As Teens Take to E-Bikes, Parents Ask: Is This Freedom or Danger?

We built a country with almost no public transportation, made it extremely car oriented, have actively pushed against bike lanes, and now parents are wondering why e-bikes aren't very safe. They're not even the best alternative, it's just in this weird car-centric society we built they're the only alternative.

20-mile-per-hour speed limit permitted for riders under 16

So, unmodified, slower than a bicycle where your average cyclist can sprint to over 30 mph without much trouble.

This is just media fear mongering about [new thing]. When I was a kid there were plenty of bicycle wrecks where kids got hurt, sometimes severely, and the media wasn't pearl-clutching about the "danger" of pedal bikes.

"As teens take to cars, parents ask: Is this freedom or danger?"

It's worth noting that the top picture in the article is of a kid on a $4400 Sur-ron X, which is strictly not road legal and is capable of up to 45mph and can accelerate to 30mph in 3.5 seconds.

I was going to say, when I was a kid, growing up in the 70s, I had a dirt bike with a spedometer and I regularly pushed that thing to 25mph just with the pedals.

My first thought was "faster than 20? No big deal..."

But then I hit this:

"in fact, the Talaria can hit 70 miles per hour. His mother gave him her blessing, she said, and even helped him clip a wire that removes the speed “governor” that ordinarily limits the vehicle to 20 miles per hour."

Having an eBike that can go that fast with relatively no modification at all does not seem wise to me, and it's irresponsible of the parent to assist in that.

1 year after graduation, one of my high school friends got into an argument with his girlfriend, was riding his motorcycle too fast without a helmet, and crashed straight into the back of a garbage truck, killing him instantly.

A bike helmet wouldn't have helped, maybe a DOT approved motorcycle helmet would have.

Edit I looked up the mod, it brings the bike to 70Kph, not mph. So about 45. Still faster than I'd want my kid going.

I think the pros outweigh the cons? Anything that steers us away from car culture is desperately needed at this point, and this is one of the only practical alternatives in suburbia.

I would be for bike safety being taught at schools, though I feel licensing for minors would be a quagmire? Let's not go there. I would be for speed limiters that are harder to bypass. For example, I can disable mine by phone app. If I had any trouble I could ask, well, a teenager? lol

But perhaps most importantly, cycling infrastructure, at least in North America, is a joke and there is so much that can be done on the safety front it's not funny. I wish the decision makers were all bike commuters. Then they would understand the level of impracticality in their well-meaning but futile attempts to improve the situation.

Since North America is poorly designed, it isn't a good thing. If North America was better designed then biking and walking would be safer. #NotJustBikes

Bike roads are pretty safe so better than metal coffins going 130km/h... ohh right this is america there arent any bike paths.

Parents said the same things about rollerblades, skateboards, and regular bikes.

E-bikes are great. I've got one I built from a kit. That said, you don't want kids riding more powerful e-bikes than they can handle. If you wouldn't let your kid loose with a gas-powered dirt bike that can go 30+ mph, you shouldn't let them loose with an equivalent e-bike.

I'm against licensing e-bikes or requiring insurance. While they can potentially be dangerous to the rider if misused, danger to other people or property is pretty minimal. The risk isn't enough to justify requiring liability insurance, like with cars. Licensing will only discourage ridership.

That said, there should be an age requirement for certain classes. In lieu of that, parents are just going to have to exercise common sense. The kids will do what they want, rules be damned.

No they don't

I swear these technology subs really are anti-technology, it's all old-man-yells-at-cloud whining and complaining. What a joke.

This article is obviously from an American perspective, in which case e-bikes are probably a necessary evil to give kids more freedom. But from the Dutch perspective I'm certainly a bit scared about them. I see more and more kids racing through the streets on those things. These kids often used to go by bike anyway, but their speed was still limited by their physical ability. Now they have to put in less energy, meaning they'll gain weight, and they're also going way too fast with a heavier bike that they don't fuly control. It's led to plenty of dangerous situations already. People obviously aren't forced to buy an e-bike, but the kids without one often have a bit of a problem when they have to cycle 10km every day with friends who do have one. So it becomes a domino effect where we end up in a worse situation than before.

Freedom is inherently dangerous, so, yes. We accept the risk of course because not being free is fucking terrible.

I love the idea of e-bikes, but I think people are acting dangerously on them. I think a modest amount of training and licensure -- at least to tell people to obey traffic laws, wear helmets, and not go 30 miles per hour on sidewalks or pedestrian zones -- would respect freedom while removing a lot of danger.

Denmark already have regulations that stipulate that ebikes and escooters can't go faster than 20kmt and i feel that's reasonable. For scooters you're also required by law to wear a helmet.

Freedom. I fucking hate this shit where parents own their children. Fuck off with this. Genuinely one of the most awful aspecta of American life is having to live with and get to know your shitty boomer parents instead of getting drunk and having sex and dancing, like I assume european teens get to do, considering their age of consent and drinking ages are lower than ours.

Why do perfectly healthy teenagers need electric bikes? I understand the case for less physically able to use ebikes, but why can't these kids just use regular bikes? Has everyone forgotten how to use their bodies?

Edit: carbrains have arrived

It's safe if there's safe places to ride bikes? More bike lanes are needed everywhere, especially as cars get more and more out of reach for people.

Overall they are a very good thing.

(Maybe just ... do some public safety campaigns for sidewalk sharing etiquette haha)

I was going to say, when I was a kid, growing up in the 70s, I had a dirt bike with a spedometer and I regularly pushed that thing to 25mph just with the pedals.

My first thought was "faster than 20? No big deal..."

But then I hit this:

"in fact, the Talaria can hit 70 miles per hour. His mother gave him her blessing, she said, and even helped him clip a wire that removes the speed “governor” that ordinarily limits the vehicle to 20 miles per hour."

Having an eBike that can go that fast with relatively no modification at all does not seem wise to me, and it's irresponsible of the parent to assist in that.

1 year after graduation, one of my high school friends got into an argument with his girlfriend, was riding his motorcycle too fast without a helmet, and crashed straight into the back of a garbage truck, killing him instantly.

A bike helmet wouldn't have helped, maybe a DOT approved motorcycle helmet would have.

I think the real concern should be all the exercise the kids aren't getting by riding eBikes. Kids that ride bicycles everywhere build muscle and cardiovascular strength and the benefits of that carry on into young adulthood. Our children are already playing outside a lot less than they used to. Children should get lots of exercise, and eBikes provide very little compared to a regular bicycle.

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