When Is an E-Bike Street Legal or Not?

Located where East Sola and State streets cross is the family-owned Electric Bikes of Santa Barbara. The shop is filled with a colorful variety of e-bikes — or bicycles with a motor and battery — ranging from a lightweight and portable JackRabbit to the shop’s newest two-wheeler: the Surron electric dirt bike.

This electric dirt bike has arguably more similarities to a motorcycle than an e-bike, and because it lacks pedals, it’s strictly an off-road-only bike. Manufacturer Surron describes the bike as having “the torque and power of an off-road motorcycle … [that] enables the rider to focus more on riding and having fun.”

Posted inside Electric Bikes of Santa Barbara is a sign that reads, “We do not recommend riding Electric Dirt Bikes on the Streets. We do not recommend doing stunts, wheelies, jumping, or other activities that may cause serious injury to the Rider, bystanders, and/or personal property of others.” The Surron was the impetus for the sign, said shop owner David Burkholder.

Just down from Electric Bikes of S.B. is the State Street Promenade, where e-bikers customarily cruise to work, shops, and restaurants, or to meet up with friends. Some of them exhibit reckless driving behaviors — riding without helmets, popping wheelies, riding double or triple, and swerving across the road, sometimes in conflict with pedestrians on the street.

The Surron is a popular bike among electric bikers, but its increased horsepower highlights the ambiguities surrounding the classification of e-bikes and a subsequent ambiguity in e-bike laws. Some rules do exist, however, based on an e-bike’s maximum speed and power, and the presence or absence of pedals or throttle. All these things determine where an e-bike can be legally ridden.

The three classifications of e-bikes in California are:

•  Class 1:  Bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the e-bike reaches 20 mph.
•  Class 2:  Bicycle equipped with a throttle-actuated motor that ceases to provide assistance when the electric bicycle reaches 20 mph.
•  Class 3:  Bicycle equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that ceases to provide assistance when the electric bicycle reaches 28 mph.

An e-bike’s classification also dictates the paths, bikeways, and routes a rider can take:

•  Class 1:  Allowed on bike paths and trails; most regions do not impose age restrictions for riders.
•  Class 2:  Allowed in bikes lanes and on bike paths, but are not permitted on some bike trails.
•  Class 3:  Not allowed on certain bike paths and trails, require more safety gear, and usually have a minimum age restriction.

The range of available Surron models currently go from 46 to 74 miles per hour, definitely not intended for the State Street Promenade. According to Lieutenant Chris Payne at the city’s October 15 Ordinance Committee meeting, Surrons, or any e-bike without pedals, are considered “pocket bikes,” which do not fall in any of the three classification levels. “If they have no pedals, they’re essentially an electric motorcycle,” stated Lieutenant Payne.

California Highway Patrol defines a pocket bike as, “two-wheeled motorized device having a seat or saddle for the use of the rider, that is not designed or manufactured for highway use,” which are illegal on highways, sidewalks, bikeways, and hiking or recreational trails. Enforcement under Vehicle Code 21720 states that the bikes cannot be operated on any public property without an infraction.

The sign posted at Electric Bikes warns scofflaws: “The City of Santa Barbara Police Department has already begun issuing Citations, Fines, and Impounding this type of Electric Dirt Bike when ridden within City Limits.” The City Attorney’s Office and the Santa Barbara Police Department have recently recommended adding multiple amendments to Chapter 10.52 of the Municipal Code regarding bicycles and e-bikes. The amendments propose to redefine bicycle to include e-vehicles, and pursue fines and impounding upon violations of the ordinance. These discussions have already increased the crackdown on dangerous e-bike riding in Santa Barbara. (More information about the evolving biking laws in Santa Barbara can be found here.)

Statistics of e-bike collisions were made public when the ordinance amendments were proposed. In October, Santa Barbara Police Chief Kelly Gordon reported 73 bicycle collisions in 2023; e-bikes were at fault in 32 of the incidents; so far, 48 e-bike related collisions have occurred in 2024.

Changes to the Municipal Code regarding bicycles and e-bikes are likely to keep pace with e-bike developments. The dominant message from police, Electric Bikes of Santa Barbara, and residents is the same: Ride e-bikes responsibly.