I assume the term e-bike was dreamed up by a clever marketing team who wanted to confuse, mislead and obfuscate consumers while giving manufacturers wiggle room in describing their products. Instead of calling them what they are, electric-motorized bicycles or electric-powered motorcycles, e-bike is a cute, fun-sounding, non-descriptive-blanket term that gets tossed over a wide range of motorized vehicles. Case in point, the Pave 01.
The misleading ad on Facebook’s marketplace says, “The Only eBike with…” and is linked to Pave Motors. Pave Motors is taking pre-orders on the Pave 01 that is NOT an e-bike. It is, surprise, a motorcycle. It may be a tiny, underpowered, Sharper-Image-design-looking motorcycle, but it is a motorcycle. The Pave 01 is not permitted to be ridden on sidewalks, bike paths or bike lanes.
The company does say that their product is a motorcycle but you have to dig pretty deep on their website to uncover that fact. The 01 sells for between $3900 and $4400 depending on the power option you choose.
Civil disobedience: You wouldn’t think about riding a Harley-Davidson Road Glide on this commons area, but riding the Pave Motors 01 is just as illegal. It is a motorcycle. No pedals, no bicycle (or e-bike). Very misleading promotional material on Pave’s part.