E-Bikes Have Purpose and Benefits

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by Greg Bowen, PCI# 1227T
Tarrant County College Police Department
IPMBA Industry Liaison

Most people seem to have strong feelings about e-Bikes: they either love them, accept them, or are against them. When having their first e-Bike experience, they will either say, “wow, that was so much fun” or “nope, I am not going to ride that thing”. I think that when someone who calls themselves a traditionalist demo’s an e-Bike, they are smiling on the inside and while refusing to admit how amazing the experience was.

Whatever your feelings about e-Bikes, they are here to stay and are becoming more popular with the public and for public safety cycling.

I must confess, I am one of those traditionalists. My first experience on an e-Bike was at the 2016 IPMBA Conference in Asheville, North Carolina. I took a demo ride during the product expo. As I cruised around the hotel campus, I was grinning from ear to ear (on the inside). It was amazing. After the ride, the rep. asked me what I thought. I said, “it’s alright”. I was that stubborn. I would not let on that I was intrigued. I wanted to be anti-e-Bike and did not want to be seen on the thing.

As the IPMBA Industry Liaison, I have learned a lot more about e-Bikes. As technology improves, so does battery life, power, design, and weight. E-Bikes come in many configurations and with many features, such as pedal assist or throttle; front, rear, or center drive, even front and rear drive.

According to the model legislation authored by People for Bikes and being adopted throughout the United States, there are three classes of e-Bikes:

Class 1: The motor provides assistance when the rider is pedaling. The assist stops when the rider reaches 20 mph. These are called “pedal-assist” and they do not have throttles. The maximum motor power is limited to 750W and they have a top speed of 20 mph (32 kph).

Class 2: Both pedal-assisted and throttle-assisted. With the use of a throttle, the motor will propel the rider without pedaling. The power output of 750W and top speed of 20 mph (32 kph) is the same as the Class 1.

Class 3: These are pedal-assist only and have a top speed of 28 mph (45 kph). The maximum power output is 750W.

These classes currently guide e-Bike laws in most U.S. states. For an up-to-date list of states that have adopted this model legislation and a one-page, state-by-state summary of e-Bike laws, visit https://www.peopleforbikes.org/topics/electric-bikes. ; Note: Canada regulates e-Bikes differently; consult the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1038) and the Criminal Code of Canada as well as provincial statutes.

As I have learned more about them, my willingness to accept e-Bikes has changed. I realize that they are not going away and that they really do have a purpose and benefit. Here is one example of how my perception of e-Bikes has changed.

I enjoy participating in organized endurance charity rides. These are usually 100 km to 100 miles. I started seeing more riders on e-Bikes. One day when I was on one of these rides, I was cranking up a long climb. I was tired and hurting. I looked back and saw an older lady gaining on me. She soon rode past me, with a puppy in the basket on her handlebars. I was not impressed. I felt that riders should not be allowed to participate on e-Bikes and that they were “cheating”. I thought that e-Bikes took away your bragging rights and made you less of a cyclist. I thought public safety officers who rode e-Bikes were not worthy of calling themselves cyclists.

Thanks to what I have learned from industry reps and other cyclists, I have come to respect what the e-Bike has to offer. Why do IPMBA members prefer to perform their duties on bicycle? Well, for one thing, we love to ride. More importantly, it is the best way for us to get out there and engage with members of our communities. We are more approachable when on the bike. We see, hear, and smell more. There is a greater chance that we will roll up on crimes in progress. Bike patrol supports the efforts of community policing. This can all be accomplished whether you are on a conventional mountain bike or an e-Bike. That is what is important to remember. It is not what we ride, it is that we fulfill our mission.

Let’s fast forward to the present. I think e-Bikes are a great benefit. Now when an older lady passes me on an e-Bike, on an incline, with a puppy in her basket and streamers on her handlebars, I say, “good for her”, and applaud her for riding and enjoying being on her bike. With a pedal-assist bike, you still must move your legs, therefore, you are being active. If e-Bikes enable people to become more active so they can improve their health, get outdoors, and experience the joys of cycling, that is all that matters.

A friend who recently retired from my department called me last week. He asked, “Greg, would you think less of me if I told you that I was considering buying an e-Bike”? My answer was not what I would have told him a couple years ago. I supported and encouraged him and assured him I was happy he wanted to continue riding.

In addition to getting more officers out on bicycles, e-Bikes can be a great benefit to officer safety. What happens when you exert yourself on a bike? Your heart rate increases, you breathe harder, and you experience physiological effects such as tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, and time dilation. Part of what you learn as an IPMBA trained cyclist is how to overcome the physical and psychological challenges that occur under physical stress.

What you don’t want is to respond to a hot call (e.g., officer needs assistance), ride hard to get there, and, when you dismount, have your legs give out, gasp for air, and be unable to give verbal commands or engage a suspect. Now you are no good to your fellow officer and that officer must worry about your well-being. If your bike patrol area encompasses a large or hilly area, an e-Bike can get you there more quickly and with less exhaustion, enabling you to engage upon arrival more effectively.

Your purpose as a public safety professional is to serve the public by providing the best service possible. Bikes allow us to do it better. It doesn’t matter if you are on a conventional bike or an e-Bike. If the e-Bike enables you to become more productive and provide better service, then you have kept the best interest of the public in mind. Who knows, it might even be a little bit more fun!

To learn more, visit http://www.ipmba.org and hover over the RESOURCES tab for the section on e-Bikes. You will find a lot of useful information, including our best practices recommendations for e-Bike training. We recommend that all public safety cyclists complete the applicable IPMBA course on a conventional bike and then complete an eight-hour e-Bike training module to transfer the skills to the e-Bike environment. While you are on the website, check out the product reviews, articles, and the IPMBA Product Purchase Program, all of which include information about e-Bikes and public safety.

As you begin your quest for an e-Bike that fits your department’s needs, please put our Corporate Members first: Benelli, PWR Bike, and Recon Power Bikes. And be sure to tell them that IPMBA sent you!

Greg has been in law enforcement for 26 years and is currently serving as a Captain with the Tarrant County College District Police Department in Fort Worth, Texas. He was co-host for the 2019 IPMBA Conference in Fort Worth. Greg is his department’s bike unit coordinator, a member of the TCC Special Response Unit, and Advanced SWAT, TCOLE, and firearms instructor. He has been an IPMBA member since 2006, was certified as IPMBA PCI #1227 in 2011, and earned Instructor-Trainer status in 2020. He was elected to the IPMBA Board in 2020 and appointed to the position of Industry Liaison. He is an avid cyclist, a home brewer, and enjoys wood-working and just being outside. He can be reached at gbowen185@yahoo.com.

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