Expand<\/a><\/p>\nThe differences between the classes can be confusing, but both Reinert and Brazen say understanding them is critical \u2014 not only for those purchasing an e-bike, but for operating them legally.<\/p>\n
According to the Pennsylvania vehicle code, e-bikes are allowed to go no more than 20 mph on a flat surface when powered by the motor. They are not allowed to weigh more than 100 pounds, and the motor can not be rated for any more than 750 watts.<\/p>\n
The minimum age for e-bike riders in the state is 16. Reinert and Brazen say they cannot, do not and would not sell an e-bike either to anyone under 16, or to someone who expresses an interest in buying it for so young a rider.<\/p>\n
However, both admit a reputable bike shop turning away younger riders by no means stops anyone from ordering e-bikes from web-based businesses that sell them at a fraction of the cost.<\/p>\n
That comes with potential issues. They don\u2019t always come \u2014 as e-bikes purchased from bike shops typically do \u2014 with expert service, braking systems adequate enough for a vehicle that moves so quickly, or even an Underwriters Laboratories certification that provides assurance the bike\u2019s battery underwent testing protocols designed to prevent fire risks.<\/p>\n
Nor do many cheaper models necessarily strive to meet state standards.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor instance, the maximum power a bike can have is 750 watts,\u201d Reinert said. \u201cYou or I could go online today and order a bike that is twice that. Technically, that has to be licensed as an electric motorcycle. It needs a license plate, and a motorcycle license to ride. None of that information is provided on the website. So, people end up with bikes that can go 40, 45 mph.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say 99% of people that come in have never heard that stuff before. I think that\u2019s a failure on a lot of the e-bike brands to provide that education to their customers up front.\u201d<\/p>\n
What to do<\/p>\n
Just before Route 11 snakes up a hill leading into Clarks Summit\u2019s charming, small-business-lined downtown, a digital billboard flashes advertisements and messages to the community.<\/p>\n
One has been a staple in the rotation for the last several months. It is from the borough\u2019s Police Department, reminding riders of those motorized, micromobility vehicles not to ride on the roadway.<\/p>\n
In Clarks Summit and surrounding towns in the Abingtons, e-bikes and e-scooters are an everyday sight. They prove a fun way for youngsters to navigate around the sprawling community quickly, to meet with friends on another side of town or at popular State Street haunts for pizza, hoagies or ice cream.<\/p>\n
They have also proved to be a target of criticism and concern for drivers and pedestrians. During the summer months, Clarks Summit Police Chief Chris Yarns said the department averaged as many as five complaints per month about young e-bike riders riding aggressively or in prohibited areas. When he sees one blow through a stop sign, ride in the roadway, go against traffic or fail to yield to it, he gets worried.<\/p>\n
He understands those concerns. He also tries to understand kids \u2014 even the ones he knows are too young to legally operate e-bikes to begin with.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s my dilemma,\u201d Yarns said. \u201cI\u2019m the police chief, and I\u2019m getting complaints about people riding a bike on a roadway where, yes, it is illegal to ride on the roadway. But I\u2019m also not a fun-sucker. Sometimes you\u2019ve got to put yourself in their shoes, and if I was a kid, I\u2019d get one of those.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wish this wasn\u2019t a police problem. I wish it was a parent problem. I wish parents would, when they get these bikes for them, be more educated on knowing what the laws are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania law prohibits e-scooters from operating on public roads or sidewalks, while e-bikes can be allowed in bike lines and on sidewalks outside of business districts. In a statement released by a department spokesperson, PennDOT Engineering District 4, which covers most of Northeast Pennsylvania, encouraged riders to prioritize safety while riding e-bikes and e-scooters, adding that following traffic regulations is \u201cessential\u201d to reducing the risk of injury for all who use sidewalks and the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are enforcement matters,\u201d the statement went on, \u201cand violations may result in penalties under applicable traffic laws,\u201d<\/p>\n
Yarns says he and his officers try their best to opt for education, as a first warning. After all, he and others in his position prefer kids being outside, getting exercise with their friends, to sitting inside playing video games.<\/p>\n
As long as riders aren\u2019t carelessly operating where they can\u2019t be, speeding around parking lots or posing a threat to pedestrians who often don\u2019t hear the silent electric motors approaching them even at higher speeds, they\u2019ll likely get a frank discussion about responsibility and safety.<\/p>\n
Citations can come with repeated offenses, though.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to do that, because they\u2019re 12, 13 years old, and that\u2019s crazy,\u201d Yarns said. \u201cBut what else can I do? What other tools are available as a police officer or a police chief to see if I can get their attention?\u201d<\/p>\n
Krzywicki felt Wilkes had to take a different approach altogether.<\/p>\n
Last December, he began to hear \u201ca minimum of one complaint per week\u201d from people insisting they nearly got hit by an e-scooter actually operating inside a school building.<\/p>\n
That, combined with the fire hazard posed by cheaper batteries that are overcharged and poorly maintained, led to his decision to propose a university policy prohibiting their use on campus property. He said the university\u2019s Cabinet unanimously approved the proposal in January. It went into effect this fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were times where I\u2019d walk into our student center, and there\u2019d be 15 or 20 of them, in the hallway, blocking the walkway,\u201d Krzywicki said. \u201cYou couldn\u2019t even walk around. They would just park them there. That\u2019s when I was like, we can\u2019t have this.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Pottsville]()
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Pottsville Cyclery owner Allen Reinert inspects an e-bike at his shop, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Pottsville. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL\/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)\n<\/p>\n
![\"Pottsville](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763925668_949_RHR-L-EBIKES-ADV-1.jpg\")
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Pottsville Cyclery owner Allen Reinert inspects an e-bike at his shop, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Pottsville. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL\/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)\n<\/p>\n
![\"Co-owner](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763925669_73_STT-L-EBIKES-1123-01.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Co-owner of Cedar Bicycle Kyle Brazen shows off some of the e-bikes for sale at his shop in Scranton Wednesday, November 19, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763925669_806_STT-L-EBIKES-1123-02.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A line of Trek commuter e-bikes sit on the floor for sale at Cedar Bicycle in Scranton Wednesday, November 19, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
Show Caption<\/p>\n
1 of 4<\/p>\n
Pottsville Cyclery owner Allen Reinert inspects an e-bike at his shop, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Pottsville. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL\/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)\n<\/p>\n
Expand<\/a>
\nWhat to expect<\/p>\nFor Krzywicki and Yarns, the answer centers on education, respect for and knowledge of the rules on the books, and simple courtesy.<\/p>\n
For the bike shop owners, it\u2019s a little bit of everything: Better awareness from automobile drivers, the construction of more bike lanes around the area, greater understanding of the vehicles themselves from buyers and, maybe, some more strict enforcement of state law when rules are broken in a dangerous way.<\/p>\n
But the question of what to do about e-bikes and e-scooters is complicated by their reality: They aren\u2019t going away.<\/p>\n
As they make being active and outdoors more attractive, nobody particularly wants them to, either.<\/p>\n
![\"Pottsville](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763925669_193_RHR-L-EBIKES-ADV-2.jpg\")
Pottsville Cyclery owner Allen Reinert inspects an e-bike at his shop, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Pottsville. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL\/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt opens up the door for you to get out there more, to get people who are less likely to get outside to ride,\u201d Brazen said. \u201cSome people may not be able to ride 2 or 3 miles on a regular bike, but they can ride 7, 8 miles now on these and be able to get home safely and not be out of breath. So they\u2019re more likely to ride the next day and the day after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reinert sees a society stuck in a micromobility purgatory, where some riders either don\u2019t know about or understand laws, and busy law enforcement officers are trying to figure out the best way to enforce them in the meantime.<\/p>\n
Still, hope exists that through knowledge and experience gained through their continued growth, e-bikes and e-scooters ultimately will be accepted for what they can be \u2014 an environmentally friendly, alternative form of transportation that can be safe and will make citizens more active and healthier in the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of growing pains,\u201d Reinert said. \u201cWe\u2019re in this middle ground still, where we\u2019re trying to figure out the systems to make e-bikes integrate better in the infrastructure systems that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sneaking an occasional peek out his office window at the Wilkes University Public Safety Center on South Main…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[201,182,803,139,28,231,178,180,179,181],"class_list":{"0":"post-42568","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-lackawanna-county","9":"tag-local-news","10":"tag-luzerne-county","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-schuylkill-county","14":"tag-scranton","15":"tag-scranton-headlines","16":"tag-scranton-news","17":"tag-top-stories-stt"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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