My fellow Florida Cyclist (and Father) recently sent me this article from his hometown newspaper on the legality of ElliptiGos on Florida roadways.

On December 1, 2019, Dan Moser was ticketed for riding a “bicycle” without a seat on a roadway.  Per the citing Officer, Dan’s use of his ElliptiGo was reserved for multi-modal paths, not roadways.  Under then-current law, the Officer may have been right.

All of this got me wondering about ElliptiGos in Kentucky and Ohio.

In Kentucky, per 601 Kentucky Administrative Regulation Section 1 a “Bicycle” “[m]eans a device with an attached seat propelled primarily by human power upon which a person rides astride or upon, regardless of the number and size of the wheels in contact with the ground.” This definition in subsection (1)(b) goes on to exclude a wheelchair from the foregoing definition. So, a bicycle in the Commonwealth of Kentucky is characterized by an “attached seat” and propulsion by “primarily human power.”

In Ohio, per Revised Code 4511.01(G) a “Bicycle” “means every device, other than a device that is designed solely for use as a play vehicle by a child, that is propelled solely by human power upon which a person may ride, and that has two or more wheels, any of which is more than fourteen inches in diameter.”

Dan would have never been subject to citation in Ohio, but his ElliptiGo would not qualify as a bicycle under Kentucky law.  

Back in 2019, per Florida Statute Statute 316.003(4) a bicycle was defined as “every vehicle propelled solely by human power, and every motorized bicycle propelled by a combination of human power and an electric helper motor capable of propelling the vehicle at a speed of not more than 20 miles per hour on level ground upon which any person may ride, having two tandem wheels, and including any device generally recognized as a bicycle though equipped with two front or two rear wheels. The term does not include such a vehicle with a seat height of no more than 25 inches from the ground when the seat is adjusted to its highest position or a scooter or similar device. A person under the age of 16 may not operate or ride upon a motorized bicycle.”

Dan pushed for a change in Florida law and he won.  He was instrumental in pushing through House Bill 353 which is scheduled to go into effect on July 1 which will amend Florida Statute Statute 316.2065(2) to read:

One should note the current definition of a “bicycle” under Florida Statute 316.003(4)  defines a “Bicycle” as “every vehicle propelled solely by human power, having two tandem wheels, and including any device generally recognized as a bicycle though equipped with two front or two rear wheels. The term does not include a scooter or similar device.”

So for you ElliptiGo Riders out there, you are good-to-go in Florida and Ohio.  But beware, you are not riding on a “bicycle” in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.