have been happier if she passed you on a road bike?

It's legal, most places. There's not much you can do about it except get higher blood pressure, which doesn't effect whether she's present or absent. At least it was one of the ones with pedals and not one of the ones that looks like a scooter. I just glanced at Wikipedia, and in the State of California, the motor is not allowed to make an electric bike (which is to be operated as a bicycle, and is not defined as a motor vehicle) go faster than 20 mph. You can do 20 mph too.

Particularly strong road and track sprinters can hit 40mph. No hill assist, not necessarily any drafting - just legs. That's twice as fast as the top legal speed to which the motor can drive the bike in California.

http://www.suite101.com/content/the-...icycles-a18672