That bargain e-bike you bought online? It might burn your house down

Fast Company

6 days ago

If you bought an e-bike on Amazon for a price that seemed too good to be true, there's a fair chance you might've been right. A federal consumer watchdog just issued a recall for about 24,000 e-bikes in the sub-$1,000 price range, all of which were sold at popular retailers including Amazon, Walmart, Sears, and Wayfair.
According to the recall notice, issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on July 17, the affected bikes were sold under the brand name 'VIVI.' The recall comes due to a potential fire and burn risk posed by the bikes' 36-volt lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, which have already resulted in 14 reports of overheating and three reports of fires, though, thankfully, no injuries have been reported. Full details of the recall—including affected models and retailers—are listed in the notice.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time that the next-to-non-existent e-bike and e-bike battery regulations in the U.S. have resulted in fire concerns.
Why are e-bikes catching fire?
According to a 2022 article by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), the first UL Standards & Engagement safety standards (a voluntary safety certification) for personal electric micromobility devices were created back in 2016, after more than half a million electric hoverboards were recalled due to overheating and, in some cases, explosions.
'The truth is battery-powered electric micromobility devices, including the e-bikes and e-scooters that have become immensely popular in recent years, do catch fire,' the NFPA wrote. 'Specifically, it's their batteries, which are often lithium-ion, that pose a risk.'
Today, UL Standards & Engagement has two separate safety standards for both e-bikes (UL 2849) and e-bike batteries (UL 2271). These standards require a one-time certification test to confirm that a product is safe, which typically cost between $30,000 and $100,000. However, in most U.S. jurisdictions, these certifications are not required—and there is currently no federally mandated safety standard.
Of the VIVI brand e-bikes involved in the recent recall, all of the affected models that are currently available on VIVI's website claim to be certified with UL 2849, but not with the battery specific UL 2271. Several of the affected models appear to be either unavailable or no longer sol d.
A 2022 investigation by Consumer Reports found that loose regulations have resulted in many companies skirting around adequate safety precautions for both e-bikes and their lithium-ion batteries to avoid added costs. This trend was made even worse by the fact that, before May 2 of this year, Chinese importers (which account for the majority of the U.S. e-bike market) were incentivized to keep prices low by the de minimis exception, which allowed goods under $800 to enter the U.S. tax-free.
'Lack of regulation or industry-wide acceptance of safety standards may leave lower-income users at greater risk than those able to afford high-end devices that are likelier to be UL-certified,' Consumer Reports noted.
As of 2023, New York City began requiring UL certification on all e-bikes. A UL Standards & Engagement study published in 2024 found that the rate of deaths and injuries in the city began to slow significantly after the law was put into place. And, this coming January, California is set to follow New York City's example with its own UL requirements.
However, as the Consumer Reports' investigation noted, until a federal standard for e-bike safety is set, it's likely that other states will continue to encounter problems caused by faulty batteries.
'Despite the mounting toll of fires, injuries, and deaths tied to e-bike batteries, manufacturers and sellers have failed to take vital steps that would protect people's safety,' said Gabe Knight, policy advocate for Consumer Reports, in a press release. 'When an industry isn't putting safety first, people rightly expect the Consumer Product Safety Commission to step in. CR's investigation shows that the CPSC can't do its job as quickly or effectively as it needs to as long as Congress forces the agency to fight with one hand tied behind its back.'