Atlanta cyclists warn of dangers of high-speed e-bikes

Because e-bikes are quieter than motorcycles, those high speeds pose a threat to pedestrians and other road users, Ho said. He noted that e-bikes do not come with automotive-grade turn signals, lights and brakes.

“I’m a big advocate of cycling and electric bikes, electric unicycles,” Ho said. “But from my perspective, I know these new electric bikes are dangerous. I ride a Harley Davidson. I can’t imagine stopping at 70 mph with the brakes on my electric bike.”

Under federal regulations, high-speed e-bikes operate in a somewhat fuzzy legal gray area.

According to the Atlanta Police Department, only Class I and Class II e-bikes, which can provide motor assistance up to 20 mph, are allowed on shared trails like the Beltline. Class III e-bikes, which provide assistance only when pedaling and up to 28 mph, are allowed on roadways.

But without a federal category describing e-bikes that exceed 28 mph through motor power, the APD could not provide additional information on restricting the use of such bikes. Vehicles.

High-end e-bike brands like Surron, Talaria and Letric, which are not available in local bike shops, offer bikes that can reach around 110 km/h. For comparison, a professional cyclist competing in an event like the Tour de France rides on average between 40 and 45 km/h on flat terrain.

While most manufacturers label their fastest models as dirt bikes, user-made videos offer step-by-step tutorials for bypassing the safety protections on street-legal versions. Cutting a wire on a Surron Light Bee e-bike unlocks the top speed, allowing the bike to exceed the 28 mph limit.

David Matthews, founder of Bike Friendly ATL and a cyclist who survived a life-threatening head-on collision with a Buick in 2011, called such speeds “tragedies waiting to happen.”

“With these e-bikes going 50 to 70 miles per hour … that’s a speed that even I, as a cyclist, can’t go,” Matthews said. “That should never happen on the Beltline, on a bike path, not even close.”

Although high-speed e-bikes and dirt bikes are legal on private land, enthusiasts openly discuss public riding in online forums, where users have noted that bikers are generally safe from police as long as they obey traffic laws and avoid unnecessary attention.

Georgia law considers e-bikes to be regular bicycles, requiring no license, registration, or insurance, as long as the motor is less than 750 watts and the pedals are fully functional. Yet among some riders and retailers, the lines between “e-bike,” “motocross,” and “motorcycle” seem blurred. A Letric XP 3.0 e-bike, marketed as street legal (with an asterisk indicating “where permitted by state law”), runs at 1,000 watts.

Even if a rider tries to register an e-bike as a motorcycle or other motor vehicle, most of these vehicles do not have an identification number or other certifications. Ho worries that tracking accidents will become complicated without proper identification.

This month, California lawmakers proposed banning devices that increase the speed of e-bikes. In a sea of ​​different regulations across states, Ho hopes Atlanta authorities will respond with similar legislation, in addition to issuing tickets and seizing illegal vehicles.

“It’s a bit of a Wild West right now, because nobody knows anything about it yet,” Ho said.

Ho had previously contacted the city council in 2018 to amend an ordinance specifying that personal electric vehicles like bicycles, scooters and skateboards do not violate the Beltline’s “no motor vehicles” signage. He reached out to council members again to raise awareness of the new issue.

While the legal scope of e-bikes over 28 mph remains to be determined, APD restrictions limiting shared lanes to Class I and II e-bikes remain in place. APD said it is aware of and on the lookout for illegal e-bikes operating on the Beltline.

“We encourage the public to contact 911, as our officers can address this activity by issuing citations when appropriate,” the department said in a written statement.

Matthews agreed that legislation and police vigilance will prove essential to protect people from the wave of illegal e-bike use.

“There needs to be a law against this, and at that point it needs to be enforced in some way,” Matthews said.