Are there ANY e-bikes or e-mountain bikes that have a parent restrictable/lockable speed setting?

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ZeppyWeppyBoi@reddit

Just chain a few cinder blocks to the back. You can keep adding more if they go too fast.

But he won’t be able to go more than 20mph with three blocks on him, not with three he can’t!

But seriously, plenty of bikes don’t have a way to change the top speed without actual hacks. Just get one that is only a class 1. My Specialized Turbo Levo is a class 1 with no way to change that.

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If your kid is acting out and being a jerk because you won’t buy them an expensive motorized toy then you should probably have a gut check moment and ask yourself if capitulation is the right thing to do.

If it were my teenage son I’d take away everything he values in his life until he corrected his behavior. I’ve done this a couple of times.

I’m legally required to feed and clothe my child. I’m required to provide him with a safe space to sleep. I’m required to educate him. Everything else can be taken away if he wants to be a problem.

He spent most of his freshman year with no phone, no internet, no fast food, and was grounded and required to do his chores. Didn’t hurt him a bit.

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Dick_Nation@reddit

It's very hard, because this kind of behavior is something I can attest to happening in my own family, and parents being unwilling (or really more accurately unable) to keep up with the joneses and buy expensive stuff didn't help with the acting up and acting out. He just doubled down on his behavior, started to blow off school and got into petty crime in order to get the stuff he wanted. The harder and stricter rules got, the more he was willing to push back and the more egregious his behaviors got. Many years later and many hard lessons he had to learn by himself and suffer for immensely, and he's doing well, but I don't know what series of events would've had to transpire or how his life would've had to be different in order to save his youth from all of it.

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OGFrostyEconomist@reddit

Being socially isolated does actually cause harm but I agree there should be consequences and capitulation is not the answer. I hope you also asked your kid why he is doing these things and are an emotionally safe person for him to confide in.

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madryan@reddit

We absolutely have a great relationship. His issue was largely due to hanging around with kids who have absent parents who were running around being little turds in the community.

He started acting like that so I initially enacted a stricter curfew. When that didn’t fix it I really clamped down on him. I explained that the issue was his behavior and attitude and the fact that he was completely gaffing off school.

He’s been slipping again so last weekend instead of hitting the skatepark and enjoying the perfect weather he got to hang out with dad and learn to work on the 2007 Nissan pickup lol.

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trtsmb@reddit

Probably taught him some responsibility too :).

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Cumulonimbus_2025@reddit

children do not need to be on class 2 ebikes period until they have education on using it. get him a class 1 bike which is pedal assist and tops out at 20. also you are the parent. if this affecting “everything” when he is not getting his way, what happens when life doesn’t give him everything he wants when he wants it. it’s hard being a parent but set your kid up for not being rewarded for being a pita and you cave cause it’s easier. think about the bigger lesson here.

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mataliandy@reddit

Agreed. E-bikes are rapidly approaching the #1 cause of ER admissions of children in the US. The injuries resulting from high speeds and the bike's weight, are often quite serious, and sometimes terminal. Type 1 are risky enough, type 2 are just too risky.

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jk_pens@reddit

Agree on starting with class 1

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thishasntbeeneasy@reddit

If there was a vote for people without a drivers license (yet) to be limited to class 1 up to 20mph assist only, I'd vote for that.

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jk_pens@reddit

I think that’s likely where things will end up.

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JuJuMcJu@reddit

Same dudes. Too many kids being idiots are gonna ruin this for us.

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NCResident5@reddit

This make sense. I saw on Spectrum local news that some of the counties added traffic violations for the high powered ebikes as they are really similar to battery powered dirt bikes.

The 750 watt battery is the biggest allowed on true ebikes.

Good question OP

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smoothloam@reddit

Buy him a bicycle. Able bodied teens don’t need e-bikes.

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bearhos@reddit

A class 1 just turns you into lance armstrong. It’s assisted pedaling, no throttle and no crazy speeds. Just makes it easy to pedal leisurely but travel at the same speed as if you were pedaling hard.

If other kids have ebikes, a class 1 will let them keep up without the risks of typical e-bikes. But a normal pedal bike will not keep up with e-bikes and they might be left out / left behind. Ever had to use a friend’s skateboard while they rode a bike? It’s terrible not being able to maintain the same speed

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Serdones@reddit

Kids commuting to school by bicycle has dropped dramatically thanks to car-centric suburban sprawl. Greater distances and challenging geography (i.e. hills) can make bike commuting unsafe, too far or just plain sucky for kids, if half their commute is spent climbing hills. An ebike can make such a commute a lot more realistic.

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smoothloam@reddit

Half the commute has always been on hills, why is this suddenly a problem now? We just trying to make our kids fatter?

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Serdones@reddit

It's always been uphill both ways if you're a boomer.

Factually, kids live farther from their schools on average. Obviously geography varies, but the farther you live, the more likely you're going to have hills along the way. Distance + more hill climbs = less likely to bike, to speak nothing of whether the route is actually accommodating of bikes.

Most kids don't bike or work to school at all. Are we really going to pretend that's just because they're lazier and not because the built environment has made everyone and their mothers (literally) dependent on cars?

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Verneff@reddit

For me it was \~200m of elevation change over about a 5KM ride to school. It was uphill to school and downhill going home. I'd have loved some assist for some sections of that. I would have to hop off and walk a few bits because of how steep they are. No bike lanes so I was riding on the sidewalk for most of it.

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smoothloam@reddit

Hey Zoomer, not a boomer. Kids can absolutely still ride their bikes to work. This is the kind of thing I’d expect to see in Idocracy, and this is exactly the attitude that has made the obesity rate skyrocket.

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Serdones@reddit

You can think they should all you want. They don't. There are reasons for that. You're putting your fingers in your ears and ignoring the why and attributing it all to individual responsibility or choice.

You can find tons of videos, articles and studies about the decline of walking and biking to school. Infrastructure and distance are always among the leading reasons cited. It should also just be plainly obvious if you take a step back and think about what our suburbs look like in the U.S.

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Verneff@reddit

Yeah, roughly a 200m elevation change biking to school where I grew up. I'd have loved to have a bit of assist for some sections of hill. Coming home was great though since it was almost entirely downhill.

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thishasntbeeneasy@reddit

I biked 6 miles each way to high school a few decades ago and thought nothing of it. I would absolutely not let my kids do the same. Traffic is so much higher now, drivers are way more distracted, and kids don't have the same free-range lifestyle anymore. It's sad but what it is.

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DalinsiaValkyrPrime@reddit

Some people just really don’t want to ride hills or dealing with the hills makes their daily life more difficult.

If you get a tool that makes the job ever so slightly easier, then you would probably use it. E-bikes aren’t gonna immediately have people looking like the humans in Wall-E. I go to the gym regularly and do home exercises but still use PEVs. Yeah, I have a regular CTY 1.1, but it ain’t my daily commuter. I did bike a lot as a teen, but I know that I would’ve absolutely used something that made the entire biking experience a bit more efficient even if it costed me a bit of pounds.

Well… even then, I was underweight for a bit in my teens.

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iregreteverything15@reddit

If I was a teen, I would absolutely want an Ebike. I grew up in a typical American suburb, and trying to analog bike around that environment sucked. I've got two young kids now. If I were to get them ebikes when they are teenagers, it absolutely would be Class I only.

I quite like the Pedelec classification in Euorope. 250W continuous power, pedal assist only, and motor assist capped at 25 kph (15.5 mph). That amount of power is appropriate for anyone riding a bike, even a teenager. It is also huge improvement over a regular bike as now you are consistently going 15.5 mph regardless of hills, headwind, and cargo. Some states, like California, are trying to bring our current class I more in line with that: AB 1557.

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jk_pens@reddit

I see plenty of able-bodied adults using e-bikes…

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Militant_Triangle@reddit

Eh.... if it gets junior out more...... level 1 ebike locked to eco mode LOL...... forced to pedal and get some workout for sexy thighs for the ladys when it's time for all that. But an emoto or something that will throttle everywhere... fuck that. junior needs some physical conditioning for health and long life and not be able to kill his dumb ass on. I mean if my middle-aged ass has super sexy man legs from biking on low power assist while pedalling....junior can too.

Course... I dont have a kid. how could I afford all these ebikes?

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BC5820@reddit

I think with Aventon you can limit his distance, that should help

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Dustin4vn@reddit

get an e-bike ONLY capable of 20mph. there’s load of them and they’re cheaper.

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BldGlch@reddit

Most of the decent brands allow you to control through app or set a speed and settings lock code on the screen on the bike.

A lot of the last gen and previous Rad Power Bikes don't have this feature, so it is best to research after you've found a suitable bike style. Try to go to a local bike show that has ebikes and test some out.

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Alarming_Library7176@reddit

probably of note, phones are destroying more kids lives than ebikes.

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OGFrostyEconomist@reddit

Please stand your ground on this. I am a fully grown adult and crashed on my ebike going relatively slow last year (hit scree while making a right turn). If I hadn't been wearing a helmet with neck and cheek protection I'd have been seriously injured.

Children do not have the ability to make smart decisions about safety. He will ride it without a helmet and do dumb shit, even if it's a slow one. There's no reason to even have a bike that is capable of going 20mph. Having to be the bad guy sucks but it's much better than his life been ruined/ended because he got a head injury.

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Alarming_Library7176@reddit

lol children have plenty, clearly you made a fumble and are projecting. I rode regular mountain bikes at higher speeds and more dangerous terrain than my lovely new Ride1Up Vorst ST. But the choices I made as a child on that mountain bike, were guided by PARENTS. not REDDIT. They taught me safety, maintenance, right-of-ways, security, and repair/triage. At each stage of introduction to the sport, MY PARENTS, guided me through right and wrong. No Youtubes, No Reddits. Just people who wanted to not only see me accell, but be self-aware enought to stay safe when i was on my own.

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MidnightHeavy3214@reddit

At 13 he really shouldn’t be on one

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Alarming_Library7176@reddit

At 13 i was riding dirt bikes and quads.

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Hidden-Sky@reddit

I hope you were riding them strictly off road, or else that's a bad example.

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Alarming_Library7176@reddit

No i had Parents, not the kind too afraid to make purchase that would serve as a family activity, and diligent in the way of patience and training. Parenting is the key, not delegating parenting to the mob. Had i messed up, they revoked my privilege. They never forgot their role as my parents and guardians.

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HillbillyRebel@reddit

F' N' A right!

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OGFrostyEconomist@reddit

Yeah that's survivor bias. Of course we can't hear from people who had bad outcomes, they are dead.

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Embarrassed_Sail5161@reddit

stark varg for speed restrictions, if u want slower bike used kx500

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skintwo@reddit

The compromise is to get him a normal bike. Don’t you dare get him an E bike! Not only is it illegal in a lot of areas, he doesn’t need the damn thing.

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Such_Can_5353@reddit

any class 1 ebike with bosch, shimano, yamaha motors from major bike brands like trek, specialized, cannondale, canyon, cube, giant, yamaha, liv, tern, bianchi, etc. are limied to 20 mph.

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NCResident5@reddit

I know some people that have the Blix Cruiser style bike. It's throttle is capped at 20 mph, but you can unlock it, but you have to go through their app to do that.

I know some 30 to 40 adults that use these for short distance commutes.

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Such_Can_5353@reddit

blix is a garbage brand that resells chinese dtc ebikes, they don't make bikes.

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NCResident5@reddit

I just know 2 people who have them and liked them.

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Alarming_Library7176@reddit

Ride1up has speed limits that can be set. My new Vorsa does.

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subzeropitbull@reddit

Check the laws where you live. I know here e-bikes are prohibited under 16, even class ones due to registration laws. Basically you have to have a licence to register and ride them. Not that everyone listens, but it would be foolish to cave to a teenager just to end up fines yourself for letting them have one.

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Flying_Bob_270@reddit

Macfox M16 is made for kids. Get him to take an e-bike safety class.

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godzillabobber@reddit

All class 1 and 2 ebikes are limited to 20 mph in the US. The bike shop you puchase should be able to help you. Get them a bike with a 250 watt or 350 watt motor.

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stillworking400@reddit

OMG, even 20mph is ridiculous. My opinion, for what is worth, if you aren't old enough for a car license, you have no business driving an ebike.

My opinion is mostly based on my experience with children and ebikes in traffic and my ED physician son's pain seeing these kids coming into the Emergency Department with traumas.

Yes, I have and live my ebike. I also understand the rules of the road and what cars can and can't see or react to.

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trtsmb@reddit

I'm guessing you're also not 13 and realize you are mortal.

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Fit-Blacksmith-149@reddit

I would want to know what are his friends riding? Do they even have an e-bike? And… if they do what is the specific model(s) they have. He’s probably not going to settle for anything less than what they have.

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trtsmb@reddit

Why do parents refuse to be parents? My mom never cared what the other kids had when I was 13.

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Jkraghify@reddit

The faster you ride, the greater the injury if/when you fall. I would not give a child an ebike unless you trust them to not hurt themselves, and I wouldn’t trust 13yo me to not be stupid with a bike that enables me to ride too fast.

Coming from someone who’s busted his wrist biking too fast without electric assistance

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trtsmb@reddit

I busted myself up pretty badly running downhill. Ended up in the ER with stitches, wrist brace, road rash and hobbled out with a cane.

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Laserdollarz@reddit

Regular bike, or, this is the one situation where I would recommend an ebike with a paired app to control it. You'll want to do your research and find one with actual, secure parental control.

However:

As a former 13 year old, I would do my best to get around the app and go faster.

I always say "If I had an ebike in my teens, I probably wouldn't have all my teeth". If I had an ebike at 13, I probably would've done something stupid and gotten smashed by a car. 13 year olds don't know how cars work, let alone traffic laws. Whatever you put him on, remember that YOU ALONE are responsible for his safety and safety equipment. Depending on where you are, you can be charged for your kid's reckless riding.

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trtsmb@reddit

You might not have your life either.

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Tizer887@reddit

All ebikes have a limit in the U.K and if you're caught riding a one that isn't road legal then it will be confiscated.

You also have to be over the age of 13 years old to use one they are to be ridden on the road only though.

If my son asked me for one who is also 13 years old the answer would be no. They can't be trusted to ride them responsibly and they cause a danger to pedestrians and other road users if not used properly.

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w0lfgangpuck@reddit

Social reasons?

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trtsmb@reddit

I bet all his friend's parents have given in and bought their kids e-motos.

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trtsmb@reddit

Buy him a Soltera, Trek FX+ 2, Lectric, etc.

Your child is old enough to understand that he's not going to get everything he wants because other kids have e-motos, not to be confused with e-bikes.

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JeremyFromKenosha@reddit

Get him one that was designed from the getgo to be Class 1 or 2 only. Aventon Soltera, for example. Or Lectric XP Lite 2.0.

They both come as Class 1 or 2, but the throttle can be physically removed, and then you have Class 1.

The entry level of higher end brands sold in bike shops are Class 1. Maybe get him a Trek, ignore his pleas for some super-fast Chinese POS and he'll actually have something pedalable. (XP Lite 2.0 is not really pedalable, but the Soltera is)

Thanks for not being one of those permissive parents who is ruining eBikes for everyone by bringing Johnny Law down on us!

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BodSmith54321@reddit

Lectric XP Lite has a max speed of 20 for assist to work.

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logic_overload3@reddit

Visit a bike shop and get a class 1 e-bike with a Bosch smart system. No throttle, and they are very difficult to tamper with.

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zoolish@reddit

My daughter has a Velotric and I set her max speed using their app

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FreedomX01@reddit

That's what I was going to recommend as well Velotric ebikes you can control the speed and class via the app. Just don't show him how to access the menu via the control on the bike unless he figures it out

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Infamous-Entry-4914@reddit

A 13 year old will figure this out in less than an hour.

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Inciteful_Analysis@reddit

Aventon locked the Soltera 2.5 to 20mph via a firmware update.

Sensitive settings like speed should be optionally password protected for this scenario. But the most brands seem to offer is a power on password which isn't the same.

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BldGlch@reddit

Velowave's controller lets you set a passcode for the system settings which is where you set the speed.

I'm not a huge fan of Velowave, but their bikes are made well enough. I got one on FB marketplace for cheap and replaced the hub.

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madryan@reddit

My 16yo has been harping about e-bikes for a couple of years now. His little d-bag friend has several e-motorcycles that his parents let him just ride around with zero supervision.

I told my kid to suck it up and that if I caught him riding his friends e-bikes I’d take away his phone and ground him.

Parenting is hard.

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BldGlch@reddit

good job!

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Superb_Raccoon@reddit

REI:

https://www.rei.com/product/198781/co-op-cycles-cty-e21-electric-bike

20mph class 1. No throttle.

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Tomj_Oad@reddit

Class 2 ebikes are restricted to 29 mph or less. By design he'd be restricted to those speeds. Velotric makes excellent, waterproof bikes that are built to last.

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pistolplc@reddit (OP)

I like those bikes but they all have a 28mph top speed, per their website.

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Roy_F_Kent@reddit

20 mph under throttle, 28 mph assist limit, unlimited mph under human pedal power.

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iregreteverything15@reddit

This comment is very misleading. The presets on the Velotric have those settings. But you can fully customize them in the menus to go up to 28 mph with throttle alone. This video posted 2 days ago by EBR about the Velotric Gomad clearly shows that capability at the 4:40 mark.

Op, if you are concerned about speed and your teenager, do not get them a Velotric or any of these other select a class bikes. They will easily find a way to get to those high speeds.

There are bikes that are hard limited to class 1, but, unfortunately, they tend to be expensive. Your best option would be a something like Bosch Class I system. They come with 250 W mid drive motors, pedal assist only, and cut power at 20 mph. Bosch sells a lot of systems in Europe where they have to conform to the Pedelec classification. It's similar to our Class I in the U.S., but even more restrictive. Power cuts out at 15.5 mph (25kph). Again, bikes with these systems tend to be much more expensive. If you are interested, brands like Gazelle and Tern have these systems.

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ShitLoser@reddit

28 mph??? That's crazy fucking fast for a bicycle.

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Full-Part2427@reddit

It's fast but not unlike what you would see with a regular mtb and only a slight grade.

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Militant_Triangle@reddit

Look up what class 1, 2 and 3 mean. Many bikes now allow you set a bike up in the controller along with top speed and hopefully, passworded. but there are SO many brands now and even within a brand its different from bike to bike. You probably need to hit a bike store that sells ebikes..... Not to mention, your personal experience. Go ride some and find out which can kill your kid and which will not. Dont just cave to your kids wants. Some types ebikes should absolutely not be given to a teenager. Like would you give a small dirt bike or motorcycle to a 13 year old? Ya some of these things called ebikes are freaking emotos that can kill your teenager right quick.

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fgreen68@reddit

Get him a bike with a 250 watt motor. It'll be too weak to go too fast.

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Swollenraspberry@reddit

How technically inclined/computer savvy are you? If you are, look into previous generation Shimano mid drives, they can be restricted down to around 13 mph by changing the wheel circumference and region via Bluetooth. The motors also support a custom pin that you can set to prevent him from changing it back himself. Ofc he can still pedal faster by himself. Search for e-tuning shimano firmware pdf. Look at the different motors the app supports, buy a bike with the one you want and be prepared to downgrade the firmware (might void the warranty). Pm if you want more info.

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Quercus408@reddit

Get him a regular bicycle and make sure he learns and understand bicycle and road safety, the law, and the importance of wearing a helmet. Let him experience a little humility by peddaling himself up a hill once or twice, then let him tear around on an ebike.

Also you might wanna buy it through a LBS so that you can get reliable repairs, maybe even a warranty

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jk_pens@reddit

Why are you assuming this 13 yo doesn’t have an acoustic bike?

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Quercus408@reddit

13 is still too young for an ebike, in my opinion, but it's not my kid.

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ArcherStirling@reddit

Grow a spine and parent ffs.

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whiteandafraid@reddit

If he’s smart enough he could just change the wheel size in the settings to increase the speed at which the controller will cut out.

Just stick to a 36v e-bike if possible.

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PickleAlly@reddit

Isn’t that typically used to display the speed properly rather than affecting the actual speed? Same concept on vehicles except you can’t as easily change the tire size on a car without proper equipment.

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whiteandafraid@reddit

That’s the intention. My first e-bike topped out at 20mph which was too slow for me. Went into the settings on the display and changed the wheel size from 26 down to 16inch. After that the speedometer wasn’t accurate but since it was displaying a much lower speed than reality it would stop cutting out the power

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PickleAlly@reddit

Okay okay I can see this logic now potentially working. Just needed to think about it differently.

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jk_pens@reddit

Yes and the other way works too: if you tell the controller the wheels are larger it will overestimate the bike speed and thus cap out at a lower actual speed.

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Delicious-Baker-6348@reddit

Recently got this bike for my 10yr old. 250w, 15mph, and pedal assist only l. Tires are 20 inch so not sure how tall he is

https://a.co/d/0iIBmKL8

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mayorlittlefinger@reddit

That would be a great feature

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MobileAware2933@reddit

He’s not a computer so he doesn’t need this style of bike but it might end up sitting him, they are smaller and don’t go as fast as— I ride the globe haul but I see the Lectric XP Lite2 foldable e-bike around town, idk how quality it is but it looks like the top speed is 20mph, so maybe try looking into smaller commuter style folding bikes perhaps

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