ABC Eyewitness News, WABC-TV in New York has an exclusive report on a fire that appears to have been sparked by an electric-motorized bicycle.
The questions that remained unanswered by the coverage are many. Was there a defect in the bike’s design, electric motor or battery? Was there an assembly error? Was the battery being charged at the time of the fire? Had the bikes been recently ridden?
EV World claim fires are a rare occurrence, but even electric bike shops have burned down. And e-bike fires are not limited to battery charging issues. Electric bikes catching fire while in operation are not unheard of.
It is impossible to recommend tips for avoiding similar situations because there is no independent research available on the different causes of these fires. The best you can do for now is to use common sense and be overly cautious. Never leave an electric motorized bicycle unattended when charging the battery. If theft is not an issue, charge your battery outside of any structure. If you notice excessive resistance to wheel rotation, hear anything rattling or observe a loose component while riding an electric motorized bicycle, stop operating the vehicle immediately and position it away from combustible material. Do not ride the bike again until a qualified technician evaluates and corrects the problem.