It's a noise that cyclists listen for in the urban hubbub. A “zzzzzz” coupled with a friction on the ground, which triggers their anxiety on the slopes. They have barely turned their heads, or scanned their rear-view mirror, when the machine is level with them, before speeding away. With its appearance evocative of motocross, its huge knobby tires and its thick frame, the electric fatbike is causing trouble in the area of soft mobility.
“Nothing to do there!” »we hear cursing on the cycle paths of metropolises where, in recent months, these imposing electrified mountain bikes have appeared, often with unbridled engines. They join the zigzagging cohort of large electric scooters, also unbridled, maneuvered like racing cars by wearers of full-face helmets. “Monstrottes piloted by Darth Vader”describes Cyril Vermeulen, a fifty-year-old entrepreneur who, on his electric bike, travels 2,000 kilometers per year in the capital and its near suburbs.
“For two years, he continues, angrily and now equipped with a rear-view mirror, I come across a swarm of new unbridled machines driven by men, rather young, who go at more than 40 kilometers per hour. Twice my speed! They are prohibited on public roads, so they are not insured. »In France, he knows, the law prohibits modifying the speed limit device of these machines. Anyone who transgresses it can only travel on private land. “A few checks on the slopes at the beginning, with confiscation of the machines, would have been enough to stem the phenomenon, whereas, now, the public authorities are overwhelmed, states M. Vermeulen. I'm very angry with them. There will be injuries. »
Alexandre Jannot-Caeillete, 30, was one a year ago: “An electric fatbike overtook me from the right at an intersection, crashed into me from the side, scratched my entire forearm, and then yelled at me. I wasn't driving fast enough! » He who every day connects Villejuif (Val-de-Marne) to the Parisian district of Alésia, where he works as a communications officer, is recently communicating his apprehension. “It’s anxiety-inducing, you have to be constantly on the lookout. These bikes, we don't hear them coming and they impose themselves, all the time on the left or in the middle. They feel invincible, with their big tires. Today, pedaling is like driving on the ring road with interfile motorcycles. »
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