What is an e-bike? California wants you to know

A few months ago, a family came to Pasadena Cyclery in Pasadena, California, to repair what they thought was their teenager’s e-bike. “I can’t fix that here. It’s a motorcycle,” Daniel Burnell, a shop manager and technician, recalled telling them. The mother was upset. She didn’t realize that what she thought was an e-bike could go much faster, perhaps up to 55 mph.

“There’s definitely an educational problem,” Burnell says. In California, bicycle advocates are pushing A New invoice Designed to clear up this confusion about what is considered Electric bike-And what not.

It’s a difficult balance. On the one hand, proponents want to allow riders access to new, faster, more affordable non-car transportation options that don’t require permits and are emissions-free. On the other hand, people, especially children, seem to be hurting. E-bike-related injuries jumped by more than 1,020 percent nationwide between 2020 and 2024, according to a new report. Hospital dataalthough it’s not clear whether stat keepers can routinely differentiate e-bikes from their faster “e-motor” cousins. (Motorcycle and bicycle injuries jumped 67 percent in the same period.)

“We’re overdue for better regulation of e-bikes,” says California state Sen. Katherine Blackspear, a Democrat who sponsored the bill and represents parts of San Diego’s North County. “This has been an ongoing and growing issue for years.”

Senate Bill 1167 would make it illegal for retailers to label high-powered, electric-powered vehicles as e-bikes. He explained that e-bikes have fully functional electric pedals and motors that do not exceed 750 watts, which is sufficient to reach maximum speeds between 20 and 28 miles per hour.

“We’re not against these devices,” says Kendra Ramsey, executive director of the California Bicycle Coalition, which represents cyclists and is promoting the legislation. “People think they’re e-bikes and they’re not really e-bikes.”

Supporters of the bill say they hope the reform, if passed, will make a difference, especially for teens, who love the freedom that electric motors provide but can get into trouble if something goes wrong at high speeds. Children 17 and younger They account for 20 percent of e-bike injuries in the United States From 2020 to 2024, in line with the share of the total population. But the headlines — and the laws that follow — focused on teen injuries And even deaths.

There are no national laws governing e-bike riding. But bike advocates spent years traveling between states to pass laws that… Put e-bikes into three categories: Class 1, which has pedal assist that only works when pedaling is actually being done, up to 20 mph; Class 2, which has non-pedal throttles but only reaches speeds of 20 mph; and Class 3, which uses pedal assistance to move at up to 28 mph. Many states and cities restrict the use of their most powerful Class 3 bikes to people over the age of 16. (In a twist, some e-bikes have different “modes,” allowing riders to switch between Class 2 and Class 3.)

last year, Researchers visited 19 middle and high schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, and found that 88 percent of the electric two-wheelers parked there were so high-powered and high-speed that they did not comply with the three-class system at all.

E-bikes have clearly struck a chord with state policymakers: At least 10 bills have been introduced this year related to e-bikes, according to Ramsey.

Some bike advocates believe the injuries have less to do with e-bikes than with “e-bikes,” a category unlikely to show up in retail stores or the kind of social media ads that lure teens to the technology. These have more powerful engines and can travel at speeds of over 30 miles per hour. Vehicles, e.g Sauron Ultra Bwhich can reach a maximum speed of 55 miles per hour, or Tutu ICTwhich can be up to 50 years old, are often marketed by retailers as “electric bicycles.” Since many sales are made online, it can be difficult for people, especially parents, to know what they are doing.