Bike advocates and cops issue pre-holiday plea: Don’t buy ‘e-motos’

If Santa drops an electric bike under the Christmas tree, make sure it’s legal.

The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN) and law enforcement in the state are asking the public to avoid buying some e-motorbikes, aka e-moto, that are sold as “e-bikes” but are so powerful that they run afoul of state laws.

The announcement reflects the rising popularity of e-moto bikes, mainly sold online and marketed as e-bikes, and growing concerns that they are a menace, especially on trails shared by conventional bikes and people on foot.

BikeMN and other partners have heard complaints about bicyclists getting passed by e-moto riders hitting speeds as high as 45 to 50 mph. The three classes of e-bike recognized by the state have forms of electric pedal-assist and a top speed of no more than 28 mph.

The advisory is meant to clear up public confusion about what constitutes a legal e-bike, said Erik Noonan, BikeMN’s communications manager. That’s one reason BikeMN is collaborating with the Minnesota Chiefs of Police and sheriffs’ associations and the state Department of Public Safety.

“We are all dealing with same frustrations, a misunderstanding of what the laws are,” Noonan said.

Noonan said there are significant details that consumers should look for to assure they are buying a legal e-bike:

Because of the motors and other features, some e-moto models are illegal on streets and trails. Some municipalities, such as Shakopee and Edina, have had to ban e-moto riders from mountain biking trails.

In other cases, police have had to react to e-moto complaints and even have a hard time determining what’s legal and communicating that to the public, Noonan said.

In Hastings, an initial police report incorrectly referred to an “ebike” after a 14-year-old boy hit Janet Stotko, Noonan said. The teen was riding an illegal e-moto.

Hastings Police Chief David Wilske said there was some confusion because the bike had pedals.

Hastings’ City Council responded to Stotko’s accident by prohibiting e-bikes on sidewalks and reduced the speed on bike trails, among other new rules.

“Too often we learn about crashes involving e-motos that aren’t legal for road use, or seeing riders who are not of legal age to ride an e-bike on Minnesota roads,” said Mike Hanson, who manages the Office of Traffic Safety.

The alert is intentionally timed to the holiday shopping season and targeting online, direct-to-consumer retailers, which are the main point of e-moto sales, Noonan said.

He acknowledged it’s an uncommon step.