Battery-assisted bicycles have been widely available for years, and it’s no longer a surprise to see somebody zipping along without pedaling, but locally it seems e-bikes are still mostly a vehicle for entertainment rather than transportation.

“Probably 80% are looking for recreation,” said Drew Kochanek, sales manager at S&W Sports in Concord. Most of the customers he sees considering e-bikes, he said, are “off-road, rail-trail, dirt path, type of riders.”

A majority of these are either couples where one partner is a cyclist and the other is not — “both get e-bikes so they can ride together,” he said — or senior citizens who appreciate the boost that electric motors give.

Battery-assisted bikes can be useful: The Laconia Police Department has had an e-bike patrol for several years, allowing officers to go further and faster, and in big cities where driving and parking are a huge hassle, they are increasingly used for commercial deliveries.

But expense remains a big obstacle, since an e-bike costs at least twice as much as an equivalent pedal-only machine and often even more. The Concord Police Department’s bicycle patrol has no battery-assist bikes, and its popular training program for police bicycle patrols, which draws officers from neighboring states, does not yet include anything about e-bikes.

Aside from cost, there can still be confusion about the technology, which has outpaced laws and regulations that were created with the assumption that bicycles can only go so fast.

“The most common question is, ‘What am I allowed to ride on the rail trail? What am I allowed to do and what am I not allowed to do?’” said Kochanek.

Similar to most states, New Hampshire law treats e-bikes the same as bicycles until they get too powerful with laws that recognize the three classes of battery-assisted bikes:

+ Class 1 - the battery only works when the rider is pedaling and stops when the bicycle hits 20 mph.

+ Class 2 - the battery can work even when the rider is not pedaling and is controlled through a throttle to a maximum of 20 mph, when it stops working.

+ Class 3 - the battery can work even when the rider is not pedaling and is controlled through a throttle to a maximum of 28 mph, when it stops working.

E-bikes in the first two classes can be used on paths where bikes are allowed, such as rail trails, but Class 3 e-bikes are restricted to roads. No license is required for any e-bike.

On public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service in New Hampshire, electric mountain bikes are considered motorized vehicles and can only access motorized trails. New Hampshire State Parks allows Class 1 and 2 e-bikes on all trails where traditional bikes are allowed.

The complications come with Class 3 bikes, which get very close to the specifications for mopeds, the small motorcycles with pedals that have been around for decades. Mopeds are defined in New Hampshire law as “a motor-driven cycle whose speed attainable in one mile is 30 miles per hour or less,” and they do require an operator’s license.

While New Hampshire law specifically states that mopeds “are not electric bicycles,” you can buy a number of models sold as electric mopeds. Whether they require a license in New Hampshire would apparently depend on their top speed. To complicate things further, it’s relatively easy to get equipment to modify Class 3 e-bikes so that they can exceed the 28 mph limit.

A common enforcement issue for e-bikes is theft — since they’re expensive, they are more attractive to thieves. Close behind is the issue of riders who bike with Class 3 e-bikes on rail trails or similar trails where only slower e-bikes are allowed. Enforcing that law can be difficult.

“It’s hard for an officer to tell what type it is,” said Concord Police Lt. Lankhorst, one of the trainers for bicycle patrols.

At S&W, Kochanek says interest in e-bikes is steady, making up about 20% of their total sales.

“It has been pretty consistent from COVID onwards,” he said. “As we see the prices come down, we’ll see percentages go up.”

“Once you get people riding them, they get interested… They they are a lot of fun and you can still get a workout on them.”

David Brooks can be reached at dbrooks@cmonitor.com