Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt signed an order on Thursday, Aug. 29 which will allow access of electric bikes on BLM land and in National Parks. This would effectively allow e-bikes onto any federal trail where non-motorized bicycles can ride.
“Reducing the physical demand to operate a bicycle has expanded access to recreational opportunities,” Bernhardt wrote in the order. It continues, “E-bikes shall be allowed where other types of bicycles are allowed.”
The demand for electric bikes has increased, and sales have been booming across the nation. Sales have increased by 72% to $144M last year, according to the NPD Group, which keeps track of bicycle rules.
It appears that the decision has been made across all three e-bike classifications as well, as the order is said to include e-bikes that can assist up to 28MPH, which would include Class-3 electric bikes.
Last month, a collection of outdoor advocacy groups including mountain bike and hiking groups alike wrote into the US Forest Service and National Park Service opposing the allowance of e-bikes in national parks, largely referencing the Wilderness Act.
With the new order, there will still be a period of public comment and the rule can be altered. According to the AP, the Department of the Interior is still preparing a detailed statement which should provide more clarification.
Many mountain bike trails, including popular trails in Moab like Porcupine Rim, are located on BLM-managed land and would be affected by the rule change.
We will provide updates as more information becomes available.
29 Comments
Sep 1, 2019
Big win for older folks and people who have disabilities and injuries who may not otherwise be able to get on a bike.
Also those folks pay tax dollars and they should have use of this land as well
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Sep 1, 2019
I'm curious as to why they were using the Wilderness Act to make a point about ebikes. Bikes in Wilderness and ebikes in National Forests are 2 very different issues. Or an I missing something?
Aug 31, 2019
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Nov 17, 2019
North Mountain on Trailforks
http://www.trailforks.com/region/north-mountain-12300
Sep 2, 2019
Like 'em or hate 'em -- e-bikes are here to stay.
I don't expect the environmental lobby to take this lying down, though. You can expect to see lawsuits brought in federal court districts that are friendly to their cause. You can also injunctions issued that prevent Interior from moving forward on this.
Sep 3, 2019
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Sep 1, 2019
But 28mph limit would not be a sad day because there is a 1 HP limit, so speed is limited by drag. I tested a Turbo Levo that was unrestricted and could not go over 23 mph.
By comparison, a 50cc moped has closer to 3 HP, which is about what it would take to make a 28 mph bike.
Aug 30, 2019
Sep 1, 2019
Sep 1, 2019
The US Forest Service is in the Department of Agriculture.
This order only applies to BLM and Park Service lands which are in the Department of the Interior
Sep 1, 2019
And I'm also wondering about how the bikes will be regarded by people riding them. Will they be ridden like bicycles, or more like motorcycles? The spirit of it matters, and would affect how they're ridden. Would this also put a lot of people on the trails with little or no previous experience? Not that this is a problem because we all have to start somewhere, but most people who are beginners can't fly down the trail at 20 mph. It could introduce an element of risk to both the e-bike riders as well as others out there on the trails. I could easily imagine a few e-bike riders who would be having to make emergency visits to the dentist to replace their teeth.
And I'm not sure what it is, but I also feel some... disdain (?) for those who aren't infirm and could improve their conditioning by hiking and riding traditional bikes, but choose an e-bike because it's easy. Maybe it's me being snobby, or conservative about it? And maybe I shouldn't feel this way and be more open minded, especially if people being "lazy" ultimately doesn't affect what I do. Why should I care if people are lazy if I'm not force to do anything different? But even still, the idea bothers me. I do feel like it does somewhat violate the principal of trails that are closed to motorized vehicles, because despite their new classification, and no matter however unoffensive they might be compared to internal combustion engined motorcycles, they are still by definition motorized vehicles because they *do* in fact have a motor. I was trying to think of the hiking analog, maybe if they had come out with motorized robot legs that would enable you to hike up very steep hills with little or no effort at jogging or running speeds. I wonder how we'd all feel about it if those were suddenly allowed on hiking trails. It just seems like it's cheapening the experience. I'm not sure how to feel about it yet.
Sep 5, 2019