Here in Ontario (Can.) gas-assist bikes are illegal, but that doesn’t stop people from doing the conversion. And trailing a lovely plume of 2-stroke smell after them…
We had to make a formal policy on these bikes after one guy repeatedly showed up asking for help. He’d bought a kit on eBay, and of course started breaking spokes and other parts that weren’t designed to handle the force of the assist. We told him we could not let his bike into our shop due to the fumes and possibility of a gas spill. I did advise him that his bike was illegal and that he may get pulled over by the cops, but he said “it can’t be illegal, I bought it on eBay!” (I decided not to try and explain things any further after that bit of brilliance.) He only came by once more after that, to buy yet another rear wheel.
We also have a policy against so-called e-bikes that are actually electric scooters. But we will allow an e-assist bicycle as long as they only want help with the bike aspect and not the electricals.
Mark Rehder - Coordinator re-Cycles Community Bike Shop http://re-cycles.ca
On Mar 23, 2020, at 1:27 AM, eric clough ericclough3@gmail.com wrote:
Hello Think Tank. First, I want to say thanks for all the great threads I have read on this list serv. I rarely post anything but I do read most posts and I have gained lots of great perspectives, including the recent impacts of covid, from you all. Now, on to what might be a welcome diversion from the whole virus topic.
We have a very small community bike shop on the south coast of Oregon and we are constantly approached about motorized bicycles in one form or another. We are looking for examples of how to deal with those interested in motorizing bicycles. I will say that after a couple of experiences with community members bringing their 'moto-bikes' in to the shop we have now taken the position that we do not provide assistance on those projects and don't want such bikes in our shop. They are contrary to our mission of non-petroleum based transportation. How do other longer established shops handle this? We frequently get people in to buy rear wheels or frames they can use for moto-bikes. Or they want to purchase one of the bikes our volunteers have spent hours restoring and convert it to a moto-bike. We are considering saying no to any support for moto-bikes but we also recognize that community members use them as an alternative to cars/motorcycles for important transportation needs - like commuting to work.
Thank you and solidarity!
Front Street Community Bike Works Coos Bay, OR ____________________________________
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