No, you can not ride an electric bike legally on the road under the federal law. Electric bikes are considered as bicycles and they are allowed in bike lanes only. States and local laws have some differences recently I heard California has banned cyclists from riding bicycles on sidewalks and every municipality has different rules if you’re not sure about your local laws then you can ask the cops or transport department.

Yeah, I know riding an electric bike in the USA is a bit confusing. Well, I can give a small tip always like on the bike lane and for some reason you can then check if there is no police officer near you otherwise you can be ticketed.

Why I Cannot Ride an E-Bike on the Road?

Before riding an e-bike on road you must understand the classification of e-bikes. The government has classified the ebikes in 3 categories one is pedal assist which is class 1, class 2 is ebike with both throttle and PAS with speed limit of 20mph and the class 3 which is the last class allow PAS only with speed limit upto 28mph.

Now check with the law in your area, is it allowed or not. Generally, e-bike are allowed where normal bicycles can be ridden but for some reason if you can’t ride then you can ride on edge of the road, reason should be valid. Breaking law is not good and this is something that EV’s Guide do not promote.

What Other Countries Law says

Canada

In Canada, you can ride an e-bike wherever you want but the only thing you should make sure of is e-bike should be pedal-assisted with a maximum speed limit of 32 km/h (20 mph) and a maximum motor power of 500 watts.

Provinces and Municipalities may have some additional laws, check with the local police department to avoid fines.

United Kingdom

Class 1 & Class 3 bikes are illegal in the UK and class 2 bike speed is limited to 4mph with a motor power of up to 250 watts are generally allowed on roads and bike paths. The riders must wear helmets and have headlights on their cycle.

I have written an article on how to get 15mph thorttle e-bike legally in UK.

Australia

Yes, you can ride an e-bike on the roads of Australia but your speed should not exceed 25km/h.

You can not ride on regular footpaths, if that path has a signboard of bicycles then only you can ride there.

Where Am I Not Allowed To Ride?

Legally you are not allowed to ride an e-bike on the sidewalk or pedestrian path.

Legally you are not allowed to ride an e-bike on the road. Rest check with your local laws as well.

But what if there is no bike lane?

In that case, you can ride your e-bike on the roadside.

Can I Ride a Street-Legal E-Bike on a Bicycle Lane?

No, you can not ride a street-legal bike on bicycle lane because it is treated as a Motorised vehicle and according to the Motorised Vehicle Act, motorcycle should be ridden on the roads as same as the car.

For e.g. Motor power above 750Watt, speed above 28mph with headlights, turn lights, mirrors and registeration plate are considered as a street legal e-bike.

A street Legal E-Bike Must fulfil some requirements:

• It should not come under any classifications of e-bike.
• Rider’s age must be 18 Years or above.
• Driver’s license required.
• Helmet must be worn.

You might find useful: Are Electric Dirt Bikes Street Legal?

My Verdict

You must have seen people riding the road and possibly you will ask me why they don’t get charged for it, is it legal? Can I also ride? So, possibly there could be 2 reasons:

• First, there were no cops and they wanted to enjoy speedy cycling. It’s risky cause I have seen it in front of my eyes like a rider was caught by police but later on cop left with a warning and asked them to return home.
• The second thing is I have seen my riders complaining that we don’t have any option to ride it on the road as bike lanes are filled with kids, and people walking with their dogs.

Sometimes riding on the road doesn’t feel safe at all and both state and federal governments have made bike lanes all over the country.

I would request you to follow your local laws and ride safely that’s it for this article. Another helping my community people and it feels great to help you guys. Any feedback or suggestions are welcome, happy to address them.