Q: I am looking to join the world of electric transportation. As a former scooter rider I am looking for something with a little more power than your average e-bike. One company from California has a model with pedals but the vehicle can top out at 60 mph. It has a switch to limit the speed to 28 mph, but that switch can be flipped releasing the full power. Where does this fit into the e-bike/moped/motorcycle spectrum, or is it just a legal quagmire of advancing technology? It looks like fun, but I would rather be riding than sitting in a courtroom.
A: What? You don’t think courtrooms are fun? How did Judge Judy get so popular? Oh, wait, I think I’ve figured it out. Millions of us feel better about ourselves when we watch someone else struggle through a court proceeding because, no matter how bad our day is going, at least we’re not part of a Tupperware dispute on a courtroom reality show.
If you value the absence of courtroom drama more than the top speed of your bike, and it sounds like you do, there are a few laws that will help sort it out. We should probably start with the terminology. An electric bike, or e-bike, isn’t necessarily the same as an electric-assisted bicycle. Allow me to explain. An electric bike is a description, while electric-assisted bicycle is a legal term. You might own a bike that is powered by electricity that doesn’t meet the legal requirements of an electric-assisted bicycle.
What are those requirements? It must be “a bicycle with two or three wheels . . .” (I put that in quotes so you’d know that it’s not me but our legislators who have trouble with Latin prefixes. I guess a unicycle is legally a bicycle with one wheel.) Continuing on, it must have operable pedals and an electric motor with a power rating of no more than 750 watts. In Washington we have three classes of electric-assisted bicycle:
- Class 1: The motor on the bike only provides power while the rider is pedaling and stops providing assistance when the bike reaches a speed of 20 mph.
- Class 2: The motor may be used exclusively to power the bike and is also limited to 20 mph.
- Class 3: Like Class 1, the motor only provides power while the rider is pedaling, but provides assistance until the bike reaches a speed of 28 mph.
When it comes to actual use of an electric-assisted bicycle, the main difference between classes comes down to where you can ride your bike. State law allows Class 1 and Class 2 bikes to ride almost anywhere you can ride a regular bicycle, including on shared use paths (unless prohibited by local ordinance). Class 3 electric-assisted bicycles can’t ride on shared use paths or sidewalks and the rider must be at least sixteen. No electric bikes can be used on a path that is designated for non-motorized vehicles. (But that was obvious, wasn’t it?)
Now let’s take a look at the 60 mph electric bike you found. You didn’t mention the brand, but I found a California company that sells a bike like you described. It’s worth noting that their website describes their product not as an electric-assisted bike, but as a motorbike with an electric drive-train. They mention the ability to switch it to “E-Bike 20mph” mode and that the settings of the 3000 watt motor can be adjusted lower. In their 80s-music-video-inspired promotional film they show the bike on public streets, but they don’t promise that it’s street legal. The big question is, if you put the switch in 20 mph mode and lower the motor to 750 watts is it legal in Washington? Probably not.
Also, it might partly come down to a sticker. The law requires all electric-assisted bicycle manufacturers to permanently affix a label in a prominent location (in Arial 9 point font, no less) to the bicycle. This label must include the classification number, top assisted speed and motor wattage. I don’t know how a bike with a 3000 watt motor and a top speed of 60 mph can comply with the labeling requirements unless there is some rule I’m not aware of that allows the manufacturer to include the specifications for each power setting on the bike. Given that those settings can be changed with the flip of a switch I wouldn’t have much confidence that it’s legal.
I should point out that when I discuss the legality of the bike, I mean legal to ride on public roads. If you have the courage to off-road a 60 mph electric bike you can take it wherever the gas-powered dirt bikes are riding. But on the road, you might be gambling several thousand dollars on a bike that doesn’t seem to comply with Washington laws.