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California Wants to Put License Plates on E-Bikes and Slow Them Down. Cyclists Are Not Happy About It
(guessingheadlights.com)
this post was submitted on 03 May 2026
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What age do you suggest bicycle riders have to be? I think registering pedal bikes is absurd and limits many people. You already can get tickets on a bicycle for anything from running stop signs to speeding to DUI. I do think e bikes with a throttle should be registered like scooters because people riding them are getting folded up BAD because they treat the safety like that of a bicycle but then do motorcycle speeds on them and it leads to pretty serious injury. But I think any bike that's pedal only or only pedal assist (read: NO throttle) has no reason to be registered.
Not disagreeing with you overall, but when I was at school, there was a hill that let me get enough speed on my pedal bike to keep up with the flow of traffic. It felt wild being able to merge into traffic at speed on a bicycle for the left turn at the end of it. Probably not the safest thing to do, though I'm glad I did because it was fun. The hill wasn't even that steep, just long.
That's awesome! Yea I have tracked behind road bike guys before because I did not have a safe space to pass them and they were clocking 30mph on flat ground! But you have to work for it on a pedal bike, these guys with a throttle are doing 30 everywhere they can because why wouldn't you? I ride motorcycles and I wear all of the gear. I got into an accident at 30mph and I now have a custom made steel plate and 16 screws holding me together, and if not for the jacket I may have lost my left arm so my concern is legitimately about safety because i have been in that hospital bed. I can only imagine some poor 14 year old getting way out of their depth and ending up in an accident like that, and that is why I think throttle e bikes should be treated closer to scooters. Where I live you don't need a moto endorsement for a scooter of 50cc or lower, but you need at least a learners permit for a regular licence so you have been educated on the road rules and risks etc.