• Dasus@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          2 days ago

          I may be biased because moped culture here (as in a vehicle 50cc or smaller, not necessary one with pedals anymore) in Finland has always been a big thing imo.

          One of the “classic” models that were from the previous generations was a “pappa moped” which had pedals and had a connotation of being favoured by older gentlemen who don’t want to/can’t drive a car anymore (a moped doesn’t require a licence from anyone born before -85, but if you got a DUI and licence was taken away you’d be in a ban to drive so then driving a moped would be illegal as well.)

          They’re allowed to go 45km/h legally but they go pretty much 50 and people tune them to go ~60 usually. Some even up to a hundred but those were crazy dangerous cobbled up machines. And zero gear aside from helmets and some old leather jackets lol

  • Onno (VK6FLAB)@lemmy.radioEnglish
    41·
    3 days ago

    Why do you need more than one horsepower to move a single person from A to B? If one horsepower is equivalent to the power of one horse, then a galloping horse will get you there faster than your average moped.

    • PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPMEnglish
      15·
      3 days ago

      Joke answer: Style

      Real answer: Horsepower originates from the potential sustained work of a (more-or-less) average horse of the 18th century. A horse at full speed is outputting more-than-one-horsepower - at a gallop, they’re outputting 10 horsepower or more.

      • Onno (VK6FLAB)@lemmy.radioEnglish
        8·
        3 days ago

        Hmm … style over substance 😇

        I just went down a rabbit hole as a result of your reply. Thank you!

        The horsepower was defined by James Watt as a way to compare his steam engines against draft horses. The unit of power in use today is Watt and is named after him.

        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepower

        For a giggle, if you’re into SI units, look at the definition of a horsepower.