New USA cycling database will list all certified and legal e-bikes

The National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA) has announced that they are producing a database that will list all certified and insured e-bikes available in the US. The NBDA, a non-profit organisation in place to support and promote independent retailers, says the list will make it easier for consumers, retailers, e-bike incentive programmes and local governments to differentiate between safe and unsafe e-bikes.

Read more: How to spot an illegal e-bike

The new plan to compile a comprehensive database expands upon NBDA's e-bike database that they launched last year. The publicly available list of e-bike manufacturers, linked here, currently holds just 21 brands, all of whom applied for a place on the list through the NBDA website.

Now, the NBDA is encouraging all certified e-bike manufacturers to put themselves on the list, thereby making a resource that will help consumers and retailers choose the right bikes, whilst promoting safe and legal e-bike manufacturers.

To make a spot on the list, manufacturers must submit their contact details, product certifications and product liability insurance information. Once the information has been reviewed and approved, the brand is added to the list.

If the NBDA can successfully get industry buy-in for their database, it could go some way to preventing illegal, unsafe e-bikes making their way into bike shops and homes. Illegal e-bikes, usually sold via online marketplaces, are often the cause of fires, which happen because of unsafe wiring between flammable lithium batteries.

Read more: Dangerous e-bikes: Trade-in scheme falls flat in New York

If used by bike shops, the new database could mean unsafe e-bikes never go on sale at independent bike shops. Additionally, it has the potential to provide consumers with a comprehensive list of safe brands which they can check any potential purchases against.

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