Simon Cowell crashed on a......

[cmg]

For those that are interested in what kind of bike Simon Cowell crashed on its a "Forbes confirmed with Cowell’s company SVP Syco Entertainment US that he was in fact riding a SWIND EB-01 electric motorbike." He poped a wheelie and fell of the back. Surgery followed.

https://www.bicycling.com/news/a3356...bike-accident/

So this is how we go electric, just get them street legal and they'll take over. In case you want more... https://swind.life/products/swind-eb-01-mountain/

[stackie]

The Swind has a top speed of 60 mph.

Bicycle? I think not. It even looks like a motorcycle.

That’s a motorcycle that you can drive without a motorcycle license or training. Recipe for disaster.

Jon

[Veloo]

Didn't know it was that kind of "electric" bike.

Felt bad for him at first but yeah, that's just dumb.

[Davist]

More dollars than sense, like a lot of Hollywood types, I'd say..

[pdmtong]

The issue with any electric bike is now we have given speed and in this case power to the unskilled.

Used to see this all the time - ebike riders behaving in completely unpredictable ways because they can dart and accelerate with ease

I throttled an electric scooter and the thing shot out from under me - it takes some practice to get the control response dialed

[PaMtbRider]

I saw this posted somewhere else. I believe the price tag on that thing is $21,000 usd.

[Veloo]

With the exchange rate, that's about what I paid for my 2013 Subaru Impreza.

Originally Posted by PaMtbRider

I saw this posted somewhere else. I believe the price tag on that thing is $21,000 usd.

[Toeclips]

Check off bike riding as not a talent

Every picture I've seen in the news he's not wearing a helmet

[unterhausen]

and, strangely enough, he didn't have a head injury.

It's a bit weird everyone gets all excited over an e-motorcycle and yet they don't care about cars that can go 150 mph being driven on neighborhood streets. Often at highway speeds.

The bike Cowell crashed on can't be licensed anywhere.

[benb]

We're definitely in a wild west era right now.

That thing is in a loophole zone. IMO there's no way that thing should be sold without a registration and should not be legal for anyone without a class M license to ride.

And of course should not be allowed anywhere other motorcycles are not allowed... sorry an eBike with 10x the power of an elite cyclist is not a bicycle period just cause you put some vestigial cranks on it.

I don't even blame Cowell here if he doesn't have a Motorcycle license and just didn't know any better.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by benb

We're definitely in a wild west era right now.

That thing is in a loophole zone. IMO there's no way that thing should be sold without a registration and should not be legal for anyone without a class M license to ride.

I don't think this thing is any kind of legal loophole. It is clearly a motorcycle, and subject to all the laws of motorcycles when ridden on the road. The only loophole here, if you can call it that, is that the Swind is marketed as an off-road bike, and when ridden off-road doesn't need to licensed or registered. Cowell was apparently riding this bike on his private property, so didn't need a license.

As far riding on the road, here in Massachusetts, the laws on the books haven't quite kept up on technology between mopeds and e-bikes (according to the letter of the law, e-bikes are mopeds here). But mopeds still require a drivers license, and are limited to 30 mph. If this thing an go 60 mph, then in Massachusetts it is a motorcycle, and requires a motorcycle license to operate on the streets.

[merlinmurph]

The initial stories I read described it as an "electric bicycle" and "e-bike" - their words.

Is that really an e-bike? 15kW?


OTOH, I met an older couple (70s) in a campground near Acadia NP and after seeing their e-bikes, I asked them how they liked them. They told me that a ranger saw their e-bikes and told them they could not ride the bike trails because their bikes had throttles. Just an example of the mess this is. There is no easy answer.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by merlinmurph

The initial stories I read described it as an "electric bicycle" and "e-bike" - their words.

Is that really an e-bike? 15kW?

15 kW translates to roughly 20 horsepower. That close to the power of a Honda CRF250 off-road motorcycle (and twice the horsepower of a Honda CRF125 off-road motorcycle.)

The pubic tends to associate anything with pedal cranks as a "bicycle", whether it is like a bicycle in any other way or not. Like the oxymoronically named "stationary bicycle" (a bicycle is a two wheeled pedal powered vehicle - a "stationary bicycle" neither has wheels nor is a vehicle).

I'm not sure what Swind's angle is marketing this as an e-bike - maybe trying to increase their customer base. I'm sure this isn't the last serious accident that will be had with it.

[cmg]

from the manufacturer's site. "Delivering a staggering 15kW of electric power, this is the most technically advanced and powerful electric bicycle on the market." this is a bicycle?

[raygunner]

I just purchased an e-cargo bike the other day and when I told my mom she said "oh no, you should return it...didn't you hear what happened to...that guy?"