BY DAVE NORTH
White Rock
Former Transportation Board Chair
Joining the craze to pass ineffective and sometimes silly laws to restrict the use of electric bicycles, New Mexico adopted SB 69 in 2023 in spite of expert testimony that it is essentially unenforceable. But we’ll get to that.
Los Alamos had little choice but to go along with the gag, and so far has only requested that unpaved trail use be limited to Class 1 ebikes. As far as I could find out.
So first, what are the ebike classes?
Class 1 ebikes supply electric assist only when pedaling, and then only up to 20 mph. Class 2 is the same, but includes a throttle (though the law does not use that word. Why use one word when 20 will do?) Class 3 is the same as Class 1, but supplies assist up to 28 mph.
That’s it. Easy huh?
Not so fast. SB 69 does not include a class for ebikes that both have throttle assist to 20 mph but pedal assist up to 28 mph, nor are there any prohibitions at all listed for such a bike. There is another common type that only assists up to 16mph, usually for kids but for everyone in some jurisdictions. Considering that both types are actually pretty common, this is the first hint you get that the authors knew very little about ebikes.
In all cases, to be an SB 69 ebike, they must have motors that do not exceed 750 watts of power. In a practical sense, this turns out to mean whatever the manufacturer prints in their specs, regardless the maximum wattage input or output.
No, I’m not kidding.
The next problem, actually pointed out by the legislative expert, is the impossibility of looking at an ebike and knowing its class. In fact, some are so sleek it’s nearly impossible to tell they are an ebike at all.
So there’s a provision that the class must appear somewhere obvious on the bike in at least 9-point Arial (yes, it really says that) which is easily read from about three feet away. If you have sharp eyes.
Still not kidding.
So here’s your first takeaway: nobody is going to know for sure what class your bike is just from looking, including a theoretical police officer having a remarkably slow day.
Next, if you aren’t on a Class 1 ebike you’re not supposed to use the sidewalk or a pedestrian path unless you’re in a town that specifically allows it. Los Alamos has not, as far as I know, made any adjustments to state law. In the real world, pretend to pedal and you’ll probably be fine as long as you’re not being a jerk.
Oh, and nobody under 16 can legally ride a Class 3 ebike on public property except as a passenger. Classes 1 and 2 are fine, however.
So why do old folks in legislatures hate throttles so much, and why is their attitude silly? First, bear in mind it’s simply not possible to see if there’s a throttle on a bike that’s riding by. The only way to really know is watching someone ride uphill or really fast without pedaling.
Even more fun, most ebikes can go to their top motor-only speed by just moving the pedals without adding any significant force. At least it _looks_ like you’re doing something, but really … not. There’s even a name for it: ghost pedaling. There was a legal case in Amsterdam recently where someone was given a ticket for doing just that, but the judge threw it out because the rider was in fact using the allowed class 1 bike in a fashion not prohibited in law.
In a practical sense there’s almost no difference between an ebike with a throttle and one without.
The real value of a throttle is getting the bike started uphill or at a stoplight (which is actually safer for everyone. That’s your next clue that the authors didn’t know much about ebikes).
For now, that’s about it. Other states are coming up with increasingly goofy laws. Knowing our legislature, they’ll probably find one of the dumber ones and copy it next year.
However, there are a few good ideas out there. For example, there’s a movement to limit any bike’s speed to 10 mph when passing pedestrians on a multi-use trail. Honestly, I slow down even more than that.
For now, what you really need to know is what you should have known all along: play nice with the other people on sidewalks, bike lanes and on the road.
Bonus section about speed:
I got a chance to pace someone going by the high school recently on an obviously non-electric bike when I could do so without causing any distress, and clocked them at a steady 31 mph. I wonder if they should be prohibited from doing that?
Being an old guy, I can still crank up that high but it’s pretty hard to hold. However, with a gravity assist, I have managed the 45 mph speed limit down SR4 in White Rock. Actually, that’s a little unnerving, but anything for science.
To put it simply, even a greybeard like me on a plain old bike can exceed the legal performance constraints on ebikes. I can actually go faster on trails on my plain mountain bikes than my mountain ebike (the unassisted are lighter and more agile). And there are plenty of folks in this town that can make me look like I’m practically standing still.
That’s another reason these laws are silly. So, of course, expect to see more of them.
Bonus outright weirdness:
Starting at the bottom of page 4 of what is the supposed to be the final version* we have an “electrical personal assistive mobility device.” It must have an average power of 1 horsepower and travel no faster than 20 mph (I am not making this up) “while being ridden by an operator who weighs one hundred seventy pounds.” Imagine the legal tangle!
* https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/23%20Regular/final/SB0069.PDF