{"id":513381,"date":"2026-03-04T08:36:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T08:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/513381\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T08:36:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T08:36:00","slug":"the-industry-must-self-regulate-until-the-laws-are-defined-cycling-legend-issues-call-to-action-to-protect-e-bikes-in-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/513381\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The industry must self-regulate until the laws are defined’ \u2013 cycling legend issues call to action to protect e-bikes in the US"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mountain biking pioneer Hans ‘No Way’ Rey is the latest voice to weigh in on the debate around e-bikes<\/a> in the USA, where a lack of clarity around the industry has seen them effectively banned in New Jersey<\/a>, and California clamping down<\/a> on more powerful machines.<\/p>\n

In an open letter published in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News<\/a>, Rey says the industry is at a crossroads and decisions taken now will effectively decide whether ebikes become a viable cyclists’ choice, or end up classed, effectively, as motor vehicles, with all the administrative issues that go with that.<\/p>\n

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“I\u2019m writing because I care deeply about where bicycles \u2014 and electric bicycles \u2014 are headed. We are at a crossroads. The decisions we make about language, power limits, and definitions will determine whether Class 1 e-bikes remain accepted as bicycles \u2014 or get grouped with much more powerful machines,” said the 59-year-old US-German rider, who is famed for his MTB trials successes.<\/p>\n

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Class 1 ebikes in the USA are those which require a pedalling action in order for the assistance to work, with a maximum power of 750 watts that will cut out beyond 20mph. The regulations are different to the UK laws, where pedalling assistance is also required, but a maximum 250w of continuous power <\/a>is allowed, and only up to 15.5mph.<\/p>\n

Rey set out an action plan for manufacturers, media and marketers, riders, and trade and advocate groups, suggesting they could all play a part by taking a measured approach to e-bikes and surrounding issues.<\/p>\n

In what he called a “call to responsibility”, he said:<\/p>\n

“To manufacturers: Resist the temptation to chase bigger numbers<\/a> at the expense of long-term access. Short-term sales gains could lead to long-term collapse.<\/p>\n

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“To media and marketers: Use precise language \u2014 even when it\u2019s less convenient. Help draw and defend the line that protects this category.<\/p>\n

“To riders: Ride responsibly. Understand what\u2019s at stake. Don\u2019t take trail access<\/a> for granted.<\/p>\n

“To advocates and trade groups: Defend Class 1 clearly and consistently. The industry must self-regulate until the laws are defined.”<\/p>\n

Currently the term ‘e-bikes’ was used too loosely, Rey said, with it being applied to everything from Class 1 machines all the way up to powerful electric motorbikes, which was fostering confusion and conflict.<\/p>\n

Those around the industry should take great care to ensure that if a machine was described as an e-bikes, it would be clear that this would mean class 1 only. Class 2 and 3 ebikes, which are more powerful, or throttle-powered<\/a>, should become ’emopeds’, he said, while high-powered machines that clearly are not bicycles should always be referred to as ’emotorcycles’.<\/p>\n

He concluded: “In order to protect what we have we must stop asking how much power we can get away with \u2014 and start asking how much power is too much.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mountain biking pioneer Hans ‘No Way’ Rey is the latest voice to weigh in on the debate around…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":513382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-513381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}