The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition weighed in with a pointed response, arguing that the state should be making it easier, not harder, to own and use e-bikes. Their senior organizer echoed the sentiment shared by many riders: the real confusion and danger comes from people not being able to tell the difference between a legal e-bike and an electric moped, not from the bikes themselves.
Brett Thurber, co-owner of a San Francisco e-bike shop, raised a practical industry concern about AB 1557. Restricting California’s speed limits below what manufacturers currently build for the U.S. market could push companies to skip California customers entirely, shrinking the supply available to local shops and consumers.
E-bikes are not a substitute for cars, they are a substitute for bikes crossing further with cars on the venn diagram; some find convenience and acceptability in that overlap, while others do not. I never took my mountain car off a sweet jump on a dirt path, but I used to on my bike. (Yes, despite my stance, I do own a bike)
What you call a burden, are the rules of civilization we all (try) to adhere to. You may not like them, but the end of flagrant disregard and selfishness is, by far, not a burden.