Amazon will stop selling 40 mph "hooligan bikes" in California

As per California's e-bike law, anything faster than pedal-assist Class 3 bikes (which are capped at 28 mph) is legally a moped or motorcycle and requires a license, registration, insurance, and a minimum age. Amazon was selling plenty of things that weren't any of those — electric two-wheelers advertised at 40-plus mph, including one listing claiming 43 mph from a 5-horsepower (4,000-watt) motor, some with motorcycle-style frames. Critics call them "hooligan bikes."

The change came after KCRA 3 Investigates reached out to Amazon about the problem. The company said it has notified marketplace vendors that their listings must meet state law and has already delisted some products. AG Rob Bonta had flagged the problem a month earlier, putting out a consumer alert warning that these misclassified machines were ending up with underage riders who had no license, no training, and no gear.

Builders of compliant e-bikes — the low-wattage Class 1 and Class 2 bikes that legally count as bicycles — have watched the hooligan segment undercut them for years, selling faster, heavier machines under the same "e-bike" label with none of the regulatory overhead. Even after the Amazon ban, plenty of those machines remain on the market through grey-market import channels and smaller online stores.

Previously:

• California bill would force e-bike owners to register with the DMV
• California is considering a driver's license for e-bikes