Penalty for e-mtb on USFS trails ?

[VirgilCaine]

Anyone know ?

 

[MikeDD]

My local FS office did not know they were illegal. And local bike shops are saying you can ride on any trails with an e-bike. I told the FS person they may want to read their own memos.

 

[MisterM]

Not even sure how USFS would even know if you've got an ebike unless it's a bike with obvious slapped-on batteries. Worst I could see is they give you a warning - you'd probably only come to their attention by acting like some sort of idiot - nobody is going to waste their time policing silly rules if you're not posing a nuisance.

 

[JRA]

"if you're not posing a nuisance."

I was filming a friend from my eBike who is setting up to market a trail running device he invented in a State Park here a few weekends ago. This particular park has a designated bike route but we were not on it when we came across a Ranger hiking towards us. In a situation like this it is not unusual to go "Oh @#%*" but in this case as with others I have experienced he was not at all phased by our presence, didn't even hardly look at my bike even though it has an obvious slapped on battery, because we were acting responsibly (otherwise).

I read recently that there is an "Extreme" Mtb'r group in Idaho that is lobbying hard for access to the wilderness. The prospect of that type of activity and the props involved going on in the wilderness scares me way more than eBike access to USFS, etc., land in general.

 

[dean1]

Check out this website. It displays USFS motorized trails http://peopleforbikes.org/emtb/

 

[rich c]

Not even sure how USFS would even know if you've got an ebike unless it's a bike with obvious slapped-on batteries. Worst I could see is they give you a warning - you'd probably only come to their attention by acting like some sort of idiot - nobody is going to waste their time policing silly rules if you're not posing a nuisance.

Worst I could see is if they confiscate the bike and issue a fine. They are a Federal Agency after all.

 

[Nutella]

Worst I could see is if they confiscate the bike and issue a fine. They are a Federal Agency after all.

A little google wizardy and this is what I came up with:

https://www.wyofile.com/e-bikes-challenge-regulators-traditional-trail-users/

I've also heard fines of @ $400 and they can confiscate, but nothing substantiated, just internet hearsay.

 

[Rapid Dog]

Anyone know if it's legal to ride USFS trails in SoCal? I leve at the base of the San Gabriels and ...

 

[The duke]

United States Forrest Service position paper on ebikes. I'll just leave this here.

 

[Ian Moone]

Don't ask, Don't Tell ! ??

 

[6zfshdb]

Last September, a USFS ranger came by as I was unloading my ebike in a Forest service trail parking lot. We chatted for a few minutes but nothing was said about the bike. I assume he knew it was an ebike because he watched me install the battery. I rode that day and several times since apparently with no objections.

I met a fellow ebiker on the trail who said the rangers unofficially have a hands off policy when it comes to ebikes. The reason is, they are trying to promote attendance to justify their jobs and don't want to chase anyone away. I don't know where he heard this and it could be just horse pucky but so far, I have not had any resistance on the NP and FS trails I frequent. Hopefully, this won't change as more and more ebikes ride these trails.

 

[Ian Moone]

Yep, Like I said ... Don't ask, Don't Tell ! ?