You might not like it, but faster electric bikes can be safer. Here’s why

There’s a popular belief that slower equals safer. The concept is not entirely without merit, but it doesn’t apply universally, and especially not to electric bicycles.

For those brave enough to power through their gritted teeth and keep reading, let me explain.

When it comes to electric bicycles, the mindset of slower equals safer has translated into some pretty restrictive speed limits. While most US states allow a segment of e-bikes to reach speeds of 28 mph (45 km/h), many cities and jurisdictions have discussed limiting speeds. New York City, one of the most significant recent examples, enacted a new law that limits e-bikes to just 15 mph. That means riders in NYC will now be slower than even most European countries, with their 25 km/h (15.5 mph) limit.

But here’s the thing: that conventional wisdom doesn’t always hold up. In fact, I’d argue that faster electric bikes, especially those that can cruise comfortably at 25 to 28 mph, can actually be safer in real-world traffic.

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Why? Because when your e-bike can keep up with traffic, you stop being an obstacle and start being a participant. And that makes a big difference.

As the internet’s resident e-bike guy, I’ve ridden just about every type of electric bike you can imagine, from mellow pedal-assist cruisers to high-powered, throttle-happy monsters. I’ve ridden on more types of roads than I can count and in more countries than I can remember. And one thing has become very clear: When riding in a city, the scariest and most dangerous part isn’t going fast – it’s being passed. Over and over again. By cars. Trucks. Buses. Trolleys. Anything that weighs 100x what your bike does. Sometimes with inches to spare.

When you’re riding a 15 or 20 mph limited e-bike on a street where traffic is moving at 25 to 35 mph, you’re not flowing with traffic. You’re impeding it. And drivers don’t like that. They get impatient. They make unsafe passes. They buzz you close to the curb. Even the ones who mean well still have to swerve into the other lane to get around you. It doesn’t matter that you have every right, both societal and legal, to be in that lane. It’s simply a perfect setup for conflict.

Now take a Class 3 e-bike – one that can do 28 mph with pedal assist – and the dynamic completely changes. Suddenly, you’re not the slowpoke in the bike lane or shoulder. You’re riding in the lane, keeping pace with cars. You’re visible. Predictable. You can merge when needed. You can also move back to the shoulder when you need to and allow a pass in a safe place (that doesn’t take as long to reach because now you’re moving faster). But you don’t have to spend the ride hugging the curb or dodging into the gutter just to stay out of the way. Because you’re not in the way, you’re part of the way. You’re an equal participant among the other road users (at least, in terms of speed).

In many cases, that extra bit of speed turns you from a second-class road user into a full participant in the flow of traffic. That’s not just better for you as a rider, it’s also better for drivers, because it reduces overtaking events and simplifies the entire dance of shared road use.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that e-bikes should be going 50 mph. There’s a reasonable ceiling here, and I’m happy to accept the current legal limit (in the US) of 28 mph for Class 3 electric bikes, since it doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting a hypothetical Class 4 e-bike standard any time soon. But the idea that “anything over 20 mph is inherently dangerous” just doesn’t match up with the way urban traffic actually works.

If anything, artificially limiting e-bikes to sub-traffic speeds creates more danger by increasing interactions between cyclists and passing vehicles. That annoying car on the interstate doing 50 mph when everyone else is doing 70 mph is a danger to itself and others. Why would you force e-bikes into the same situation while using an even more vulnerable vehicle?

And let’s be honest: most pedal cyclists already ride “illegally fast” when conditions allow. Plenty of strong cyclists on non-electric road bikes can cruise above 28 mph.

And many US Class 2 or Class 3 e-bikes hit 25+ mph with ease, especially downhill or with a tailwind. Yet we simply don’t see an epidemic of high-speed e-bike crashes.

Yes, crashes happen, but they simply aren’t a significant threat to life or limb the way car crashes are due to e-bikes employing considerably lower energy. And don’t get me started on the ‘threat to pedestrians,’ a fact-supported near non-issue compared to the number of pedestrians killed by cars every year. If your argument is that we should focus on the 1% of pedestrians killed by an electric bike instead of the 99% of pedestrians killed by cars, then you aren’t pro-pedestrian, you’re simply anti-ebike.

The problem here isn’t speed, it’s context. It’s mixing slow vehicles with fast ones without giving either group the tools to navigate safely.

What’s more, newer e-bikes are better equipped than ever to handle slightly higher speeds. Hydraulic disc brakes are becoming nearly standard equipment on all but the cheapest e-bikes these days, not to mention the inclusion of integrated lighting, wider/grippier tires, and upright geometries that all contribute to safer, more stable handling at 25 to 28 mph. These aren’t 1990s beach cruisers with motors slapped on. Modern e-bikes are increasingly built for the job of going faster and carrying heavier loads at those speeds.

And the riders? For the most part, they’re not daredevils. They’re commuters. Parents. Students. People who want an alternative to driving that doesn’t make them feel like second-class citizens on the road.

Yes, there are hooligans out there popping wheelies and being idiots on two wheels, or trying to pass off 40 mph non-street-legal Sur Rons as simple e-bikes (which, they aren’t). But those extreme rule breakers are not the majority of riders. And if you think they are, then I’d like to introduce you to that comfortable little overlap on the Venn diagram between confirmation bias and availability heuristic. That’s where you’re standing.

This is what frustrates me about efforts to clamp down on e-bike speed. The well-meaning argument is usually “but what if someone gets hurt?” But the overlooked danger is that a slower bike might put someone in more harm’s way by forcing them into the margins of the road where they’re harder to see and constantly being passed.

And I’m not totally blind to the unique dangers of higher speeds, either. Of course, there are situations where riding slower is undeniably safer. On crowded bike paths, in dense pedestrian zones, or during wet or low-visibility conditions, lower speeds give riders more time to react and avoid hazards. A bike zipping through a shared-use trail at 28 mph doesn’t belong there, and pushing for faster e-bikes or against arbitrarily low e-bike speed limits shouldn’t mean encouraging reckless riding. There’s a time and place for reasonably high speed, and a time to ease off the throttle or pedals. Education is paramount. We offer driver’s education for cars instead of programming a speed limiter into them. We teach drivers how to drive, rather than physically limiting cars to 40 hp and 65 mph, despite both being sufficient to drive on any road in the entire US.

As e-bikes become more powerful and accessible, particularly to teenagers and young riders, there’s a real need for better education around safe riding practices. High speeds come with higher risks, especially when reaction time and braking distance shrink. But acknowledging those risks doesn’t mean we should impose blanket limitations that restrict responsible riders from using e-bikes to their full potential. The answer isn’t capping all bikes at 15 or 20 mph – it’s smarter infrastructure, better training, and rules that reflect real-world conditions instead of a one-size-fits-all limit.

We need to shift the conversation. Instead of treating faster e-bikes like ticking time bombs, we should recognize their potential as safer, more effective urban vehicles. Yes, speed can be abused. But when used responsibly, it’s a powerful tool for staying safe and in control on the road.

Not every e-bike rider needs to go 28 mph. But every e-bike rider should have the option to keep up with traffic when conditions call for it. And cities should embrace that, not fight it, if they’re serious about reducing car dependency and improving safety for vulnerable road users.

Maybe one day the US will invest in better cycling infrastructure, and this won’t be as big an issue. But that day is not today. And with the way US cities are built now, sometimes the safest place to be is right in the middle of the lane, moving with traffic, not behind it.