E-Bicycle News and Reviews

Electric bicycles or eBikes have been popular for transportation in Europe for many years and have been rapidly gaining popularity in the United States both for transportation and recreation. There are three classifications of eBikes created by www.peopleforbikes.org that are the accepted regulations in more than 30 US states and eBike advocacy groups are encouraging other states to adopt these regulations. The “3-class System” provides guidelines on where the different classes of bikes can be used (bike paths, trails, etc.). As part of these guidelines, bicycle manufacturers are requited to place highly visible stickers on bikes that indicate the eBike class.

The three eBike classes are defined as follows:

Class 1: eBikes that are pedal-assist only, with no throttle and have a maximum assisted speed of 20 mph.
Class 2: eBikes that have a maximum assisted speed of 20 mph but are throttle-assisted.
Class 3: eBikes that are pedal-assist only, with no throttle and a maximum assisted speed of 28 mph.

Although Cycle News is primarily focused on motorcycles, a lot of Cycle News readers have interest in eBikes and several motorcycle manufactures have begun to make eBikes. Several traditional bicycle brands have started selling eBikes via traditional Powersports dealers as well. Cycle News began doing eBike tests and providing news in 2020 and will continue to expand coverage, focusing on eBikes that are manufactured by the traditional motorcycle brands as well as brands that are offered via powersports retail channels.