Originally Posted by
350htrr
The "problem" IMO, starts when a motorised bike starts to be used on sidewalks and trails, where only bicycle's are allowed... It's as simple as that. Anything with a throttle is a motorised vehicle, IMO, (not talking about a wheelchair type). E-Assist bikes, have no throttle and must be pedalled, thus the legal definition is that they are still bicycles and can be used anywhere a bicycle is allowed... Then along comes the E-Bike with a throttle and... People are using these motorised bikes under the guise of "it's a bicycle" cause it has pedals, which are hardly, if ever used, at least not the ones I see around here...
EDIT; In other words, even regular bicycles could be banned from trails and sidewalks where they are allowed today, as a way to deal with said motorized bikes..
The current class 1,2,3 system that exists in many states was created by a model bill pushed by the bicycle manufacturers through People for Bikes. I think it passed in about 20 states including California and Tennessee. Class 1 and 3 are pedal assist and 2 is throttle so you can thank Trek, Giant, Specialized, etc. for that. In my experience the riders that speed on greenways are the young (mostly) healthy ones wearing lycra. Our local Pedego store tells me they sell 2/3s of their bikes to old people. We're not speeding. I think most class 2 users pedal because it's still a bicycle. My argument has always been that we should deal with behavior not technology. We don't ban Corvettes but expect the driver to obey the law.
I support treating e-bikes just like bicycles when it comes to their legal status. If you want to grow bicycling then we need a big tent and that includes e-bikes. I want to see the scooter companies in my city rent e-bikes, which they do in other places, just so it increases the number of bicycles on the street.