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I think the biggest unique thing about Surrons and the like is that they are near silent. This is what lets kids get away with all kinds of shenanigans. Older generations had dirt bikes but you'd hear that coming from a long way allowing quite a bit less tomfoolery in normal public places, like parks, greenbelts, trails, etc. Heck around here during Thanksgiving last year there were ongoing issues of young teens riding Surrons into a local grocery store! https://www.imfromdenver.com/trending/arvada-teens-ride-e-bikes-into-ki…
Re why reporters talk like that; they're trained to, it's called the General American or non-regional accent, and the delivery is taught too; breathe from the diaphragm, enunciate clearly (no dropped letters), slow down and strip out the emotional cues/loading that normal speech uses so they can talk about everything from school shootings to kittens being rescued by firefighters and sound the same/authoritative
It's also a bit of hold-over from the glory days of network TV news when anchors where THE source of authority on most things (and if you go back even further you find it evolved from the mid-Atlantic accent; think the voice-overs on newsreels from the 50's)
/derail
Obviously it being a USA based site there's a lot less engagement with what happens in other countries but the UK in particular seems to me the most likely place for full scale regulatory backlash against the direction these bikes are headed. I can only imagine what it's like around some of the major population centres these days having to share your tiny plot of woodland with a bunch of chuds ripping them up on Surrons. I for one can see a time not far in the future when aggrieved hill-walkers start a movement to have all e-bikes lumped in with all motorized vehicles and excluded from the right to roam.
There are already some EU countries that are trying to regulate classification blurring e-bike / emoped and people removing speed limit to have 50kph or even 75kph moped.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/25/amsterdam-prepares-to-ban-the-fatbikes-amid-rise-in-serious-accidents
When it comes to "shenanigans", being inconsiderate, and just plain being dangerous, having a throttle is far more the problem than absolute power. The 1.5kw of an anvinox is never really going to be problematic for others since it has to be accessed by pedaling.
That being said, most regulations are unenforcable. Look at Bonnell.
No, I've already seen a NZ programmed Avinox gen 1 in person and it absolutely is dangerous. Going over 50km/h without proper helmet and protective gear, which is what that bike was doing, is genuinely dangerous to the rider as well as the other trail users they will encounter. It already is problematic.
Semi-Relevantly to this discussion; a mother in California is facing jail time for purchasing her son a Surron after he ran into an 81 year old and sent them to critical care. I believe she is facing up to 8 years in jail.
Like I said previously, we're well past the point of kiddy glove regulations. This stuff needs to be indefinitely banned from import or sale until something changes.
DJI just announced the FC200, a transport drone that can lift 600kg when working in tandem (4 drones).
https://x.com/XH_Lee23/status/2047532188615454987?s=20
I'm posting this because it shows how close to the edge DJI is willing to go. From what I know, this product doesn't come close to passing FAA regs, but they don't care since it's a China-only product for (at least) the near future.
As others have pointed out, culturally it's probably a good bet that DJI doesn't think about regulations the same way a company like Bosch might.
Holy cow. 600kg is a lot.
it's almost as much as your megatower.
So we can self shuttle in the Summer and "heli ski" in the Winter? 600kg/4=150kg. Myself plus harness, ropes, avi gear, board and winter layers aren't even close to 1 drone's weight limit. You don't even have to come out of your bindings. I also love the mental image of people seated on their bikes, clipped in even, flying to the top of a DH run. Mr Jeff Brines, your CAST (amazing product btw) bindings are going to be obsolete.... Wait, now are the kite skiers and surfers going to complain about e-assisted kite skiers accumulating more hang time on their Strava equivalent apps? Ok I'm done, thanks for my 10 minute day-dreaming break from work. Sorry for the derailment... Back to it....
Fortunately as long as the FAA stays worried about boring stuff like payload you'll still be able to pick up one of these bad boys! Safe to say the entire Chinese drone industry has a very different approach to regulation.
I get the sentiment of what you're saying... but I would contend that the avinox motors have throttles... you just operate them by moving your feet.
460w of output with 25w of input, 800w of output with 100w of input and max power being delivered at 160w of rider input, is not pedal assist. It is pedal driven throttle assist.
This was the most beautiful comment I've ever read on this site.
So basically, the M2S puts out almost as much power at 43w of rider power as the CX5 puts out with 150w. That's lunacy. Foot throttle, as you said.
And 43 watts is basically the power you put out by just letting the weight of your leg push the pedal. Almost no effort at all.
after 20mins of full power (700wh only) the m2s motor housing is 120°C (probably like 1mio in freedum units) so the first time a 12 year old american is burning his feet while chasing seniors on his new death machine his parents will sue avinox into oblivion and they will be banned in the usa. nature will healing
Any chance we can take this ebike power rules chat to a new thread? A few pages ago it was fascinating reading about Alta's struggle and DJI's structure vs old school German power.
I don't see that ban happening. Larry Pizzi, who helped create the 3-class system and advance it with People For Bikes, is quick to push back that some legitimate riders need the throttle to get moving. Seniors, loaded cargo bikes, and so on can all fit that category. Pedego, as a brand, seems to bank on that type of throttle use in a lot of their messaging, too.
strange, how do get seniors, loaded cargo bikes and so on get going in europe?
nobody needs a throttle
I'm fascinated, and terrified in some sense, by how this monster motor power thing will play out. At this point, DJI/Avinox can just go full force into an MGU and take Shimano and SRAM out at the knees. Also, do American brains get tripped up on the watts to horsepower conversion? Would people care more if we told them that Avinox has 2HP on tap with normal (187 watts/0.25HP) effort? Will they only do the math when an M2S bike is coming at them uphill at 20 mph.
If I may, let's get this thread back to some troubling financial issues. A report from BikeBiz paints the picture of Accell Group continuing to struggle with long-term debt, inventory, and a smattering of issues like a slow market, geopolitical problems, supply chain, etc. Worth the read since they got their hands on some docs not meant for the public.
I do still find it interesting that KKR's exit from Accell didn't make more waves in the cycling industry. There may have been a collective shoulder shrug from the endemic media. As a massive private equity group, KKR didn't feel much of it directly. Losing over 1.3 billion euros at their size wasn't the end of the world, but they certainly picked up a few black eyes in the finance world for poor due diligence, some mismanagement, and for ticking off some Korean lenders who put up the cash.
I’m curious how many watts are needed for twisting a motor bike throttle.
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