I’m sure that if you see the fine print, this means that pedal-assist ebikes that have 250W motor and are limited to 25kph (15mph) are considered bicycles. Something like a Surron is still considered a motorbike and needs to be registerated, insured, needs a licence and is only allowed to be driven on the roads among cars - as they should.
That’s not a fine print, that’s a definition for ebikes. Surron is 100% a motorbike. They don’t even look like bicycles and never targeted the bicycle market.
It’s a spectrum and the limits are quite arbitrary. Plenty of people would agree that Surron is a motorbike, but some of those same people want to be able to drive without pedaling, have more powerful motor than 250W, go faster than 25kph or all of the above.
Sounds exactly how it was regulated in Germany, except for the license I think. It’s pretty much handled the same as a moped, which I think is totally fair.
According to the article, those limits are regulated on EU level. Which also makes perfect sense, since that allows for a single market of e-bikes.
Don’t you need a licence for moped in Germany? In Finland you need one unless you’re born before 1980 I think. Same with motorcycles.
I sure would like to read the actual ruling, but from what I see in the article, this applies to pedal assist e-bikes, and wouldn’t apply to e-bikes that have a throttle which is operated by a way other than pedaling (like a thumb or twist throttle). I have to think there’s a maximum speed and/or weight as well, otherwise someone could very easily build a large, heavy, highway-ready “e-bike” that just uses pedaling for the throttle, but is in every other way an electric motorcycle.
Of course EU regulations, contrary to the US, limit pedal-assist bikes to a maximum continuous rated power of no more than 250 W and a speed to 25 km/h before cutting out power, leaving you to rely your legs for more speed.
It is plenty, as long as the torque is sufficient. When mountainbiking I have never felt I would need more power, even on climbs where keeping the front wheel down is tricky. Of course you cannot sustain 25 km/h on steeper hills, but do you even need to?
Nice. Get with it, US
What are you talking about? The EU were playing catch-up to us on this one.
Ebikes are already legally considered bicycles and not motor vehicles in the US: It’s a federal regulation so it applies to every state.
Oh what? Well, I’ll say that cops in multiple states here are unaware.
That’s good to know though, I’m a bit gunshy about taking the trails with no motor vehicle signs.
Cops are very frequently ignorant of the actual law:
Class 1 ebikes:
These ebikes are limited to a maximum speed of 20 mph and are designed to operate solely on pedal assist. They do not have a throttle for motor power.
Class 2 ebikes:
Similar to Class 1, these ebikes also have a maximum speed of 20 mph. However, they are equipped with a throttle in addition to pedal assist, allowing the motor to operate without pedaling.
Class 3 ebikes:
These ebikes are restricted to pedal-assist like Class 1 but can reach a higher maximum assisted speed of 28 mph.
The above are not motor vehicles in any state. If a cop challenges you on it, you can try to explain and encourage them to look it up but if you get ticketed it won’t stand up in court. Feel free to talk to a lawyer in your area to confirm of course, don’t take legal advice from strangers on the Internet: Verify information for yourself.
Start by printing this and keeping it with you. Then dig around until you can find the specific federal regulation and regulations pertinent to your state, print those out, too.
I used to do motorized bicycles, got pulled over with a friend once. Cop was all “You have to have registration and insurance and and and.” I said, “Wait, I have the Illinois law on my phone here, this went into effect Jan 1 this year [I forget now what year that was].” Cop took the info back to his car for a few minutes (in the meantime, I was putting my chain back on, it had fallen off). He comes back and says, “I learned something new today. Be safe.”
Told him we had our route planned out to avoid the high traffic roads already, that we always followed the rules of the road for cars and bicycles. I’m sure it didn’t hurt that we were both wearing full face helmets and armored jackets.
Thats because the added weight and power tears up trails, and the stewards hate that shit.
