Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

"The Tesla of" is such a well-worn phrase: Taking A Spin On Bolt, The Tesla Of Electric Motorbikes

I think by "motorbikes", one can only really interpret as "mopeds", given the top speed (40mph), etc. I'm unsure how they're claiming it's a bicycle-class vehicle; most bicycle class laws I know of restrict top speed to 20mph. But I suppose it's "under 160cc".

Since I have a bias towards Zero, it sure seems like this platform might handle a ZF2.8 swappable cel.


Here's the product website, in case you want to cut past the journalistic angle: Bolt Motorbikes

[Erasmo]

Yeah that's just a moped, those peddles are there mostly for decoration.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

The FAQ claims that the bicycle designation is okay because they're only counting Eco mode. That's a bit of a dodge, but honestly I like the idea so I'd probably go for it. It does have dual chains rather than the pedals being a "soft assist".

In any case, it's cheaper than the E-Rockit.

[protomech]

Per their FAQ:

How long do the batteries last?

Our Lithium Iron Phosphate cells are rated for over 2000 cycles, before any noticeable reduction in performance. What that means is that you can ride your bike 30 miles a day every day for 5.5 years, or more realistically, they will last 8-10 years.

From TechCrunch:

The bikes are handmade in a small garage on the edge of town and come with the same type of lithium-ion batteries used in Teslas.

Not quite...

Anyhow. Looks like an interesting bike, but IMO these type of products are a little bit disingenuous.

Goes 40 mph but you only need a bicycle helmet to ride?
No license / registration required because it's a bike, but you never need to pedal?

Straddling a gray area between exclusively human-powered and exclusively motorized vehicles gives you some advantages of both, but also runs into a tangled mess of local regulations. This is a well-worn path by mopeds, but electric motors bring some new things (mode-selectable power and speed limits, 0 cc displacement) that will eventually be addressed by updated regulation.

Regardless of actual legal status and power and top speed, electric bikes that look like pedal bikes will probably skate by, while electric biks that look like motorcycles will probably run into trouble.

[Cortezdtv]

lol that technically cannot be street legal.... Legally

You can properly register it sure..... But they would nevertheless let you ride that I the street where I'm from



To be bike late legal

The motor driven cycle must be capable of a speed no greater than 30mph on level ground no faster. Must have petals or be powered solely by electrical energy, and if powered solely by electrical energy must have less than 1.8 hp or something very very low


Been there done that even went all the way to court with it..... And won.  I know my mini bike laws; used to know them by heart so when I would get pulled over the cops got the dmv paragraph jammed down their throat before they could say you can't ride that on the street


The vehicle can't have a switch or programming to lower or increase the speed above 30 mph like this does



Cool idea though!!!

[Cortezdtv]

 Not to mention her federal supersedes all local and state is requiring any Object or vehicle on the roadway (scooter, moped ,bicycle, car truck) to have blinkers reflectors etc...



There is a subdivision of the first comment I made that applying t sitting scooters which is slightly more relaxed but this bolt would not qualify as a sit down scooter

These laws are in every dmv book, it's at the officers discretion what he chooses to I force, and most of them aren't enforced, but as more and more bike lane legal scooters become available it will become more enforced

[protomech]

Engadget has a brief article covering the Bolt.

While you would be tempted to buzz around town in Sport mode, legally you shouldn't. Bolt notes that it's for "off-road use only." That's because once the bike is out of Eco mode, it's technically not an electric bike anymore and is subject to registration and the rider needs a license. So owners should never ride on the streets in Sport mode (wink wink). Of course if you do, and you're a fan of obeying the letter of the law, Bolt will help you register the vehicle as a "special construction" (like a custom motorcycle) with the DMV.

Emphasis added.

This would actually be more useful than a motorcycle for me as a commuter in a non-filtering state - switching to Eco mode would let me (legally) hop into a bike lane or footpath to bypass traffic, then back into Sport mode once the road opens up.

It'll only take one collision between a Bolt (or other high-power electric bike) rider doing 40 mph in a bike lane and a cyclist to bring the hammer down on this type of rule-bending.

[Cortezdtv]

Like I said before

You cannot switch the performance profile to enter the bike lane the bike must ONLY be able to reach 30 mph  or 25 and under....goes the same way as exiting the bike lane to enter road.... Must always be road legal...

This is why even Electricross bikes are not allowed in the bike lane.


To make them completely bike lane legal you would have to limit the hp  permanently to "under 2 gross brake horsepower"

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Now that I socialize in the Bay Area tech community, I'm amused that someone I would have considered informed had only heard of Mission Motorcycles and Bolt. That's some serious myopia, and probably explains the Bolt marketing.


Of course, I showed them my Zero. An actual shipping vehicle with dealership support and modest third-party support.