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Pocket bikes: hot and dangerous wheels.(Up front: news / trends / advice)
Miniature motorcycles, aka pocket bikes, have become the rage among teenagers and young adults with a need for speed. The bikes also have some government officials scrambling to get them off the streets.
Some European pocket bikes can cost $3,000 or more. Asian-built knockoffs cost much less: Both electric and gas-powered models sell for as little as $250.
"These are essentially toys, not legal vehicles," says Stan Porter, safety standard program manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation. Porter described pocket-bike users as everyone from "young children to a 24-year-old emergency medical technician who rides one to work."
We think they're a bad bet. We tested, on paved private property, two gas-powered and two electric bikes, purchased from major retailers such as Pep Boys and Amazon.com. We were astonished by the bikes' shortcomings:
Drivers can't see the bike riders. A pocket bike's seat is less than 2 feet off the ground (see photo). Motorists are unlikely to see them.
The brakes work poorly. In our tests, stops on gas-powered bikes traveling at 20 mph took about 20 to 30 feet, what we consider a precariously long distance. Electrics reached top speeds of 7 to 14 mph and stopped in 4 to 15 feet.
Handling is sub-par. The faster our testers rode, the less stable the bikes felt. At about 20 ...
- 'Pocket bikes' are little but lethal.
- Magazine article from: Trial Porter, Rebecca September 1, 2005 700+ words
...response. Also known as pocket bikes or pocket rockets...standards for street-legal vehicles, and they're operated...see you. With these pocket bikes, the problem is going...that up to 2 million pocket bikes have been sold in the...
- Mini Motorcycles Are a Growing Safety Issue; Pocket Bikes Are Illegal to Ride...
- Press release article from: Business Wire August 31, 2004 700+ words
...Miniature motorcycles, known as pocket bikes, have become popular items this summer...danger of serious injury or death. Pocket bikes are sold at toy stores, automotive...company estimates it will sell 500,000 pocket bikes by the end of the year. "There are...
- Pocket bikes are hot ... and controversial.
- Newspaper article from: Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) December 22, 2004 700+ words
...PHILADELPHIA _ To many adults, so-called pocket bikes sound like chainsaws on steroids, and...but just plain fun. Most agree that pocket bikes are one of the hottest _ and most controversial...parts, acquiesced to a ban on sales of pocket bikes in Philadelphia. But the company ...
- Pocket bikes spell fun for youths, worry for adults.
- Newspaper article from: The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News) December 23, 2004 700+ words
...23--To many adults, so-called pocket bikes sound like chainsaws on steroids, and...but just plain fun. Most agree that pocket bikes are one of the hottest -- and most...parts, acquiesced to a ban on sales of pocket bikes in Philadelphia. But the company maintains...
- NORTHGLENN CLOSE TO PUTTING BRAKES ON POCKET BIKES CITY COUNCIL TO VOTE TONIGHT...
- Newspaper article from: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO) Aguilar, John May 12, 2005 700+ words
...joins a growing list of cities banning "pocket bikes" and other small motorized vehicles...public roads, sidewalks and paths. Some pocket bikes can reach speeds of up to 50 mph and...vehicles "commonly known as minibikes, 'pocket bikes,' kamikaze boards, go-peds and...
- POCKET BIKES? YIKES! UNREGULATED, QUARTER-SCALE MOTORCYCLES ARE CROPPING UP...
- Newspaper article from: The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) August 9, 2004 700+ words
...these glorified weed-eaters. Called "pocket bikes," the miniature motorcycles may be...much as an accident waiting to happen. Pocket bikes average just 3 feet in length, a foot...adults are not the only ones hopping on pocket bikes. Youngsters are drawn like moths to...
- Ride on? Cops say steer clear of pocket bikes.(News Debate)
- Magazine article from: Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication December 3, 2004 700+ words
...the latest fad to sweep the nation--pocket bikes. Also known as pocket rockets or minimotos...officials in cities and states nationwide say pocket bikes are a major traffic hazard. They want pocket bikes off the streets--and fast. Wheel...
- Gilroy, Calif., rules mini-cycle 'pocket bikes' are illegal on public roads.
- Newspaper article from: Dispatch (Gilroy, CA) June 28, 2004 700+ words
...out at 12 mph. Gas-powered "pocket bikes" can cost up to $1,500 each and hit 40 mph. European racing pocket bikes, such as those that compete in...lanes. "The bottom line is, pocket bikes are not legal to ride on the street...
