HikeArizona.COM

Had my first encounter with one of those new motorized E-Bikes on Trail 100 yesterday. Guess the intent of these bikes is to have a small electric motor to "assist" the rider up short, steep sections of trail. The bikes have a max speed of about 20 MPH. I really got ticked off when I saw this guy plowing down the trail on what in my mind is essentially a low powered motorcycle.

Has anyone else bumped into these bikes yet? From the cursory bit of research I've read these bikes exist in a grey area and haven't been banned yet because they are so new to the market.

cactuscat wrote:Riding The Rolls sounds fun, I hope you get to!

I've done it a few times in the past but it is a lot of work on pedal-power-only.
(I did it a ton of times with the Cherokee as well, but of course that was easy)

@hikeaz
This long winded article answers the age old question..."When is a motor not really a motor"? When lobbyists say it isn't.

LosDosSloFolks wrote:This long winded article

No LIE.... on-and-on...
Wondering what the workout difference is if you pedal for, say an hour or you 'glide along' for, say 3 hours.

@hikeaz
2 hours

I actually had CHUMS down for that answer.... There goes my betting prowess.....

It's quite interesting since I initially posted this. Within the past year e-bikes are all the rage on the bike paths around my house. Get to see obese, geriatric cyclists going 15-20 MPH while soft pedaling their e-bike. Yesterday I thought this old guy was going to slam into the hood of my car. He was going way too fast on his e-bike without the reflexes to handle navigating an intersection safely.

SpiderLegs wrote:Get to see obese, geriatric cyclists going 15-20 MPH while soft pedaling their e-bike

Don't want to see that yellow warning sign silhouette.

@hikeaz
I do...

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A lithium-ion battery started “popping, sparking, and smoking” while it was charging, causing a fire at Madison home early Saturday morning, one of its residents told fire investigators.
The man recounted waking up to sounds of the battery catching fire and racing to make sure everyone else in the home on the city’s west side made it to safety. Several of them tried using dry chemical fire extinguishers to put out the flames to no avail, the MFD report continued.
Fleeing the home, they called 911. When firefighters arrived at the house, in the 5200 block of Harbor Court, around 3:40 a.m., they reported seeing smoke coming from the second story window. They got to the room and used a water can to put out the fire and the positive-pressure fans to ventilate the house.
The room where the battery was suffered smoke and fire damage, the MFD’s statement indicated, and no injuries were reported.
A MFD spokesperson stated the battery was for an electric bicycle.

@hikeaz
New addition to fire restrictions! No fires, no smoking, no shooting, no e-bikes! Lol

A CDFW game warden patrolling the Los Padres National Forest in northern Ventura County first noticed the group, who were riding electric bicycles while hunting

https://www.fieldandstream.com/conserva ... -crew/?amp

Hmmmm, it’s almost if allowing electric motorcycles into our wilderness areas in the name of equality and preserving the rights of the disabled, could have unintended consequences.

@FOTG
I'm glad they got their asses busted!!!!

@FOTG
Most of the people I encounter riding e-bikes, I don't believe are converted mountain bike riders. Otherwise they would wear helmets.
They are cool I guess but I'll not ride one. I went to Action Ride shop in Mesa to buy a pair of gloves, and they asked me to enter an e-bike giveaway. I asked how much that bike was, $14K to be exact. I asked if I won, could I get 2 Santa Cruz full squish bikes instead, save him $2K.

National Park Service is evaluating where electric scooters and hoverboards should be allowed
The proposal would give each park superintendent the authority to decide where micromobility devices can go. Some public lands groups worry they'll be permitted in environmentally-sensitive areas.

https://www.ksut.org/2025-04-02/nationa ... be-allowed