DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE SELLING?
By Steve Bina
If you’re a bike dealer, you sell bicycles. You sell all types of bicycles: commuter bikes, mountain bikes, road bikes, gravel bikes, kids’ bikes, and more. Maybe you sell recumbents. Maybe you sell custom bikes. Maybe you sell track bikes.
The Consumer Protection Safety Commission (CPSC) has defined what constitutes a bicycle through federal regulation, specifically 16 CFR 15512.2. This regulation states that a bicycle is a two-wheeled vehicle having a rear drive wheel that is solely human-powered. This same regulation also defines what is an electric bike. I’ll address that shortly.
This definition of a bicycle is pretty straightforward and hasn’t changed significantly in years. There have been modifications. Following are some of the categories of bicycles as defined by CPSC and federal regulation:
Condition 0 – Sidewalk bicycles: This covers children’s bicycles under appropriate parental supervision in a manner consistent with the child’s bicycling skills. These bicycles are intended for riders of at least three years of age and weighing less than 80 lbs.
Condition 1 – Road bicycles: This covers bicycles whose intended operation is on a regular paved surface where the tires are intended to maintain ground contact.
Condition 2 – Hybrid & Trekking bicycles: This covers bicycles whose intended operation is on Condition 1 surfaces, as well as unpaved and gravel roads and trails with moderate grades.
Condition 3 – Mountain bicycles: This covers bicycles whose intended operation is on Conditions 1 and 2 surfaces, as well as rough trails, rough unpaved roads, rough terrain, and unimproved trails that require technical skills.
Condition 4 – Downhill bicycles: This covers bicycles whose intended operation is on Conditions 1, 2, and 3 surfaces or downhill grades on rough trails at speeds less than 25 m.p.h..
Condition 5 – Extreme riding: This covers bicycles whose intended operation is on Conditions 1, 2, 3, and 4 surfaces, extreme jumping, and downhill grades on rough trails at speeds in excess of 25 m.p.h..
There are other types of bicycles not covered in the above, which include BMX and young adult bicycles. BMX stands for bicycle motocross and is a specialized type of bicycle used for sporting events that cover a wide range of events held on dirt, flat land, or parks with ramps, walls, jumps, and rails.
Young adult bicycles are designed for use on public roads by young adults whose mass is less than 88 pounds and have a saddle height between 635 mm and 750 mm from the ground.
This covers the gamut of human-powered bicycles as codified by CPSC and the federal government. Now let’s look at the other type of bicycle, the electric bicycle.
16 CFR 1512.2 defines an electric bicycle to include two- and three-wheel vehicles with fully operable pedals, and with an electric motor not to exceed 750 watts (1 horsepower), whose maximum speed on a paved level surface when solely powered by the motor with a rider who weighs 170 lbs shall not exceed 20 m.p.h..
This seems straightforward enough, but it’s a little more complicated.
Some electric bicycles are pedal-assist only, while some have a throttle to engage the electric motor, and some have both. An e-bike with pedal assist activates the electric motor while the rider is pedaling to provide more torque than the rider would normally create on their own. An e-bike with a throttle activates the electric motor when the rider actuates the throttle mechanism to move the bike forward without relying on pedaling.
Similar to human-powered bicycles, manufacturers design and sell their e-bikes to specific uses, such as use in a city, for commuting, hauling small cargo, and off-road use. Each of the conditions mentioned above will also apply to certain kinds of electric bicycles.
Additionally, some manufacturers sell e-bikes intended for use by children, which include electric balance bikes. These fall outside the definition given in 16 CFR 1512 and are mostly marketed to younger children. Though an electric balance bike does not have pedals, the electric motor assists the rider with propulsion. This is accomplished by the rider pushing their feet against the ground instead of pedaling.
The distinction between pedal-assist and throttle electric bicycles is a primary delineation of the product. CPSC recognizes this distinction and has defined two classes of electric bicycles:
Class 1: Requires a rider to pedal in order for the electric motor to activate and assist with propelling the bicycle. They operate similarly to a non-powered bicycle but with an electric motor assist. The electric motor stops assisting when the bike’s speed reaches 20 m.p.h..
Class 2: The same as above, but with a throttle and does not require any pedaling to activate the electric motor.
There are also electric bikes that have motors which are in excess of 750 watts and can achieve a speed in excess of 20 m.p.h., and thus are not defined by 16 CFR 1512. That would also mean that electric bicycles that do not conform to this regulation would also not be found in either of the classes shown above. They would be determined to be “out of class.” So, what are they?
There is movement being pushed by a self-proclaimed bicycle industry trade association to define these out-of-class products. CPSC has not expanded its definition of 16 CFR 15512.2 to include electric bicycles that may have a motor greater than 750 watts and capable of speeds greater than 20 m.p.h., supposedly capped at 28 m.p.h.. Because no federal definition has been codified, the trade association has been going from state to state attempting to define these as Class 3 electric bicycles for legal acceptance.
There has been some success in getting individual states to accept the definition of Class 3 electric bicycles. However, the danger in pursuing a strategy of going state-by-state to define a Class 3 electric bike means there could conceivably be 50 definitions. That is already happening. Most, but not all, of the states that recognize Class 3 electric bicycles do not require registration or insurance. Conversely, all the states that have recognized a Class 3 product require a visible label that displays the class, the top speed, and motor wattage. Neither of these conditions may affect the definition of a Class 3 product, but it does highlight the issue of non-standardized regulation.
What is the reason that not all the states that recognize Class 3 products require registration or insurance? Are labels required on Class 3 products in jurisdictions that don’t recognize Class 3 products? Does the customer know what they are buying? Is the retailer making sure the customer knows the power of the motor and the top speed of the product?
Because there is no federal definition of a product that is outside 16 CFR 15512.1 and the two classes of electric bicycle, any product that produces more than 750 watts or can go in excess of 20 m.p.h. is not a bicycle. This does not mean they are illegal to sell, just that they do not meet the definition of a bicycle as determined by CPSC and the federal government.
The easy thing, and likely the reason the industry trade association wants to define a Class 3 electric bicycle as it has, is so the manufacturers don’t get exposed to regulations from other federal agencies. They want Class 3 electric bicycles to be bicycles and not electric scooters or electric mopeds. Yet by current law, they are not a bicycle.
Certain manufacturers produce a product that can move between classes at the push of a button, unlocking higher speeds quickly and easily. Switching electric bicycle classes can be as simple as opening the e-bike’s app or toggling the settings on the bike’s display. What would you be selling to a customer if the product can morph from one with a designated speed to one that possibly has a speed 40 percent higher?
No doubt your business carries insurance that covers the physical assets of the company, along with liability insurance to cover the products you sell. Those covered products are likely detailed in the insurance policy. Do you think your insurance broker would be concerned that you might be selling a product that is not designated a bicycle by the federal government? That you might be selling a product that can have its maximum speed increased so easily, so as not to be defined as a bicycle?
And since I’m talking about your insurance coverage, have you made it known to your suppliers and or distributors that your business will only handle electric bicycles that meet the UL 2849 standard? The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that any product that has electrical components be UL-certified to be sold, stocked, stored, or serviced in any warehouse or retail establishment. If your business is handling electric bicycles that are not UL-certified and something happens, the liability to you and your business could be huge. Your liability insurance might not cover you because of the OSHA violation. What would your insurance broker say in that circumstance?
So, do you know what you’re selling?
Contact Steve Bina: steve@humanpoweredsolutions.com