California does not use EN 15194 as the road rule. It uses three classes, in Vehicle Code section 312.5. I read the statute on 22 September 2026. I am not your lawyer. The statute is here, and if it has been amended, it wins: An electric bicycle, in that section, has fully operable pedals and a motor that does not exceed 750 watts. Seven hundred and fifty, not two hundred and fifty. A European hire bike and a California hire bike are not the same specification. If you ship a fleet across, read the label against the class, not against what was legal in the country you bought it. The three classes Class 1 assists only while the rider pedals, and stops assisting at 20 mph. It is not supposed to drive itself along, except a walk mode up to 3.7 mph. Class 2 can be propelled by the motor alone, with a throttle, and stops assisting at 20 mph. Class 3 assists only while the rider pedals, stops at 28 mph, and has to have a speedometer. Same walk-mode exception, up to 3.7 mph. A class 2 is the one that surprises a European operator. A throttle you can ride without pedalling is a normal class 2 product in California. In Great Britain, Queensland and on a German pedelec, that same behaviour is how a bike stops being a bicycle. Do not tell a California guest "throttle bikes are illegal" because you read a UK sheet. Do not tell a UK guest "class 2 is fine" because you read this one. Age, helmet, where they may go Class 3 has its own age and helmet rules in the vehicle code. Riders under 18 have helmet rules on bicycles generally. I am not going to paraphrase the helmet section from memory and get the age wrong. Open the code, or the CHP's electric bicycle bulletin, before you print a sign. A compliant e-bike is not registered like a car and does not need a driver licence the way a moped does. A moped is a different definition. If the bike is faster than these classes, or it has no pedals, you are in moped or motorcycle territory, and that is registration, a licence, and a different customer. Local agencies can prohibit e-bikes on equestrian, hiking and recreational trails. State Parks can prohibit them on paths and trails in their jurisdiction. "Bikes allowed" on a sign in Marin is not a statewide fact. The tour you hand a guest should name the paths you have actually checked, which is also just good hosting. The family loop you draw is only family friendly if the class of bike you hired is allowed on it. Napa, the coast, a hotel fleet: the guest does not know what class they are on. You do. Say it when you hand the bike over, and put the speed where assist stops into the handover note, so nobody is arguing with the motor on a hill.