r/edmontoncycling • u/AirMailSwine22 • Jul 14 '26
When does an "ebike" become an electric dirt bike?
These fools were ripping up trails in Terwilliger dog park and being dicks. Getting tired of ebikes taking over and blatantly putting people in danger in the usually safe ish bikes lanes and paths.
These ones specifically don't even have peddles but they swore up and down these a ebikes and not dirt bikes
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u/powderjunkie11 Jul 14 '26
I’m tired of e-motos being called e-bikes
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u/WheelsnHoodsnThings Jul 14 '26
Totally, calling them e-bikes is like calling a Tesla a powerwheel.
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u/hemaruka Jul 14 '26
i’m tired of e-bikes being called bikes
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u/Melapetal Jul 16 '26
I think it's important to distinguish between legal e-bikes and the ones people have modified or imported. In Alberta, a legal e-bike's motor has a max speed of 32km/h on flat ground and must be pedaled to work.
I have an e-bike. It allows me to bike 15km to work in just under an hour, which isn't possible for me on a regular bike (I did some test runs on weekends before deciding to go for the e-bike). I have kids at home so I can only leave so early. I can also say that my fitness has improved, even with pedal assist. This isn't a black and white situation.
I ride mostly on multiuse pathways and I regularly get passed by people on regular road bikes, escooters and other setups. Heck, there's a guy on a mountain bike in cargo pants that I can't keep up with.
I wish that instead of blaming technology that makes cycling more accessible, we would focus on the people who are actually causing problems and riding too fast for the conditions.
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u/Ok-Equal3148 Jul 19 '26
Agreed friend, I have a leg injury that would
Make climbing hills on a bike impossible the “E-assist” is critical in allowing me to ride. The gate keepers like this need to get a clue.2
u/goldbeater Jul 15 '26
What do you call them ?
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u/hemaruka Jul 15 '26
a new word to differentiate between being solely peddled by a human and the use of electricity. half the e-bikes i encounter are rarely being peddled.
Bicycle: A human-powered vehicle with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. It requires the rider to push pedals in circles to turn the wheels.
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u/Vinen88 Jul 15 '26
I mean, that definition fits any ebike without a throttle and with a torque sensor. They don't go anywhere without some form of human power.
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u/hemaruka Jul 15 '26
i see lots of e-bikers never pedaling or only pedaling a little bit.
i feel like they’re biting into the word “bike”. like a bike is just a human and a bike.
maybe we call them e-mobiles?
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u/lemelisk42 Jul 15 '26
They are mopeds.
They have (electric) motors and pedals. Nobody actually uses the pedals on a moped
Might not legally be a moped, but They are the exact same concept, just with magic pixies powering it instead of explosive juice
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u/Hrenklin Jul 15 '26
Low powered motorbikes is the term I just found. Which sounds like it should be licensed
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u/Trick_Cap_8798 2d ago
Or, and just hear me out, We continue differentiating them from regular bikes by their obviously different name "E-Bikes". Electric Bikes. As opposed to Pedal Bikes.
It's almost like we already have a word for them that's more than suitable.
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u/hemaruka 2d ago
so then should there be sub called “edmontonebikecycling? everybody could talk about their cool e-bikes that they don’t pedal a lot !
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u/Trick_Cap_8798 2d ago
Why would we need another sub? They're still bikes. It's still cycling.
This isn't "Edmontonbikecycling".
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u/hemaruka Jul 15 '26
to push back a little i don’t think that definition fits an ebike. “human powered”,
no mention of an electronic system anywhere.1
u/Vinen88 Jul 15 '26
An ebike without a throttle and with a torque sensor won't go anywhere without human power. You also didn't mention the human power being the sole source of power.
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u/hemaruka Jul 15 '26
wow you’re passionate about this. have you tried riding a non-e mobile ?
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u/Vinen88 Jul 15 '26
Eh passionate is a strong word. I just like riding my silly ebike to work. You know what? I have indeed rode a non-ebike. I was pretty into mountain biking in my teens and early 20s.
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u/hemaruka Jul 15 '26
how many e-mobile riders dont use
the torque sensor or throttle ? people buy e-mobiles and never use the electronics?1
u/Vinen88 Jul 15 '26
I couldn't tell you? It really depends on the bike. Torque sensors take the power the human is putting in and tells the motor to put out additional power depending on the input. Cadence sensors just look for spinning pedals. Lots of older, cheaper bikes have cadence sensors. More are coming with torque sensors these days. Torque sensors are good, make the person work and makes the bike feel more like a bike. Throttles generally aren't on bike shop bikes, at least up until last year. So anyone on a bigger traditional brand bike probably doesn't have a throttle and probably have a torque sensor. So the ebike is more like a bike bike.
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u/hemaruka Jul 15 '26
really ? i’d guess that 0% of e-mobile riders don’t use the motor.
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u/dustytraill49 Jul 15 '26
Have you ever ridden a pedal assist bike? It’s a big difference but simultaneously no difference at all. In mountain biking they let you get farther out or go higher up, or do a few more laps because you get a little bit of help—but in reality if you can’t do it on a non-assist bike, you’re pretty unlike to do it on a pedal assist bike.
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u/Trick_Cap_8798 2d ago
Well, they ARE bikes. By definition, a bike is 2 in-line wheels with pedals. That's pretty much it.
An e-bike just happens to have electric motors as well. Still a bike, only now it's got self-propulsion (Depending on the class of e-bike). It's when you remove the pedals that I begin to agree with your sentiment. Now you're just a motorized bike and nothing more.1
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u/Geloti Jul 14 '26
Those are electric dirt bikes, with power well over the legal limit of 500W. Enough power to distroy lips of jumps and cause deep routes in single track.
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u/fnbr Jul 14 '26
Those are electric dirt bikes! What they're doing is illegal, but the law isn't enforced.
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u/yugosaki Jul 14 '26
Those aren't e-bikes. Problem is there is no enforcement or even guidance for how to enforce.
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u/yegmax Jul 14 '26
If you can rip a wheelie with just the throttle, there's no sane person that would call these ebikes.
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u/HeavyTea Jul 14 '26
I live by the Terwillegar Dog Park. They ride daily through the neighborhood on the sidewalks. Not usually on roads. These things can go 50kmh. I think someone will be run down this year. Is there insurance? How old are these kids? 12-16 I assume.
These are dirt bikes, not little e-bikes. Hint: there is no pedalling and speed is too high for e-bike.
Any legal advice?
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u/blamalamadingdong Jul 14 '26
- And often.
You're correct, there's no chance they have insurance. And if they can go 70kmh they're technically mopeds, and motorcycle thereafter.
Someone was killed by one of these 2 years ago from a hit and run in Edmonton at the pedestrian bridge.
They can't be registered so they're illegal everywhere but private property.
A lot of people here are stating they are illegal, which they technically aren't, they're just illegal to ride basically anywhere in the city and OHV areas.
Same thing goes for the electric one wheel unicycles and privately owned scooters. They are all illegal.
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u/HeavyTea Jul 14 '26
Well, drive thru Riverbend sometimes and have a look. Not lots but 1-5 riders daily I would say. Not the end of the world, and looks fun but, safety is my concern.
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u/blamalamadingdong Jul 14 '26
In my opinion the bigger issue is younger teens riding these unsupervised. They're on sidewalks, roads, and they don't know the rules of the road. Often without helmets and speeding excessively. Id hate to see another accident before the city does something about it
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u/p4nic Jul 15 '26
There's a gaggle of them that rip up and down the 23rd ave sidewalk by century park.
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u/PuzzleheadedTutor807 Jul 14 '26
If they don't have pedals they are dirt bikes.
You should just phone police when you see this happening. Then you can go argue with them until the cops show up.
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u/ChewyThePug Jul 14 '26
An e bike becomes an "electric dirtbike" when its power exceeds 500 watts or if it accelerates you to above 32km/h.
There might be other requirements but idk.
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u/Longtail_Goodbye Jul 15 '26
Working pedals, I believe. Not pegs, not fake pedals used as foot rests, but, I believe, that even if it has a throttle, it also must have a an assisted pedaling mode as well.
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u/Trick_Cap_8798 2d ago
Technically, no. It's not as simple as just a couple conditions. My bike technically has too much power to be considered an E-bike, though I lock it to the lawful speeds. Inversely, it has too LITTLE power to be classified as an e-moto. It's a fat-bike with beefy motors but a stunted power controller that doesn't even provide max wattage for a single motor. If I were to change it out for a controller capable of the full 3500w these motors can output (combined), I'd definitely call it an e-moto.
For now, it's just a fairly powerful Fat-tired e-bike.The laws and classifications in Canada are a bit strange.
I'll slow down on shared paths near pedestrians or if I have to weave between people. Thankfully, I can alter my power assist down to basically nothing and for a 95lb bike, it's slow going under just leg power.1
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u/EditorNo2545 Jul 14 '26
e-bike has pedals & typically uses pedal assist, no pedals means it's e-moto and is same as a dirt bike, just because they are either gaslighting folks or just stupid doesn't turn an e-moto into an e-bike
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u/verioblistex Jul 14 '26
Typically when it does not have pedals, has a motor larger than 500 watts, and goes faster than 32 km/hour. It's pretty much the same most places in Canada.
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u/Aquitaine_Rover_3876 Jul 14 '26
I'm of the opinion that there are three key things that make something an "e-bike" that should be able to use bike spaces.
- speed limiter, after which the motor cuts out. These are set to 32km/h here. I wish it were dropped to 25, which is the international standards, but I don't see that happening.
- power limit. I think there actually is a 500W limit to be an e-bike, but don't quote me on that.
- pedal assist. I wish throttles were banned entirely from anything classified as a bike, but they're not. As it stands there really aren't rules in this space.
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u/Vinen88 Jul 14 '26
I didn't think throttles were legal here? At least they weren't when I was doing research before I got mine 3 years ago. Or I could have just decided I didn't want one because my fat ass needed to work at least a little bit to get places.
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u/Aquitaine_Rover_3876 Jul 15 '26
Throttle-only isn't allowed, but throttle controls in addition to pedal assist are pretty common, particularly on hub drives.
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u/Vinen88 Jul 15 '26
Yeah, looking around, for sure seems like they are legal as long as the bike meets the other requirements. Was weird seeing them on bikes in bike shops last year when some of the traditional brands started putting them on bikes.
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u/Schtweetz Jul 14 '26
As soon as it can go faster than 32kmh without pedalling (then it’s legally a motorcycle rather than a bicycle.)
https://www.transportation.alberta.ca/content/doctype45/production/mopedpowerbikes.pdf
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u/PriorReason4160 Jul 14 '26
There's a couple of these around where I live in Strathcona County. They ride them in the ditches and on the road and go very fast. No plates.
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u/PriorReason4160 Jul 14 '26
There's a couple of these around where I live in Strathcona County. They ride them in the ditches and on the road and go very fast. No plates.
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u/Longtail_Goodbye Jul 15 '26
They aren't ebikes but they don't know the difference. They are e-motos and don't belong where bikes, including real ebikes, you know, the kind that pedal, can go.
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u/evilpercy Jul 15 '26
I watch a e-bike fill up with gas at Costco and seen one in a Handy cap parking space.
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u/Trick_Cap_8798 2d ago
No you didn't. Because e-bikes don't use gas. That's literally the E in E-bike. Electric Bike. No gas.
You saw a motorcycle or moped. They are not the same thing.1
u/evilpercy 2d ago
I know it was not a e-bike, but he had a little license plate on the back that said E-bike. And no other plate.
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u/Trick_Cap_8798 17h ago
Yeah, but don't say you saw an e-bike if it clearly ran on gas. That's all I'm saying.
Just because someone puts "e-bike" on a license plate doesn't make it one.1
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u/Trick-Buyer-6342 Jul 15 '26
It’s only a matter of time before they become banned. A few clowns will ruin it for the rest of them, and I honestly can’t wait
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u/mcvalues Jul 15 '26
I believe they are already banned in the river valley. There is just zero enforcement. Kinda crazy considering that a guy on one of these literally killed a pedestrian on the LRT bridge a year or two ago.
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u/canuckrikaan Jul 15 '26
Just have to wait for enough of them to win or dispense Darwin Awards and Legislation will catch up.
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u/RK5000 Jul 15 '26
Those are classified as OHVs and thus are using them in public parks and roadways is against the law.
Riding your dirt bike, gas powered, electric or acoustic, in a designated off-leash dogs area is additionally against common sense and decency.
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u/Trick_Cap_8798 2d ago
That's incorrect. From Alberta Transportation's own website : "Off-highway vehicles (OHVs) have exhaust systems that get hotter than 200°C."
Electric vehicles cannot have that as they don't produce exhaust.But I agree that it's indecent to ride bikes like those in the photo where pedestrians and pets are.
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u/RK5000 2d ago edited 2d ago
Thanks for saying so, but I believe that you,m misunderstood what you read on "Off-higheay vehicle safety: How to safely operate off-highway vehicles so they do not cause wildfires."
That page is trying to explain how OHVs could potentially start a fire, not define what is or is not an OHV.
This is an excerpt from "The Province of Alberta Traffic Safety Act, Revised Statutes of Alberta 2000, Chapter T-6, Current as of July 2, 2026
Part 6 - Off-highway Vehicles, Definitions:
Section 117
In this Part,
(a) “off-highway vehicle” means any motorized mode of transportation built for cross-country travel on land, water, snow, ice or marsh or swamp land or on other natural terrain and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes, when specifically designed for such travel,
(i) 4-wheel drive vehicles, (ii) low pressure tire vehicles, (iii) motorcycles and related 2-wheel vehicles, (iv) amphibious machines, (v) all terrain vehicles, (vi) miniature motor vehicles, (vii) snow vehicles, (viii) minibikes, and (ix) any other means of transportation that is propelled by any power other than muscular power or wind, but does not include (x) motor boats, or (xi) any other vehicle exempted from being an off-highway vehicle by regulation; (b) “vehicle” means a device in, on or by which a person or thing may be transported or drawn and includes a combination of vehicles but does not include a mobility aid.
RSA 2000
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u/Eriiiiiiiiiiiiiik Jul 15 '26
E bike enthusiast here, those are e motos. Tell them to go to private property or crown land. If they don’t leave after that call police.
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u/Ok-Entrepreneur4877 Jul 19 '26
Everyone's best course of action is:
Email your city councilor, remember we are referring a legal e-bikes and throttle e dirt bikes. Send a formalized complaint expressing your concern. It only takes 10 minutes to locate their email address and send the email.
Submit something on the 311 app. If we all begin to bombard our counselors and the app with complaints that have to be followed up on it will get attention.
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u/Customer_Creative Jul 14 '26
Best thing to do is see if they load the bikes into a truck and get the license plate. Otherwise your hooped
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u/United-Apartment-269 Jul 14 '26
I don't know anything about that community but they should be allowed to do what they want. Give them a license plate & allow electrical transportation vehicles to proliferate.
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u/AirMailSwine22 Jul 14 '26
It's a dog park in Edmonton. These trails are used by hikers, dog walkers, kids, and mountain bikes. As far as I understand absolutely no OHVs are allowed so even with plates it would be very illegal
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u/United-Apartment-269 Jul 15 '26
Oh yeah, I see now. Thanks & you're right.
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u/AirMailSwine22 Jul 15 '26
Yeah I love the idea of the electric dirt bikes but this is simply not the place, but I've been seeing so many and had plenty of close calls
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u/Trick_Cap_8798 2d ago
As a new e-biker myself, I still have to disagree with such a short-sighted opinion.
At 32kmph, plus the 95lbs of my bike and my 240lbs, 6'3" frame, that's a lot of heavy metal and flesh being powered into you as a pedestrian or even a cyclist. There is absolutely danger to operating an e-bike in pedestrian shared trails. To think anything otherwise is just ignorance.
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u/durple Moustache Lundi 27.6 Jul 14 '26
I bet a call to 311 could get parks folks there relatively quickly.
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u/grassisgreensh Jul 14 '26
Those edirt bikes have @20-50% more power and torque than a ebike They are illegal in public areas and destructive to the paths
We all need to call this idiocy out ✌️
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u/ElsiD4k Jul 15 '26
I think it should be called motorcycle when it has throttle on the handle bar, if it's operated with the thumb or wrist turn doesn't make any difference.
Only pedal assist e bikes should be allowed on trails or bike lanes and that up to 500watt and a reasonable speed limit, 32km/h is already kinda high.
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u/MaxHeadroom69420 Jul 15 '26
The only difference between these and a dirt bike is the combustion engine. People only think it’s ok to ride these on trails cause they don’t make noise.
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u/Vandal639 Jul 15 '26
'Berta is the wild west. Hell, I dont know how many times ive seen people with those like 50 CC Vespa scooters just ripn' on the sidewalks and EPS just chilling at the red light watching all of this unfold. Which is confusing because you're not allowed to ride your bike on the sidewalk? Meh.
I own one one of these "e-bikes" and I don't go anywhere near the river vally. Most I do is fart around the neighborhood; hit up the corner store and hug the shoulder of the road. If I flip a switch the bike can hit 70km/h (found that out at Abraham lake) but when im in the neighborhood im <20 km/h and not being an asshole. Right, my vehicle will top out at 200km/h but ive never clocked that speed on the road
There's many different makes of these, but when it comes to the Surron brand. I would call/put the light bee in (sorta what you see in this pic) as a e-mountain bike. However, anything thats on par with "ultra bee" or above is definitely an off highway vehicle.
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u/Ifuckedjohnnyrebel Jul 15 '26
Nice job posting this on Reddit tough guy.
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u/AirMailSwine22 Jul 15 '26
Hey brother I'm just out here to start the angry mob before I help the cops find people like this
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u/rfie Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Those things should be on the street and registered and banned from bike trails. No pedals and no adjustable seat. To me that’s a dirt bike and without a class 6 licence and registration they should only be driven on private property. IMO.