Electric bikes, which unlike cars and motorbikes, do not need to be insured if the motor assistance cuts out at 15.5mph, come with an age restriction that means they cannot be ridden by those under 14.
But police said they have seen a rise in the number of younger riders and parents buying electric bikes for their children to use.
‘Our schools liaison officer is working with schools to ensure they understand the legal requirements, however, we wanted to take this opportunity to issue a general reminder,’ police said.
‘We also work with retailers to try and ensure buyers are aware.’
Wheels and Co director Sue Joyce said that she had seen a ‘fair few’ under-14s coming in with their parents with the aim of buying an e-bike.
‘We’ve had someone aged 12 come in to get one, and we have to say we can’t sell them to them,’ she said.
‘You get people coming in and saying loads of people their age use e-bikes, but we are really strict on it.
‘We don’t even let them try them out in the car park when they are under 14.’
Adventure Cycles co-owner Dan Thwaite said that a lot of parents had come into the shop looking for their 14-year-old, and if they were younger it was usually a case of looking at what they can get when they turn 14.
‘It’s more of a case that they come not long before their 14th birthday to look, but we do have to check their ages,’ he said.
‘It’s a UK law, which we follow like we do all the laws.
‘E-bikes are weighty bikes and have that added torque, so you do need to be able to ride a bike well before riding an e-bike, as it is easy to tear around on them.’
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