Rowan Gatenby, who is disabled, says her powered tricycle is a lifesaver, allowing her mobility at an affordable price. She was in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

james S. wood / Arizona Daily Star

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New gas-powered and electric bikes are a growing presence on Tucson's streets, and the city is wrestling with the question of whether they are bikes, mopeds or none of the above.

After a public hearing Tuesday, the City Council will decide whether to regulate the gas-driven cycles in a manner similar to their pedal-driven cousins, or whether to consider them motorcycles in disguise and treat them as such.

A new state law that takes effect on Thursday exempts these bikes from state motor-vehicle laws but opens the door for regulations by cities. City officials want to pass their regulations before the new law is in place.

As a result, users of the gas-powered and electric bikes have been lobbying the city for few or no rules regarding their use, while pedal-driven cyclists have complained that the bikes are a safety hazard and shouldn't be allowed on bike paths or in bike lanes.

Traditional-bike enthusiasts such as Diana Tolton, chairwoman of the Tucson-Pima Bicycle Advisory Committee, said the gas-powered bikes will present safety and enforcement problems and lead to an increase in accidents.

The Bicycle Advisory Committee she chairs has asked the city that gas- and electric-powered bikes be banned in Tucson except on private property.

Tolton also said the bikes don't have a speedometer — which the city cannot mandate under the new state law — to tell riders how fast they're going.

She asked a council subcommittee not to allow use of the bikes, but if it did, to provide speedometers estimated at $25 to be installed at city cost on all gas-bike vehicles for safety.

That council subcommittee passed a recommendation in early September that if accepted by the full council would put minor regulations on the bikes, rules requested by police.

Those restrictions include:

● Requiring helmets for operators under 18 years old.

● Prohibiting use by people under 16 years old.

● Allowing only one rider per bike.

● Prohibiting the bikes' use on sidewalks.

● Limiting their operations to places where bikes are currently allowed.

● Preventing their use on multiuse paths such as the one around Reid Park or the trail next to the Rillito River.

● Mandating the use of a headlamp and red rear reflector at night.

● Requiring merchants who sell the bikes to disclose city operating regulations.

The gas-powered bikes — which are typically beach cruisers — include a two-stroke engine of the type that powers chain saws, leaf blowers, Jet Skis and dirt bikes, with a half-gallon fuel tank filled with a combination of gasoline and oil.

The bikes have a clutch to facilitate starting and are powered by a throttle on one front grip. Braking power comes from rear coaster brakes and a front caliper brake on the other front handle grip.

The bikes, which users say reach only 20 mph but police say reach 30 mph or even 40 mph, use braking systems that are a combination of those designed for mountain bikes and beach cruisers, which usually travel slower than their motorized brethren.

But users say they are a practical and cost-efficient way to get around. The bikes have price tags starting at about $500, and they get as much as 150 miles per gallon.

Supporters include Rowan Gatenby, who after a stroke has limited vision in one eye and no depth perception in the other. She can't drive a car because of her ailments, and can't ride a pedal bike or walk long distances because of severe pain in her legs resulting from the stroke.

So she had Spooky Tooth Cycles, which builds many of Tucson's new gas- and electric powered bikes, custom-build her a $800 electric-powered tricycle, which she says is the key to her freedom.

With mobility chairs costing about $3,000, Gatenby said she was "blown away" when she heard the cost of the tricycle.

The tricycle can travel at speeds of up to 18 mph, but she said it's usually ridden at about 10 mph to 12 mph.

It allows her to go to the store, get groceries and even travel five to six miles away from her East Side Tucson home to go to see her therapist. Without it, "I have to wait for my husband to get home," she said.

Her only restriction from her doctor is not to ride at night, Gatenby said, and because her bike is electric-powered, she won't ride it in the rain, either. But she points to her bike and says, "This is it" — her only way to get around.

"This has been a lifesaver for me," Gatenby said. "Before, I couldn't get out."

There is another twist, according to city officials. The state law exempts gas and electric bikes from motor-vehicle laws only if they are traveling under 20 mph. Otherwise, the law classifies them as motor vehicles, requires drivers to have licenses and prohibits them in bike lanes.

City officials acknowledged that the 20 mph rule would make enforcement hard.

However, the council subcommittee, made up of council members José Ibarra and Nina Trasoff, sided with the fact that the bikes are a primary form of transportation for low-income residents. The panel decided to recommend only limited regulations that would prevent their use on multiuse jogging and bike paths, but allow their use in bike lanes on streets.

Powered-bike debate

On StarNet: How should the city regulate gas and electric-powered bikes? Find the online version of this story to participate in the poll at azstarnet.com/metro