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Sometimes you need a little help getting through a tough spot. That’s the idea behind e-biking in Pennsylvania.To get more news about Fat Tire Electric Bikes, you can visit magicyclebike.com official website.

E-bikes are pedal-assisted bicycles that have electric motors to help riders over steep terrain or to go longer distances.Class 1 models are legal on highways in Pennsylvania and on many bicycle trails. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is at work on new regulations that would allow this relatively new technology to be used on more trails.

“The purpose of the policy is to provide guidance for the use of e-bikes on state parks and forests,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said Monday in a news release about the agency's desire to update its regulations. “On the lands it manages, DCNR will allow e-bikes on trails already open to traditional bicycle usage as long as users follow some guidelines.”

Class 1 e-bikes weigh less than 100 pounds, have pedals to power the bike and the motor does not exceed 750 watts or power the rider over 20 mph. The age restriction is 16 years old in Pennsylvania.

“Because they make outdoor recreation accessible to more people we are updating our policy to provide those opportunities on our lands, while at the same time working to limit their impacts on other visitors and on our natural places," Dunn said.The agency welcomes written comments at RA-NR_PolicyOffice@pa.gov through Aug. 31about its draft e-bike policy.

If you do go e-biking, it’s important to check the regulations the first time you access public lands. For example, e-bikes are not permitted on state game lands managed by the Pennsylavnia Game Commission. Agency communications director Travis Lau said there was discussion a few years back about allowing them, but they were never approved.
Lindsay Baer, parks and trails director for Somerset County, manages a portion of the Great Allegheny Passage between Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. She said e-bikes along the GAP have become popular over the past couple of years. “The GAP Conservancy is actually working on a study right now to determine who uses e-bikes on our trail and what kind of e-bikes they are riding,” she said in an email.

She believes there is confusion on which types should be allowed. For the time being, “we tell everyone that the only e-bikes allowed on our trail systems is a pedal-assisted bike with no throttle. Pedal-assisted usually top out around 20 mph, but of course the max speed limit on the trail is 15 mph.”

Craig Rosman, owner of Route 31 Bike, Board & Ski in Somerset, has been in the bicycle business for 32 years and believes e-bikes are helping more people enjoy the hobby. Class 2 e-bikes have a throttle. “A throttle takes away from the feel of a bike, you’re really riding a glorified moped,” he explained. Class 3 are powered by a throttle and power the bike faster than 20 mph.

He said e-bikes are very safe but he does recommend riders to wear a helmet. “You only have one brain and it’s good to save it.”

Rossman reminds people that e-bikes are just a bicycle. “You get as much exercise as you want by limiting how often you use the power assist.” He said they have three or four power levels to help a rider conquer steeper hills.