Even in states like Oregon, where it’s illegal to ride an e-bike under 16 years old, there are no ordinances or fines for police to cite, making enforcement more or less impossible. The short of it is that the legal system hasn’t yet caught up to the technology, so most people are just doing whatever feels right. A teen who grows up using an e-bike is much less likely to feel like an $800 monthly truck payment is 100% mandatory as an adult. In the longer term, they represent a potential for a generation of kids to envision a life getting around in something other than single occupancy cars for short trips. I’m thrilled to see “one less car” each time these kids zoom by, and their parents will probably tell you how nice it is to get the time back from being a taxi driver.

Traditionally, all of those trips would’ve been in a car – either piloted by the teen, or their parents. “All it’s going to take to have this conversation explode is a teen hitting a baby stroller or a senior citizen.” We lovingly call them “throttle kids” because they seem to prefer the Class 2 style bikes that can be powered via a throttle without any pedaling at all. Where we live in Hood River, Oregon, we see teens going to lacrosse practice, going to the waterfront to swim, going to school, and going to after-school jobs by e-bike every day. In the immediate sense, teens getting around town by e-bike instead of a car is a wonderful thing.

It may be difficult to see it while you’re in the midst of it, but the rapid development of the e-bike market – the development of the tech, the emergence of focused retailers, and finally widespread consumer adoption – is a market shift on the scale of the debut of the practical automobile a century ago.Įach of these major disruptions comes with promise, and with challenges.įrom what I’ve seen, one of the most interesting new challenges with e-bikes are how teens and tweens have flocked to them. Tweens and Teens are embracing electric bikes for transportation, but it’s technically against the law.īy Hood River resident and cycling advocate Megan Ramey ( are currently living through the next great transportation revolution.

Serenity kids