MysticalFists
Member
Howdy,
I'm getting ready to pick my bike up from the shop later tonight (went in for some minor repairs) and I was really curious about what I was being told. In preparation of buying an e-bike, I'd looked at a ton of info online about Federal and State ebike laws. I'd seen that Federally, ebikes were simply limited to motors under 750 watts and speed limits of 20mph. I also saw that in Minnesota, our law was recently changed, within the last 2 years, to show that ebikes are considered bicycles if the motor is no more than 1000 watts and limited to 20mph or less. I actually have 3 links to Minnesota Government pages saved on my phone so I can inform any police officer that pulls me over.
Here's where my question comes in. I've always used the same, small, franchise bicycle shop here in Minnesota as they've always been super helpful and knowledgeable. After getting my bike setup for repair, I started shopping the store and was amazed to see they finally had some ebikes in, including a Specialized Vado. Previous to buying mine, I'd never even gotten on one and had tons of questions. One of which was, how are you able to sell this bike in Minnesota as it has a top speed of 28 before the motor cuts out. Two employees swore up and down that 28mph is the max limit in Minnesota; however, I'm under the impression that they're quoting California law, which shows Class 3 without a throttle can go up to 28.
Can someone prove me wrong? Not being a smart ass, I'd actually like to know if I'm wrong, but I guess I'm asking as I believe people are being given the wrong information for the state I live in.
I'm getting ready to pick my bike up from the shop later tonight (went in for some minor repairs) and I was really curious about what I was being told. In preparation of buying an e-bike, I'd looked at a ton of info online about Federal and State ebike laws. I'd seen that Federally, ebikes were simply limited to motors under 750 watts and speed limits of 20mph. I also saw that in Minnesota, our law was recently changed, within the last 2 years, to show that ebikes are considered bicycles if the motor is no more than 1000 watts and limited to 20mph or less. I actually have 3 links to Minnesota Government pages saved on my phone so I can inform any police officer that pulls me over.
Here's where my question comes in. I've always used the same, small, franchise bicycle shop here in Minnesota as they've always been super helpful and knowledgeable. After getting my bike setup for repair, I started shopping the store and was amazed to see they finally had some ebikes in, including a Specialized Vado. Previous to buying mine, I'd never even gotten on one and had tons of questions. One of which was, how are you able to sell this bike in Minnesota as it has a top speed of 28 before the motor cuts out. Two employees swore up and down that 28mph is the max limit in Minnesota; however, I'm under the impression that they're quoting California law, which shows Class 3 without a throttle can go up to 28.
Can someone prove me wrong? Not being a smart ass, I'd actually like to know if I'm wrong, but I guess I'm asking as I believe people are being given the wrong information for the state I live in.