Here at Adventure Cycling Association, we recognize and celebrate the power and joy of riding bicyles…. including eBikes. We recognize the many benefits that eBikes can provide and their capacity to enable folks to extend their active lives long after injuries and age advance. As the technology continues to improve and the national dialogue on eBikes continues to evolve, we commit to adapting our policies where pragmatic.

We do an annual industry audit to identify:

• What types/classes of eBikes other touring operators allow in the field
• How federal and local permitting has shifted
• Current eBike manufacturing evolutions (weight, batteries, capabilities)
• What improvements the overnight locations on our tours have made to potentially support adequate eBike battery charging in the future

When updating our policies, we also consider these additional factors:

• Route specific permitting requirements and restrictions
• Route specific overnight location charging capacities
• Route proximity to resources specific to eBikes if something goes wrong
• Weight load capacities for our vans and trailers
• The health and safety of our leaders (who are responsible for loading bikes)
• Insurance requirements and restrictions

We subscribe to the eBike definitions that our friends over at The League of American Cyclists provide. We also highly encourage all of our participant and members who are eBike riders to take the League’s eBike safety course.

2027 Season Policies

• Class 1 eBikes are welcomed on most of our fully supported and inn-to-inn tours. Class 1 eBikes are pedal assisted to a max of 20 mph and do not have a throttle.
• Class 2 and Class 3 eBikes are not currently allowed on our tours due to presence of throttles, capacity to reach higher speeds, generally heftier weights (though that is rapidly changing with newer models), and significantly higher frequency of permitting restrictions.

We do not currently allow eBikes on self-contained tours due to the general lack of overnight charging stations, mechanical assistance, and/or SAG vehicles on the road. As mentioned above, we reassess this annually.

Tours that welcome eBikes will be marked with this icon:

Please note:

While we try to expand eBike access to as many tours as possible, some inn-to-inn and fully supported tours simply still do not support eBikes due to restrictions on our route, permitting restrictions, or shuttles that require limiting their use.

Additionally, various local, state, and federal regulations prohibit eBike usage on some roads and trails that these tours use. Some of our more remote tours prohibit the use of eBikes simply because they do not frequent overnight locations at regular enough intervals that allow for the robust charging needs that many eBikes require.

Occasionally tours allow but require special permitting for eBikes. Your tour leaders will let you know if you need to obtain a personal eBike permit when they start their pre-tour communications with the group 60 days before the tour.

Because every rider, eBike, road condition, and elevation profile is different, it is ultimately up to the participant to judge best whether their battery will last through each tour day. We recommend:

• Using pedal assist in its lowest setting or off when not needed to maximize battery range.
• Bringing a second battery that can be carried by you on an inn-to-inn tour or via vehicle on our van or fully supported tours.
• Bringing any tools specific to your eBike
• Getting familiar with basic maintenance for your specific eBike
• Assessing your personal physical fitness to identify whether you have the capacity to still pedal your eBike if battery issues were to arise

Photo by Dorothy Stephens