Manly is among the Sydney suburbs where illegal e-bikes have drawn significant attention. Teenagers on modified fatbikes are a regular presence along the suburb’s footpaths and roads, riding without helmets, carrying multiple passengers and, in some cases, travelling well above the legal speed limit.
Read: Manly Beach Leads with Australia’s First Safety Code for Electric ‘Fat Bikes’
The bikes are known as fatbikes for their wide, sand-ready tyres. Many are modified or sold with unlock codes that allow them to exceed the 25km/h legal limit for e-bikes in NSW, sometimes by a significant margin. Residents across Sydney’s coastal suburbs, from the Northern Beaches through Bondi to Cronulla, have reported similar issues, with Manly among the areas receiving a high volume of complaints.
Earlier in 2026, dozens of riders were spotted crossing a golf course near Manly. Another captured a large group, including teens in school uniform, riding across the Harbour Bridge during a mass rideout organised by a US-based YouTuber. Councils across the area have received a rise in complaints from pedestrians and motorists.
How the Market Got Here
Observers have linked the volume of illegal fatbikes on NSW roads to a series of regulatory decisions at both federal and state level.
In 2021, federal authorities relaxed import restrictions on e-bikes, removing the requirement for importers to demonstrate compliance with minimum safety standards. Two years later, in 2023, NSW doubled the maximum permitted power output for e-bikes from 250 watts to 500 watts.
Under NSW law, e-bikes must require pedalling above 6km/h and the motor must cut out at 25km/h. However, some retailers sold high-powered bikes with PIN codes allowing buyers to unlock higher speeds, with the stated justification that the higher speeds were for private property use only.
The Pedestrian Council of Australia has linked the spike in illegal fatbike numbers directly to the loosening of import rules in 2021. Of the 750,000 e-bikes currently on NSW roads, NSW Transport estimates tens of thousands are illegal. There is currently no minimum age to ride an e-bike in NSW, and children under 16 are permitted to ride on footpaths.
Injury Numbers Rising
Hospital data reflects the rise in illegal and unsafe e-bike activity. St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney reported that serious e-bike injuries at its emergency department had doubled in 2025 compared to 2024, and had increased by 350 per cent since 2023.
Medical staff at Royal North Shore Hospital have described e-bike injuries as becoming routine in major trauma settings. Clinicians note that riders are sustaining injury profiles more typically associated with motorised vehicle accidents, including brain injuries and friction burns, while not wearing the protective equipment required of motorbike riders. Fatbikes can weigh up to 40 kilograms.
Proposed Reforms
NSW Transport Minister John Graham has announced a package of proposed measures in response to the issue. These include introducing a minimum age for e-bike riders, adopting European safety standards that would cap motor output at 250 watts and require anti-tampering protections, and giving police the power to crush illegal bikes.
Minister Graham has said the aim is for Sydney to develop as a cycling city while maintaining control over how e-bikes are rolled out.
Read: Northern Beaches Highway Patrol Targets E-Bike Riders in Manly Corso Crackdown
The proposals have drawn criticism from both sides. At least one e-bike retailer has described the response as disproportionate, arguing that education should precede enforcement. The Pedestrian Council of Australia has argued the measures do not go far enough, pointing out that 16-year-olds would still be permitted to ride on footpaths under the proposed changes. The council has also raised concerns that the absence of a compulsory insurance framework leaves pedestrians injured by e-bike riders with no clear avenue for compensation.
NSW Police have noted publicly that pursuing riders on fatbikes carries its own safety risk, complicating enforcement of existing laws.
Published 28-April-2026
