When e-bikes were initially introduced a few years ago, I was fully supportive. They are fantastic for commuting, shopping, running errands, reducing the number of cars on the road, and enjoying fresh air. They also provide a great niche for older cyclists and individuals with limited ability to get out and enjoy the experience. However, things have changed. While some people do use e-bikes for practical commuting and other transportation purposes, recreational use has over taken the sport. E-bikes are now everywhere—on sidewalks, pedestrian paths, often at full throttle, with riders not wearing helmets, lacking courtesy warnings, and they are dominating the road.
Their speed is typically governed around 20 MPH, but can be easily modified to reach speeds up to 40 MPH or more. E-scooters are even more hazardous. I witnessed a scooter overtaking a car in a 35 MPH zone. The rider appeared to be young (12-15), no helmet or other saftey gear. Drivers are not mentally wired to be watching for e-bikes, scooters, or even full-sized motorcycles. They focus on other cars and large pickups (a topic for another time), not cyclists and certainly not scooters.
E-bikes caused 75% of bicycle-related deaths in 2023 and more than 7,200 injuries, including nearly 500 pedestrian injuries, according to the city Department of Transportation.
“There’s virtually no rules and no regulations regarding e-bike use and people are getting hurt, and even killed,” said Cuomo, the ex-governor making a comeback bid for City Hall.
E-bicycle injuries dramatically increased from 751 in 2017 to 23,493 in 2022, and e-scooter injuries rose from 8,566 to 56,847 over that timeframe. Altogether, there were nearly 2.5 million bicycle injuries, more than 304,000 scooter injuries, 45,586 e-bicycle injuries and 189,517 e-scooter injuries in the U.S.
Some bike shops don't even carry REAL BIKES any more. The demand for E has flooded the market. Kids as young as 10 years old are a common sight on paved trails, sidewalks, everywhere, sometimes riding double, no helmets and no training. They were treating the ebike as a toy - and a bicycle, motorized or not is NOT A TOY. Many cities have banned e-bikes on trail systems but have no interest or resources to enforce their own laws.
Ebikes certainly have a place in our transportation systems -- on the street with the other motorized vehicles, not on pedestrian or paved trail systems. And especially not on the back country, singletrack trails systems!
Being true to the sport of cycling we established the Real Bike Club: No E-Z bikes, No Laz-E Riders. Click the logo below to be included on the mailing list to receive the bi-weekly newsletter and other information.
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