Finally, e bike specific brakes. I use my front brake a lot while climbing, especially while passing hikers, mtb riders, and small children holding kittens and puppy dogs, it's the only way to keep the rear tire spewing out a rooster tail of dirt and gravel, while also leaving a nice deep trench. That's a joke folks.
I suppose if you were a really big and heavy ebiker, paying extra special attention to your brake selection would make sense, but for me at 150 lbs or so, my ride with me on it still comes in less then what some people weigh. I too have noticed the e specific trend, I want a helmet with a built in docking station for my SIRIUS sat radio, antenna on top of course, with built in speakers and a 52 vdc to 12 vdc converter built in also. Just a single cord to plug into the bike battery and away you go, I can't believe no one has done that yet. That is not a joke.
My brakes work plenty good enough, a few days ago I was COASTING down a hill (emphasized that, as the ebikeness had nothing to do with what happened next, unless I want to figure as that it was in the mid 80's temp wise and I wouldn't have even wanted to be out there working hard, but I was as I was enjoying the ride thanks to the e help) and right at the bottom of the dirt road (ranch road, leads to moto trails, starts out as county, probably still poaching, runs right by my driveway) I spot the electric fence wire that the range cowboy dude had moved the day before, across the road, blocking it. This is common in these "open range" parts, and it is also common courtesy if you are motoring along in anything to stop, open it up with the insulated handle, and close it back up after you.
There was a portable cattle guard just a mile away, and me knowing this neighborhood (mine, 1.3 miles away to be exact) like I do, once I rode over that, I really wasn't expecting further cattle barriers. But what do I know about grazing cattle and range deprivation? The Peruvian cowboy determines that, nice guy, and the same one for 2 years now. He marked it of course, but not enough, enough for me anyway, 2 short pieces of red (faded) rag strips, across a 20' road, and I wasn't looking or expecting it. ANYWAY, without having time to think of the consequences of a full on panic stop, my lightning quick reflexes (quicker then the part of my brain that thinks about consequences) reacted and all hell broke loose. I went over the handle bars and/or the bike flipped, it's all a little confused.... but 5 days later the bleeding is pretty much stopped, in another few days I should be able wear a t shirt again, now it's too painful to slip them on. Other then my right shoulder, right thigh, right shin, right and left hip, and both elbows, I feel pretty good. The good news is my new 17 AH battery installation passed the G force test (both negative and positive) with "flying" colors, if it held up to that it will hold up to anything.
I had to laugh when I thought through what had happened, if the e bike was a factor, if anything (besides paying better attention obviously) I should have jammed the THUMB THROTTLE (got one, love it, along my PAS) to the stop and blasted through, the fiberglass post would have pulled out of the ground, probably, but I really didn't have time to cogitate on that until later. It's marked better now, a lot better, enough to catch the eye of a non paying attention cyclist of any sort, and I left the roll of hunter orange survey tape there on the post for the cowboy, he'll figure it out, though he speaks no English and I no Spanish. If I meet up with him I can mime pedaling, then a ass over tea kettle type motion, then show him my scabs and bruises.