Pedal assist: over 20mph illegal?

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Blueshift
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Pedal assist: over 20mph illegal?

I just talked to an ebike seller who stated that the law of 20mph only applies when using the motor by itself and that their bike when using pedal assist at 25+mph is fine...

However I am a bit confused as I have discovered that there are quite a few companies that make this claim. The one i spoke to was stationed in California and said it was compliant in California. However 406b section 3 states...

(3)Is incapable of further increasing the speed of the device when human power is used to propel the motorized bicycle faster than 20 miles per hour.

This to me is still a bit confusing.... does this section of the law even prohibit a pedal assist of 1w if i were to go faster than 20mph?

So which is it? Is pedal assist legal or illegal above 20mph? and if it is illegal then what does it say about some of these businesses pedaling this stuff?(intended pun)

p.s. he also mentioned something about how the state or states were now looking more at the consumer safety regulation and making that the law of the road for ebikes. I highly doubt that one.

Thanks in advance for any of your responses

Aconite
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Re: Pedal assist: over 20mph illegal?

I am sure every state (and in my case, province) are a little difference ... but my understanding on Ontario, Canada is:

The motor is allowed to assist you up to 32 km/h (20 mph), but is not allowed to assist you above that speed. If you can pedal 40 km/h, go for it, nothing wrong with that ... but you will be doing it on your own without the motors assistance once you exceed 32 km/h. Also, in Ontario, the motor is only allowed to be up to 500w.

PJD
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Re: Pedal assist: over 20mph illegal?

I'm a government worker, and what California 406b section 3 means is exactly as Aconite described for Ontario. You can pedal (or for that matter, coast down hill - often much faster than 20 mph) as fast as you want, but the motor can only provide assistance up to 20 mph.

xinfamous
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Re: Pedal assist: over 20mph illegal?

I live in Iowa and this state mirrors US Federal law which states: One 170 pound rider, using electric power only, riding on a level surface, may not exceed 20mph. Pedal assisted speeds are exempt in Iowa from that 20mph limit.

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