[Velomobile] Velomobile design

[Giles Puckett]

On 7/01/2012 12:58 PM, David M. Eggleston wrote:
> Hi Giles,
>
> You make a good point. We have the same problem in the States, although
> the Consumer Products Safety Commission allows up to 1 HP motors for
> assist, as long as the speed is limited to be less than or equal to 20
> mph. That makes this a national standard. I believe this standard
> resulted from substantial lobbying by electric bike companies.

I'd like it if there _were_ any companies to do lobbying here - people 
have tried to sell these things, but nobody lasts long in the business. 
They always seemed to be bickering, fragmented and demoralised.

> I understand that California allows motors up to 2 HP and speeds up to
> 30 mph, although you need to have a driver's license to qualify. As a
> practical matter, no governmental bodies seem to be interested in
> enforcing these speeds or power levels, so they only have the effect of
> limiting what manufacturers can sell. Otherwise it is likely nobody
> would notice violations of this law unless lawyers got involved.

When lawyers got involved, and if there was substantial damage or 
injury, you can bet the rules would change real quick.

G.

>
> David
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Giles Puckett
> Sent: Friday, January 06, 2012 7:25 PM
> To: David M. Eggleston ; velomobile at hupi.org
> Subject: Re: [Velomobile] Velomobile design
>
> On 4/01/2012 5:02 AM, David M. Eggleston wrote:
> [lots of interesting stuff snipped]
>
> Thanks David, I concur with all your points. There's one other that
> might not be uppermost in the minds of people in the USA, but probably
> more so in Europe and Australia: inconsistency of laws relating to
> power-assist. Here in Australia we have a lot of hilly country, coupled
> with brain-snappingly stupid power restrictions (now 200W peak - with
> the possibility of 250W plus pedelec and speed limits soon!)
>
> Any velo is so much heavier than a bicycle that it needs all the help it
> can get uphill - that's where the average speed of any bicycle trip is
> determined, so how much more so for a velo. My own homebuilt attempts at
> streamlining certainly got me to the bottom of the next hill much
> faster, which was fun as long as it lasted, but took me twice as long to
> get up to the top again!
>
> So lobbying for reasonable power limits and restrictions of these things
> is paramount in places that limit them unreasonably. The present laws in
> Oz seem to be specifically designed to prevent practical
> car-alternatives from ever being built.
>
> G.
>
>
>
>
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