Letters to the Editor: Not all e-bikes are alike. Electric motorbikes don’t belong on beach paths

To the editor: The story about electric bikes on crowded beach paths in the South Bay might have pointed out that not all e-bikes are created alike.

One type of e-bike, often with thick tires like those pictured with the story, are really electric motorbikes. Their motors can take them up to 28 mph, they don’t require pedaling to move and they are too dangerous to be allowed on crowded walking paths.

The second type of e- bike is a “pedal assist” model. They don’t move unless the rider pedals, and the motors cut out at 20 mph. They are no more dangerous than non-e-bikes.

Of course, with both types of bike, a rider’s common sense and caring for others are more important than what makes the wheels go around.

Paul Bergman, Pasadena

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To the editor: The recent article about e-bikes was just more crime hysteria.

As stated in the article, there have been no reported collisions along the area discussed in 2023 or 2022. The data do not support the idea that e-bikes are unsafe. Instead, the article is full of anecdotes from residents who mostly complain about almost being inconvenienced.

E-bikes have the power to transform our society for the better, including fighting climate change as well as reducing traffic and road deaths. Yet individuals afraid of change are using an inordinate amount of energy to thwart their adoption.

Melyssa Guerry, Culver City

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To the editor: I am a 25-plus-year resident of Hermosa Beach. While e-bikers are a new hazard on the Strand, the bigger problem is something the city has never addressed.

For the entirety of its two-mile stretch between Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach to the north, Hermosa Beach is alone in its forced sharing of vehicles (bikes included) with pedestrians. I ride this stretch at least two times a week, and rarely do I not encounter young children darting in and out of my path, or people walking dogs on extending leashes that block my way, or groups of people who decide to stop and chat in the middle of the Strand.

I had to cringe most at the line, “Still, there have been no reported collisions on the Strand this year or last, which [Hermosa Beach Police Chief Paul] LeBaron attributed to effective policing.”

For as long as I have biked the Strand, I have never seen any enforcement. Furthermore, I’ve had my share of accidents, and not once have I reported them, so the measure the chief is using is sorely lacking.

I still ride the Strand because it is the only game in town, but it is most certainly a disaster waiting to happen.

Todd Koerner, Hermosa Beach

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To the editor: My friends and I have been riding the bike path from West L.A. to Manhattan Beach every Saturday for more than 30 years. None of us has an e-bike, although I really appreciate the technology and usefulness of such a bike if ridden properly.

The problem is that many of the riders do not use them properly, particularly those bikes that do not even need the rider to pedal at all. These bikes often weigh more than twice that of a regular bike and travel at speeds far greater than the average cyclist.

That combination, along with the carelessness of many of the riders — not to mention those with surfboards on trailers or attached to the side of the bike, or even held in one arm — increases the danger to other cyclists, walkers and joggers.

Education is always welcome. But until there is either a ban on e-bikes, especially those that do not require any pedal input from the rider, or a reasonable enforcement mechanism, the bike path will become increasingly dangerous and unwelcoming.

Joe Hilberman, Westwood