Be aware, pedal-assisted bikes are NOT ebikes

[DougC]

Speed limits on a mountain bike trail? Ah...try to convince the guys of that who just rode their non assist bikes up a steep grade to get to the next downhill section. They don't want speed limits and they don't want anyone in their way. On those same downhill stretches non-assist = assist bike. On the up hill stretch an over weight, out of shape middle aged guy on an assist bike might be able to make it up the hill whereas on a non assist bike he wouldn't. Depends on the trickiness of the hill - rocks, roots, etc. But he wouldn't necessarily get up the hill any faster than a younger, fitter, more experienced rider. So speed isn't the issue.

Class1 eMtbs are not a problem on mountain bike trails. Period. Never will be. The politicos just need to educated.

That sign in the original post should indicate Class1 ebikes allowed. That's it.

 

[john peck]

Absolutely... I have seen some bad situations when horses get spooked on narrow trails by hikers.

I was a wrangler for a spell in my youth; if I see a horse on a trail, I just park until itś past. I don´t need some
head-shy knothead going off the rails. I never have regarded signs as the word of God. ¨Not only should
one disobey unjust laws, it is oneś duty to do so.¨ Thomas Jefferson

 

[Dallant]

Class1 eMtbs are not a problem on mountain bike trails. Period. Never will be. The politicos just need to educated.
That sign in the original post should indicate Class1 ebikes allowed. That's it.

This is one reason I bought my Allant+7. I sure don’t need to go any faster than I already do!

 

[FlatSix911]

A final thought on this topic:

The demographics are against the rule-makers in the long run... more and more people will purchase eBikes as they age.

 

[Explorer-1]

...... I strongly suggest all bike manufacturers reclassify these bikes precisely and educate the government officials the difference between pedal-assisted bikes and real Ebikes before all bike trails prohibit these otherwise wonderful bikes.

"... educate the government officials ..."

Good luck with that!

 

[J.R.]

"... educate the government officials ..."

Good luck with that!

I thought it would be tough and ultimately fail, but it wasn't and it didn't. It did take a year for it to be formal. Within 6 months the local Authority suspended enforcement and within 9 months we were given the informal decision that class 1 ebikes were allowed. At exactly 12 months the formal regulations were announced. It took some time to educate the authority and some time to get the legal regulations written and passed. These days a year isn't bad. In reality we were given the okay to ride in half that time. In the process I gained new ebiker friends and made friends in local government. Win-win.

 

[john peck]

Technically, itś unconstitutional, not that it has ever deterred bureaucrats. If I were to harass or injure someone, damage property,
that would be an offense, but the right to travel, though occasionally challenged in past, has been upheld. Chief Supreme Court Justice
Potter Stewart, ( Eisenhower admin.), ruled the right to travel is a constitutional right though not addressed in the bill of rights. The
framers deemed it a given.
A short while ago they put up a ´no motorized vehicles sign ´ on a trail I´d already been using for several years. They placed 2 large
cement blocks at the entrance with the sign on a steel beam in the middle. This having narrowed my line as I rode up caused me
to ´accidently´ crash into the sign breaking it in half while snagging my groin in the process. It has not been replaced. Ebikes continue
to use the trail & no action has ever been taken against e-riders, who continue to use it in a safe & curtious manner. I smile for the
pedestrians & they smile back.

 

[retire01022004]

I'm 75 and currently in hospital on back following spine operation. ADA says can use Segway, golf cart or ebike as alternative mode of mobility i ride my Class 3 everywhere NP. Never a question. Do keep with me copy of handicapped placard and relevant ADA rules.

 

[john peck]

I'm 75 and currently in hospital on back following spine operation. ADA says can use Segway, golf cart or ebike as alternative mode of mobility i ride my Class 3 everywhere NP. Never a question. Do keep with me copy of handicapped placard and relevant ADA rules.

Get well soon, & enjoy your ´personal mobility device´

 

[FlatSix911]

I'm 75 and currently in hospital on back following spine operation. ADA says can use Segway, golf cart or ebike as alternative mode of mobility i ride my Class 3 everywhere NP.

Never a question. Do keep with my copy of handicapped placard and relevant ADA rules.

Long may you ride!

 

[arcom]

Next thing you know Kalifornia will be issuing handicap parking permits for Ebike riders.

 

[BET]

This

Agree on speed limit. Our local park trail has a 15 mph speed limit. Want to go faster, use the road beside the trail. The road is fairly safe with low speeds and low traffic.

 

[BET]

These no e bike rules or class 1 e bike only rules are rarely enforced in my opinion.

 

[john peck]

These no e bike rules or class 1 e bike only rules are rarely enforced in my opinion.

Actually I see the´no motorized vehicles´ signs on most trails, meant to keep cars out I guess. 15mph, does that mean I have to speed up?
None of it is enforced on ebikes; I think they´re just there as an out for liability. In WA ebikes are basically considered bicycles & subject to
the same laws. Over 750w is another story, but how are they supposed to tell. As long as riders are cool & self regulate, nobody cares.

 

[Ebiker33]

Also the rules on Ebike power wattage are basically fussy logic when it comes to wattage and "true from a certain point of view" (nominal verses peak)
For example if in Canada a vendor gets in trouble for selling a 750W version that is going to the USA in Canada, they are suddenly changed to 500W "nominal" when nothing has changed on the Ebike.
That's why banning certain wattage Ebikes on trails is an absolute exercise in futility, it has to be not about total power but speed, we don't drive a Porsche in school zones at 100 mph because it's very unsafe, similarly you could have Watt Wagons best Ebike at over 3000 watts peak just cruising along at a safe speed(15 mph as mentioned) on a trail and it isn't an issue.

Bust and fine the dangerous fools just like you do with cars. But don't make laws that ruin it for everybody, just because a few people are being idiots on the trails.

 

[rdowns]

So it comes down to making people act responsibly. Bummer.

 

[johnriggins410]

what needs to be banned are the tools who dont pedal, but just straight throttle and cruise control at 25mph on these paths!

 

[BTfl]

what needs to be banned are the tools who dont pedal, but just straight throttle and cruise control at 25mph on these paths!

Signs don’t matter, they don’t enforce the law on multi use paths, I have seen golf carts on them before! Mini bikes, scooters etc. they don’t have enough manpower to enforce the law

 

[Joezheng]

I'm Super Bummed... one of my favorite backyard trails in Los Altos Hills.

Who do we need to talk with to get this repealed? I have friends in low places.

Mountbello is an open space preserve (OPS). I met one park ranger on the top. He said he did not know the difference between paddle-assisted bike and those ebikes with throttles. So all are banned. If you can ever talks to them, explain to them that our paddle-assisted bike is class 1 if they are considered ebikes.

 

[Joezheng]

Signs don’t matter, they don’t enforce the law on multi use paths, I have seen golf carts on them before! Mini bikes, scooters etc. they don’t have enough manpower to enforce the law

I was told they did give citations, especially on Fremont Older. No kidding.