What are Ebike’s ‘classes’ and what do they mean?

In the past A few years, electric bicycles have triggered popularity (conscious decision not to use the word exploited there), with some estimates saying that Ebike sales in the United States grew ten times in the last decade. Whether you are in the market of your first Ebike or borrowing one of your local loan library, you may wonder what the kind of Ebike is denoted.

There are three designations of Ebikes in the United States (Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3) that are defined by a small handful of characteristics. While most ebikes have a maximum power of 750 watts, it is a combination of the maximum speed of a bicycle and as That speed that puts each Ebike is achieved in its correct class. The three classes also determine where you can mount your Ebike.

The laws vary the State by state, but there is enough crossover to make some general points on how and where you can mount your Ebike, depending on your class. “When it comes to Ebike classes, laws are really similar in all states,” said Doug Dahl, communications leadership in Target Zero, a division of the Washington Traffic Commission in Olympia, Washington.

Updated in September 2025: We update this explanatory.

Class 1 electric bicycles

Class 1 ebikes use only pedal assistance technology. In other words, a rider has to be feeding the bicycle pedals so that the electric motor is activated. In some cases, class 1 bicycles also have an accelerator based on handling or thumb activated. However, those can only be activated when the rider pedaling the bicycle.

In addition, class 1 ebikes have a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour.

In most places, a class 1 Ebike is legal to mount anywhere where traditional bicycles can be mounted (which are known as “analog bicycles” or “even more annoying acoustic bicycles), as in green roads, bicycle lanes and paths for the park.

Class 2 electric bicycles

In addition to pedal assistance, class 2 ebikes are equipped with accelerations that a rider can operate even when they are not pedaling. Think of a small cyclomotor or very slow motorcycle. So slow, in fact that its maximum speed is legally regulated at 20 miles per hour.

Like class 1 ebikes, class 2 bicycles are allowed everywhere. In other words, the only difference between class 1 ebikes and class 2 is an accelerator that can be operated independently of the pedal assistance mechanism.

Class 3 electric bicycles

With a maximum speed of 28 miles per hour, class 3 bicycles are the most powerful of all. However, given their speed, most states impose heavier restrictions on where a class 3 Ebike can mount. Like any bicycle, riders can operate a class 3 Ebike on roads, in traffic lanes and in adjacent bicycles lanes. However, class 3 bicycles are generally prohibited in green roads, roads and parks.

Some Ebikes offer runners the ability to alternate between classes 2 and 3, offering more options on where and how could it mount their Ebike.

Ebike or electric motorcycle?

Before going further, let’s go back to where I made a mention of a small cyclomotor or a very slow motorcycle. As electrical technology develops quickly, and states and municipalities aim to maintain the rhythm, there is a large gray area in terms of what it is and is not an Ebike, how those things differ from scooters and if any of them are cyclomotor or not.

An easy to determine if your Ebike is really an Ebike, therefore, does not require additional licenses, such as a motorcycle license or a driver’s license, is to observe the maximum bicycle speed. If the machine electric motor is capable of speeds greater than 28 miles per hour, it is not an Ebike, regardless of what is it in.