# Where do you ride, is it legal?



## Lino. (Oct 30, 2009)

After reading some 70 to 100 posts on arguments about e-bikes, makes me wander if I will get attacked for riding an e-bike like a Trump supporter wearing a Trump had.
If you can't pedal to the top then you should not be on the trail.
I got away from mountain biking because I could not pedal up hills for ****, I work way to much to be in excellent physical shape going on 56 years old, now I have an e-bike and limited places to ride, limited information, from what i read I should be safe if it's a motorcycle trail.
Now when I was riding motorcycles on trails if I remember correctly any bicycle on a motorcycle trail could be dangerous for the person on the bicycle that is, and from my experience motorcycle trails and tracks are nowhere near being bike friendly.
I currently ride my e-bike on local canal banks, probably illegal but no one cares, because of lack of time or desire to drive to nice trails when I already drive 200+ miles per day.
Anyway I am in the middle of the state of California, and not sure where I can ride legally.
Going to Vegas in a couple of weeks and after reading some tread makes me wander if taking my e-bike might be a bad idea.
Amazing the amount of people out there that love to take away what people enjoy in life.
Been considering Dinosaur Point, Pacheco State Park but not sure if e-bikes are legal there.
I guess Red Hills is out of the question for now anyways.
My other options around here are Modesto Dry Creek, I'm not sure if that's off limits too.
So where do you ride that is legal in California?


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

Lino. said:


> After reading some 70 to 100 posts on arguments about e-bikes, makes me wander if I will get attacked for riding an e-bike like a Trump supporter wearing a Trump had.
> If you can't pedal to the top then you should not be on the trail.
> I got away from mountain biking because I could not pedal up hills for ****, I work way to much to be in excellent physical shape going on 56 years old, now I have an e-bike and limited places to ride, limited information, from what i read I should be safe if it's a motorcycle trail.
> Now when I was riding motorcycles on trails if I remember correctly any bicycle on a motorcycle trail could be dangerous for the person on the bicycle that is, and from my experience motorcycle trails and tracks are nowhere near being bike friendly.
> ...


I would cross post into the various regional sub forums for the 411 on legal riding.

For what it is worth no one is banning ebikes it is just ebikes are already banned by the pretense of the current verbiage in the rules for riding areas. They were introduced for sale without research by the companies as to whether they could be used and each area is different.

This is like a company developing a car that can be flown without running it through the FAA but then selling it to users without mentioning that each car requires a pilots license and can only be flown in certain areas or banned in some areas, etc.

Similar to Uber's recently proposed air taxi concepts developed without going through the FAA first. Would the FAA actually let that happen? From their Twitter response, I doubt it. However Uber is still selling the idea that one will be able to get an Uber air taxi in LA. Can't blame people banning something if they are already banned but you just book at ticket on one.


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## howardv (Nov 11, 2016)

In my area, they recently passed a law banning e-bikes from the local trails. However, the only way to see this new law is by having the direct link to the pdf file. There is no mention of e-bikes at all on their website. There are no signs on the trails (other than the old "No Motorcycles, Motor Vehicles,etc" sign - see attached), and there is no enforcement by the Rangers. Rangers always give a friendly wave as they pass by. 

I believe the law is on the books just in case they see a need to enforce it. It seems they are studying e-bikes and the effects. When and if they put up signs banning e-bikes, then I'll stop riding mine. 

I'm in my 50's and quite capable of climbing. I actually ride a regular mountain bike 80% of the time and my e-bike 20%. I ride the local trails from home, 2-3 times a week. Each ride is about 25 miles round trip and consists of a 2,500 feet climb. On my e-bike, I can go 40-45 miles and climb 3,500 feet.


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## portnuefpeddler (Jun 14, 2016)

Yes. 

I'll never forget though the first time I came upon a sign with the dated verbiage "no motorized vehicles allowed", put up long ago and obviously meant at the time of it's erection for motorcycles and ATV's. A fat tired low speed ebike, ridden exactly like a regular bike (though this was a trail no other bike riders used) is not what they had in mind I'm sure. Being a back country, off airport landing pilot, I land many places where I'm sure if I asked the controlling government agency, I would be told I couldn't. I don't ask. I think: there's no one around for miles, MANY miles. I have big low pressure tires that leave no mark, what the hell am I hurting? The answer is NOTHING. My flying legality is very similar to the whole "where can you ride an ebike" thing". I'm tempted to say ride anywhere where no one sees you and where you don't hurt anything, but that would of course be wrong. Living in the boonies is crucial to this attitude obviously.


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## highroad 2 (Jan 24, 2017)

I also fly fat tires on my backcountry airplane.
Idaho is very unique in that airplanes are allowed to land in wilderness areas.
A few years ago a pilot landed in the Idaho wilderness and got out his folding non motorized bicycle and got zapped with a ticket .

use good judgement if property is not posted, and of course obey what is posted.

Moab is the only place I have been that specifically mentions ebikes are prohibited 

I just read that Lake Tahoe opened up trails to e bikes.

I prefer moto trails since they are more challenging in general and there should be plenty of those.

From what I have read, if it is true, the future of places to ride e bikes is great.

There are plenty of incredible places to ride e bikes in Oregon already


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## cjsb (Mar 4, 2009)

Everywhere I ride them is legal because that's what I do. 

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk


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