Confusing Definitions Flood NY Streets With Ultra-Fast, Illegal E-Bikes

Even though recent changes to New York law have capped electric bicycle speeds 15 mph or less, major e-bike brands continue to sell high-powered e-bikes that NYC residents continue to buy, exceeding double that. It's creating a safety crisis that city officials are having a hard time getting under control, partly because they look indistinguishable from the street-legal versions. The problem is that these ones are causing fatal crashes.

Mayor Eric Adams put this new 15-mph citywide e-bike speed limit into effect on October 24, 2025, complete with new signage throughout the city. It doesn't matter if you're on a Class 1, Class 2, or Class 3 e-bike, either; all have to stick to the 15 mph rule. Mopeds (Classes A-C) can go the same posted speed limit as motorcycles and cars, while e-scooters are similarly capped at 15 mph. But, without registration or license plates on many of the city's e-bikes and e-scooters, it's hard to imagine how the city could possibly enforce such a thing.

A big cause of the confusion? Even though it's illegal for anyone in New York to sell anything faster than 20 mph for Class 1 and 2 e-bikes (or 25 mph for Class 3 models), the fastest electric bike brands have still been able to get away with top speeds of 40 mph or more. It's because of disclaimers like "for off-road use only" that let them get around the law.

Class 1-3 e-bikes don't need license plates, don't need VIN numbers, and don't need to be registered with the DMV, either. The same goes for e-scooters. Combine this with the off-roading loophole, and it's no wonder pedestrian safety advocates want the city to shift its enforcement efforts to the point of sale.

Mayor Adams' office boasts that the department has already taken thousands of illegal vehicles from the streets, but what can be said for all those seizures? Obviously, the issue persists, given the fact that Mayor Adams is still having to address it with new rules and regulations. The hope is that point-of-sale regulation could do a much better job of curbing the influx of illegal models than these attempted crackdowns on speed limits by the NYPD.

For the record: E-bike-related fatalities are down in 2025, with six through mid-2025 compared to nine in 2024. However, collisions are up by more than 11%. With all the skepticism surrounding these slower limits, time will tell if signage alone will solve this growing problem.