More than $1.3 billion in e-bikes were sold last year, including bikes for kids as young as 4 years old.
E-bikes are rapidly growing in popularity, but some are questioning whether it is safe for young kids to be riding them.
More than $1.3 billion in e-bikes were sold last year, including bikes for kids as young as 4 years old. TikTok has videos of youngsters showing off their bikes, but there are also other videos on social media of kids wiping out.
A recent death in Encinitas, California, has some parents wondering how young is too young to drive e-bikes.
Claire Champlain’s son Brodee Champlain-Kingman lost his life in a tragic e-bike accident last June when he collided with a car.
“I didn't find he was at the right age yet. I didn't think he was old enough to understand the rules of the road,” Champlain says.
Tony Kranz, the mayor of Encinitas, says that local legislators are looking at an age limit for e-bike riders, but that in general, riders need to be more aware of safety. "The key is the operators. I see young people and old people operating in very unsafe ways," Kranz explains. "The big challenge that we've had since I've been serving on the council for the last 11 years is trying to create some space for safe cycling."
“It’s marketed to children. It’s like just dangling candy in front of them. ‘Oh, here you can go anywhere you want, 20 miles an hour. You don't have to have your parents drive you,’” Champlain tells Inside Edition.
Champlain says she wants to see change for Brodee. "We have to do it for him. And change our roads and our street safety and take precautionary measures for our cyclists, for him, for his legacy, because we lost a really good one," says Champlain.
Some e-bikes like the Super73 K1D are marketed for kids as young as age 4. LeGrand Crewse is the founder of Super73. As the father of five children, he says he has “no problem” with his kids learning how to operate an e-bike safely.
“Would I be okay on a public road? Of course not,” Crewse says. “E-bikes are here to stay. They are not going anywhere and the younger that we can get kids trained and essentially respecting the technology, ultimately we’re going to create much safer riders.”
JonJon Stock, 7, loves cruising on his K1D.
“JonJon’s been riding two-wheeled bikes since he was maybe 18 months old so when I found out about the K1D I was all over it,” the boy’s father, Jonathan Stock says. Jonathan owns the MOB Shop, a personal electric vehicle upgrade and repair shop near Denver.
The 7-year-old says one of the coolest things about his bike is its race mode special feature, which allows him to go at a top speed of 15 mph. Jonathan tells Inside Edition he was impressed with how quickly his son learned the rules of the road.
“I taught JonJon how to put his bike in this race mode because he earned it. Teaching him how to do that was sort of like a signifying step,” Jonathan says. "We went over all of those stringent basics. Don't be on a bike without your helmet on, move over to the right when there's traffic, stop when there's a stop sign. It was my way of saying thank you for paying attention."
