KEEPING THEM SAFE: DEALERS PLAY A BIG ROLE IN E-BIKE SAFETY
By Steve Bina
I’ve been over this topic before. Now it has become a more contentious as e-moto products are becoming more prevalent. Understanding the different classes of e-bikes is confusing enough to the consumer with class 1, class 2 and the amorphous class 3. So, what is an e-moto?
The two federally-recognized classes of e-bikes have a power limit of 750 watts and a top speed not to exceed 20 m.p.h., one with and one without a throttle. What is referred to as class 3 ups the maximum speed to 28 m.p.h., while an e-moto can push speeds over 45 m.p.h.
This won’t be another piece on what is and isn’t an e-bike. I covered that in my last article Do you know what you’re selling?, and nothing has changed. If anything, now inserting the e-moto product into the mix makes education of the riders and their safety an increasingly important conversation to have with your customers.
I’m not suggesting your business should not sell out of class (class 3) bikes or e-moto products. If your business is knowledgeable and comfortable enough to accurately navigate the selling process and inform the customer of exactly what they are buying and the performance envelope, then by all means do so. Meeting consumer demand and adding sales and profit to your bottom line is a good thing.
Unfortunately, the reality around e-moto products is that some have motors producing as much as 10 times more power than a federally recognized e-bike. Worse still, these faster e-bikes and more powerful e-moto products are purchased by parents who have no idea how powerful or fast these things are.
However, here’s the bigger responsibility your business and the bicycle industry as a whole need to recognize and embrace: the consumer needs to be educated on how to safely ride these higher-powered two-wheeled transportation devices.
When you sell the customer a regular bicycle, most likely you make it a practice to try and sell a helmet, maybe shoes, and clothing. A regular bicycle’s top speed is determined by the rider’s ability and where the bike can be ridden legally. Issues of age of the rider, licensing, and other legal requirements typically are not an issue. The safety of the rider is mostly an assumption, though injuries do happen.
On a regular bicycle, those can be bad enough, but on an e-bike or e-moto, they can be devastating. Not only do e-bikes have the potential for sustained higher speeds, but they are also heavier, both contributors to the kinetic energy that will be expended in an accident. With e-bikes, there are additional issues that should be discussed with the consumer, such as battery safety and local and state regulations regarding e-bike use.
How bad is the injury rate for e-bikes and e-moto products? A recent article published by Velo provided the following statistics;
In New York City alone, bicycle deaths reached a 24-year high in 2023, with 30 fatalities, 23 of whom were riding e-bikes
Head trauma from e-bike accidents increased 49-fold nationally between 2017 and 2022
In California, e-bike accidents rose 1,800 percent from 2018 to 2023
In 2024, a Marin County study revealed that one in eight e-bike trauma patients brought to the emergency room by ambulance died from their injuries
In 2024, the death rate for e-bike and e-moto accidents was 37 times higher than for crashes involving regular bicycles.
A guest editorial in the December 2025 edition of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News written by Clint Sandusky (District 8 Representative for the California Association of Bicycle Organizations), opines that bicycle retailers need parents’ help for e-bike safety. Clint suggests the following as part of the dealer’s role in parent education, which should translate to parent education of the rider:
A) Start the safety conversation early – whether an e-bike is age and legally appropriate and which class is best, the speed capabilities, and the importance of protective gear.
B) Clarify legal classification – explain the different e-bike classes and the difference between e-bikes and e-moto products, and the licensing, registration, and insurance requirements for the local jurisdiction.
C) Key e-bike/e-moto safety and legal information to share with parents – parents could face liability if their children operate in an unsafe manner, causing injury or property damage.
D) Provide high-quality educational resources – cyclingsavvy.org, ebikesmart.org, ebikecourse.com, and others.
E) Encourage ongoing regular maintenance visits
Giving your customers the knowledge and tools to help keep them safe will build loyalty to your business. It will also help to minimize unwarranted regulations and bans. Lithium battery fires that cause property damage and/or deaths lead to local regulations on where e-bikes can be stored and charged. When pedestrians are struck or injured, regulations are quickly put in place to restrict riding speeds, areas for use, and possibly implement licensing requirements.
With e-bikes and e-moto products, caveat emptor may not be in the best interest of your business. Making sure the customer knows exactly what they’ve bought and how to use the product safely will go a long way in building confidence and goodwill in the industry.
Contact Steve Bina: steve@humanpoweredsolutions.com