In the latest episode of the BikePortland Podcast, you’ll meet Cameron Bennett, a self-described “champion of things with small wheels” and board member of The Street Trust who leads the Oregon Micromobility Network. I wanted to bring Cam on to tell us about the big legislative victory they scored last week when lawmakers passed House Bill 4007.
HB 4007 does several important things: it lowers the legal age for riding a Class 1 (no throttle, 20 mph max) e-bike from 16 to 14 years of age; it defines “powered micromobility device” in Oregon law for the first time; and it prohibits retailers from selling “e-bikes” that are actually e-motorcycles. The new laws are also notable for what they don’t do: They don’t create absurd regulations around e-bikes like we’ve seen in places like New Jersey where a recent bill passed by their legislature requires all e-bike riders to have license and registration.
I asked Cam about all this and more in our conversation this morning that’s now available for your listening and/or viewing pleasure on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
Below is an excerpt from a short clip of the interview.
Jonathan:
“We see headlines about young people crashing, and that’s always gets a lot of attention, but this bill actually lowered the age where people can ride e bikes. So tell me a little bit about the thinking behind that.”
Cameron:
“It allows kids under the age of 16 to learn safe road behavior before they’re behind the wheel of a vehicle. You know, we see this in countries with higher rates of cycling. When you have a familiarity with being a vulnerable road user, you’re a more respectful driver down the line. So we see this this really potent through-effects for getting folks on e-bikes before they get behind the wheel of a car.
The last major piece that this age change will allow is it will give educators more flexibility to bring e-bikes into the classroom at a younger age. So now any safe routes for Safe Routes to School education that happens in a high school environment can include e-bikes. This just gives us another opportunity to help foster a safer road culture at a younger age throughout state.”
Jonathan:
“Are we safe from those kind of absurd laws that we saw in New Jersey and a couple other places?”
Cameron:
“I think that the law that we saw pop up in New Jersey, which which now requires licensing registration for all e-bikes in the state,
is maybe the best selling point for the approach that we’ve taken here in Oregon. Yeah, definitely finding ourselves playing defense to some extent and I don’t think that we’re necessarily safe.This will allow local governments to regulate these devices in the ways that make sense to them. So anywhere where you’re expecting to see mixing with pedestrians and pedal cyclists, we felt that it was appropriate that local governments should have a say on how that mixing plays out.
There are also some new provisions set up that regulate the sale of e-bikes and micromobility devices. If a device is capable of going faster than 28 miles per hour, it would be illegal to sell it as a micromobility device in Oregon. The same goes for an e-bike, right? If a device is capable of going faster than 28 mph or faster than 20 with a throttle, then it would not be legal to sell that device as an e-bike in Oregon — because that would be a deceptive marketing practice. The way that the statute is set up is that there’d be a $250 fine per vehicle sold in that manner. And what we’re seeing in other states, California and Minnesota in particular who’ve have passed legislation to this effect, we’ve seen a wholesale change in the way that many retailers are marketing their devices. So it’s really just the threat of punishment that seems to be effective enough to elicit enough of a behavior change that the market shifts in the correct direction.”
Thanks for reading.
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Good information! I watched the vid on YouTube. Nice chat. I didn’t catch mention of effective date. If I have the right link below, looks like some of HB 4007 takes effect on Jan 1 2027, and the remainder takes effect “on the 91st day after the date on which the 2026
regular session of the Eighty-third Legislative Assembly adjourns sine die.” Lol. I need help with that one.
HB 4007 Enrolled:
https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB4007
This is great news. It is important that we show the next generation that there are great power assisted alternatives to driving cars. I’d rather a kid be on an ebike than behind the wheel of a f150. Get them hooked on e-bikes at 14, then maybe they won’t be so fast to get their learners permit at 15
The
anti-e-motoanti-e-bike* fervor from cycling advocates is going to come back and bite them on their soft parts. This weird advocacy self-harm reminds me of how the anti-EV fervor of MAGA has worked hand in hand with the anti-EV fervor of progressives/lefties to shut down the (good but, of course, not sufficient) transition from fossil fuel burning SUVs# to EVs.* very slightly faster e-bikes
# that the blog owner and many blog commenters own and use while complaining about lithium/sodium
I still don’t understand the hatred of a throttle on an e-bike.
Yes – there are plenty of people who turn that throttle and don’t pedal, effectively turning the e-bike into an e-scooter. But even if my e-bike doesn’t have a throttle, it still has a torque sensor in the pedals, and if I turn the power up to max, I just need to crank on those pedals and my e-bike will shoot off like a rocket – exactly the same response as turning the throttle!
So by taking away the throttle we just ensure that e-bike riders are performing pedaling – make it look like they’re riding a regular bike.
Performative pedaling: nothing could more Portland than that.
LOL, you’re on a roll, Fred.
One difference between performative pedalling and straight throttle use is that until the power comes on all the stress of the first pedal stroke is on your knee which isn’t great for that body part and could mean you get a slow and awkward start in traffic.
One issue with younger people starting to ride on e-bikes is, they may not develop an intuitive grasp of how to use the gears and their body efficiently. There’s a tendency to use an e-bike as more or less of a one speed but the harder gear that you can ride with, assisted, is awkward when you have to initiate the first pedal stroke to activate an optical sensor.
A torque sensor might react differently, I haven’t used one of those. It could be difficult to have the motor supply a lot of torque before the bike is in motion and balance. Again, experience riding a bike is pretty important.
Where’s the hate? If the bike has a throttle, it’s an e-motorcycle. No throttle but still power assisted? That’s an e-bike. A torque sensor that detects your pedaling and a throttle would qualify it as an e-moped. I don’t really see anyone hating on the vehicle, just people trying to have clarity about definitions.
I was riding on the Springwater Corridor a year or two ago, when I pulled up behind a man and woman riding e-bikes. The woman appeared unsteady on her bike, and then flipped right over and crashed to the path. I slowed down and hung out nearby as the man stopped and assisted her (she was really upset).
I heard her say that she reached for her phone (attached to the handlebars) and somehow toggled the throttle instead. So she accidentally accelerated the bike unexpectedly, and was not able to manage the sudden change in vector.
I think she also mentioned that it was a new bike. So, while this might not necessarily be a problem with throttle e-bikes, it does seem that someone who is familiar with pedaled propulsion might have trouble staying rubber side down with a throttle.
I think the bigger problem is that throttles are one of a few features that muddy the water between motorcycles and bicycles. If a person can simply treat a throttle e-bike like a motorcycle, and motor along without pedaling, they no longer look like bicycle riders.
It’s these muddy waters that are creating legal and commercial gray areas that companies and riders are abusing! The backlash to that abuse threatens everyone else who is riding e-bikes.
I think that you can count on increased crashes, injuries, and deaths from laws like this. If I (as an adult) need a certification, license, and plates to ride a motorcycle on the roads, why shouldn’t kids have the same, or even stricter requirements? I see these things on sidewalks, bike paths, parking lots, city parks doing all kinds of stunts and dangerous riding. It is just inherent in giving a kid a throttle and a motor. Really bad idea. Please don’t pass laws that are not going to be enforced. Speed, enhanced battery power laws will be just like helmet laws for kids…ignored by law enforcement. In Bend, I see lots of kids renting the City contracted e-bike rentals and ignoring all traffic laws. Never once I have seen a kid pulled over and I see dozens of these bikes being ridden every day. At a minimum, kids should be required to take a short (4-hour?) safe riding course, and provide proof of insurance from their parents to ride on public property.
I remember in Elementary School (in the time of the dinosaurs, the 1970s) there was a day where kids were encouraged to bring their bikes to school as it was a bike safety day. Adults looked over the bikes, and we had courses laid out on the playground to ride through to practice obeying signs. Though I had been riding bikes well before then, I think it was a fun and informative day.
In the vein of ‘be careful what you wish for’ https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/story/2026-03-13/newport-mesa-unified-pumps-brakes-on-new-e-bike-rules-after-residents-point-out-flaws
E-bikes aren’t making kids unsafe. The motorist around them are. Sure kids will be kids and get hurt on bikes but a 20 mph e-bike is no where near the same thing as a motorcycle. Did you read the article or just get rage baited by the title? Because all we’re talking about is allowing high school age kids being legally allowed to take a e-bike to school (which, as someone stated, is far preferable to them being in an f150, especially if they’re considering doing something stupid). A 4 hour class isn’t changing anything, people seem to forget their whole drivers test the second they get their license. Let kids ride bikes and start a cultural shift from one where vehicular manslaughter is the norm to one where bikes are equally respected road users
Changing the subject and mocking me does not change what I see on a daily basis. The vast majority of the kids riding e-bikes are going well over 20 mph and treating them exactly the same as a motorcycle. Please, don’t give me all the arguments about limited speeds. I only know what I see. and, I 100% support kids riding pedal bikes for fun, for fitness, and for alternative transportation. That’s how I grew up and still how I roll.
Does anyone remember when someone was posting on every story with farcical (?) remarks about how a proposed change for their 4-wheel e-bike thing? I actually saw one in a bike this past weekend in SW! I thought it was joke, but they are here
Yes! And that’s exactly why I didn’t appreciate folks calling that commenter out as some sort of troll or faker.
Troll or fakeness aside, a vehicle with 4 wheels is not a bike; sounds like we’re talking about a small electric car or ATV.
Maybe if something has an engine, it’s a vehicle. Doesn’t matter what size or abilities it has, and it belongs in the street. Well except powered wheelchairs.
Bikes without motors are considered “vehicles”, IIRC
Agree it’s not a bike because a bicycle has two wheels. I believe it would be an electric assisted quadracycle; probably the closest gas powered equivalent is a go cart.
At our community bike shop in Greensboro NC we have an Elf, a 3-wheel electric bicycle with an open doorless cab and solar panels on top, built in Durham NC I think. 2 wheels up front with the steering and one wheel behind. Unfortunately the donor who gave it to us had left it out in the weather for a couple years and the motor and battery systems are rusted out, but it still pedals easily and is mostly standard bike parts we all could identify. We’ve been trying to give it away for years now, but none of the would-be recipients seem willing to pick it up and take it away.
I don’t think 14 year-olds should be riding e-bikes. Having been 14 and having had three 14 year-olds, I don’t think they have the judgement to safely operate an e-bike.
I’m an experienced rider. I rode across the country and have ridden the STP in one day. I bought a class 3 e-bike for my 70th birthday so I could continue to ride with my younger, stronger friends. I’m not anti-bike, though I was extremely skeptical about them as recently as ten years ago.
I regularly see less experienced adults exceeding the appropriate speed on e-bikes and I am absolutely convinced lots of teens will do so too.
I was a sailor when jet skis were first available and saw the effects of easy, effortless power being available to people who had no experience with boats or water. I fear the same is happening with e-bikes and expanding that access to 14 year-olds will have many bad outcomes.
“I regularly see less experienced adults exceeding the appropriate speed on e-bikes”
Just how exactly do you know how experienced these people are, do you actually talk to them? This sentiment has been posted here before by people who just assume they know something without having any facts to support their feelings.
A lot of people don’t really care about riding across the country blah blah blah, we ride because we’re too poor to afford cars and required insurance. I understand that riding a bike is some peoples entire identity, but for others, it’s just a cheap way to get to work & back without having to ride trimet (yuck).
You’re right; I used inexperienced based on observation that might be invalid. Things like instep on the pedals, helmet tipped back exposing the forehead, straps on the rack dangling near the chain. All good indicators of a skilled and experienced rider, don’t you think?
I am a proud extra-super-inexperienced e-bike rider and I will ride really fast without a helmet in your honor tomorrow! I will probably violate at least 12 laws and make you look very, very bad too!