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.
Meh, Bikes up to 25km/h don’t require anything here. Anything faster needs a license plate and has stricter rules (like having to wear a helmet, needing a driving license, …)
I don’t mind drawing the line somewhere. Up to a certain point the speeds just become much more dangerous for everyone possibly involved.
I just don’t see anything wrong with the current regulation on class 1 and 2 ebikes. Casual cyclists on an analog bike can already achieve speeds of 20 mph, at least for a short time. In fact, those speeds are often essential in certain situations in car centric towns/cities. As someone that used to commute by bike in the city, at times I’d have felt safer if I could have gone a little faster.