E-Bike Classes Explained: Class 1, 2 and 3, and Where You Can Ride Each

Every e-bike sold in the US is supposed to fit one of three boxes. Which box decides where you can ride it, whether you need a helmet, and in some states whether a 15-year-old can ride it at all. Plenty of bikes on Amazon fit none of the boxes, and the listing won’t tell you.

The system is simpler than it looks. Two questions sort almost every bike: does it have a throttle, and at what speed does the motor stop helping?

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The three classes

Class 1	Pedal assist only. The motor helps while you pedal and stops helping at 20 mph.
Class 2	Has a throttle, so the motor can move the bike without you pedaling. Throttle and assist both stop at 20 mph.
Class 3	Pedal assist up to 28 mph. Normally no throttle, though some states allow one that cuts out at 20 mph. A speedometer is required.

All three share a ceiling on motor power of 750 watts. The figure that counts is the motor’s rated power, not its peak, which is why a listing can say “1000W peak” and still describe a legal bike. A listing that just says “1000W motor” deserves a second look.

The speeds are where the motor stops, not a limit on you. Pedal harder or roll downhill and you can go faster than 20. The motor just won’t help.

Where the classes come from

Federal law has one definition of a low-speed electric bicycle, written in 2002: working pedals, a motor under 750 watts, and a top speed on motor power alone of under 20 mph. That definition decides how the bike is regulated as a consumer product. It says nothing about where you can ride it. That’s state law.

The three-class system is model legislation. California adopted it first, in 2015, and most states have since copied it in some form. “Some form” is doing real work in that sentence. The classes are close to identical from state to state. The rules attached to them are not.

What changes with each class

Class 1: allowed almost everywhere a bicycle is

Class 1 is treated most like a bicycle. Roads, bike lanes, and in most places multi-use paths. It’s also the class most likely to be allowed on mountain bike trails, because land managers who allow e-bikes at all often allow only Class 1. If you want to ride dirt, this is the class that keeps the most gates open.

Class 2: the throttle class

On roads and paths, a Class 2 bike usually gets the same access as Class 1. Trails are where it loses out. A bike that moves without pedaling looks like a motor vehicle to the people who write trail rules.

The throttle earns its place anyway. Pulling away from a stop sign with a child seat on the back. Bad knees. Getting going uphill after you stopped in the wrong gear. If any of that sounds familiar, Class 2 is the practical answer and the trail restriction probably doesn’t matter to you.

Class 3: the commuter class, with strings attached

Twenty-eight miles an hour turns a bike from something that keeps up with cyclists into something that keeps up with city traffic. Legislators noticed. Rules that commonly come with Class 3:

• A helmet requirement, often for every rider regardless of age.
• A minimum rider age, commonly 16.
• No access to multi-use paths and trails unless the local authority opts in.

None of this is universal, which is the annoying part. California requires Class 3 riders to be at least 16 and to wear a helmet. Your state might ask for more, or less.

The bikes that aren’t in any class

Search Amazon for an electric bike and a large share of what comes back quotes 28 mph and has a throttle. Three of the seven bikes in our e-bike roundup do exactly that. Under the model law, that combination doesn’t exist. Throttle bikes top out at 20.

Once a bike falls outside the classes, most states stop treating it as a bicycle. Depending on where you live it may count as a moped or a motor vehicle, which can bring registration, a license, insurance and a ban from bike lanes. And if something goes wrong, the first thing an insurer or a lawyer asks is what the bike legally was.

This shows up in two forms, and they have different fixes.

• Bikes with an “off-road” or “unlimited” mode. Many can be set to a legal class in the display settings. If yours can, set it and leave it there.
• Bikes rated over 750 watts. No setting fixes that. They’re fine on private land and on trails open to motor vehicles, and that’s roughly where the legal use ends.

Conversion kits land in the same place. Fit a 1000W hub that does 33 mph and you’ve built a motor vehicle, as our conversion kit guide points out.

Check the label on the frame

States that adopted the model law require manufacturers to fix a permanent label to the bike stating its class, its top assisted speed and its motor wattage. It’s usually on the seat tube or down tube, and it’s the first thing to look for when you’re buying. A new bike with no label is a warning sign. On a used bike, it’s one more thing to check alongside the battery, as our used e-bike guide covers.

If your bike lets you change its speed limit in the settings, the label should match how it’s actually set up. A Class 2 sticker on a bike configured to 28 mph on the throttle is not a Class 2 bike.

Federal land has its own rules

National parks generally allow e-bikes wherever ordinary bikes are allowed, and individual parks can restrict them. The Forest Service is stricter and has historically treated e-bikes as motor vehicles, which limits them to roads and trails open to motorized use. Bureau of Land Management land sits somewhere between. The sign at the trailhead beats anything you read online, this page included.

What class means for the gear you add

Class affects more than where you ride. A faster bike asks more of everything bolted to it.

• Helmets. NTA 8776 is a Dutch standard written for helmets at speed-pedelec speeds, and it’s worth having on a Class 3 bike. It doesn’t mean the helmet absorbs impacts well, though, which our helmet guide shows with independent test data.
• Tires. The European E-25 rating certifies a tire to 25 km/h, about 16 mph, so a Class 3 bike is well outside it. Look for E-50, like the Schwalbe Marathon E-Plus.
• Child carriers. Burley tests its child trailers to 15 mph. Every class of e-bike goes faster than that. Our child seat and trailer guide explains what to do about it.
• Lights. At 28 mph you cover 41 feet every second, and a be-seen light won’t show you a pothole in time. The lights guide covers what throws far enough.

Which class to buy

For most people, Class 2. The throttle is more useful day to day than an extra eight miles an hour, and Class 2 keeps you on the paths and bike lanes where e-bike riding is actually pleasant.

Buy Class 1 if you ride trails, because it’s the class land managers let in first. Buy Class 3 if you commute more than about ten miles each way on roads, and accept the helmet, the age limit and the path restrictions that come with it. Skip bikes that fit no class unless you only ride private land. Whatever the listing says, the frame label and your state’s statute decide what you’re riding. If you’re shopping now, our e-bike roundup flags which models have the 28 mph throttle problem.