Example R.X.Y. Helmet
A bicycle helmet recall has been announced for the R.X.Y. brand sold though Amazon sold from September through November of 2025. These adult-sized helmets have been determined to be at risk of NOT providing production in case of a crash.
This article in Bicycle Retailer describes how the render these helmets unusable and secure a refund.
e-bike icon
A bill is making its way through the New Jersey state legislature which would require all e-bikes to be registered and their riders to be licensed and insured much like car/truck drivers. This post on the web site of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia spells it out if you don’t want to read through the entire bill.
This bill has transportation groups in New Jersey up in arms and the bike industry nationwide is paying close attention to how this plays out. Thus far none of it is stopping the bill. You can be sure there some in Pennsylvania looking to implement something similar, with incidents peppered across the state involving e-bike riders killed in traffic crashes as well as e-bike-involved pedestrian injuries.
Here in Montgomery County, commissioners recently voted to increase fines from $100 to $300 for types of e-bikes caught moving at excessive speeds in parks and on trails, including the county-owned Schuylkill River Trail. This was purportedly in response to e-bikes riding at speeds in excess of 20 MPH, sometimes much faster, on multiple occasions.
Much has been made about this NJ bill as well as others suggested or proposed elsewhere and how they would retard the movement away from fossil fuel transportation, and be specifically damaging to minority populations and younger riders who are taking up e-bikes in greater numbers – including food delivery riders. Older riders also complain these proposals will put e-bikes beyond their use at a time in their lives when traditional bikes may not be practical due to physical limitations.
It would seem all of the partial measures currently in place for reigning in e-bike riders are next to impossible to enforce – relying on park rangers and law enforcement to assess in an instant the weight and/or power and configuration (working pedals or not) of an e-bike before taking action – then there are the dangers of pursuing the potential offenders. This may be the reason for this one-size-fits-all approach in New Jersey – and it may also be a challenge to enforce.
In the end the real soliton may involve the bike industry proactively working at the federal level to limit the import and sale of certain types of e-bikes. Without a doubt there are a number types of e-bikes, from obscure manufactures which are not, in themselves safe for riders let alone safe to be operated among the general public – and let’s not forget about fire risks from poor quality batteries and miss-matched or substandard charging devices.
For many, the anything-goes environment e-bikes have grown into is no longer acceptable. The bill being considered in New Jersey may not be the answer, but something needs to be done. The last thing we need is more reasons for Joe-public complain bikes and bike riders.
Map indicating the section of South Broad Street controlled by Montgomery County and the point where the road crosses the Towamencin Creek.
If we go back to 2023, some of you may remember a vision for bike lanes on South Broad Street from Upper Gwynedd into Lansdale as part of road resurfacing activities. The important detail we learned at that time: part the road was owned by Upper Gwynedd Township, the middle section was owned by Montgomery County and the most norther part was owned by Lansdale Borough.
Thanks in part to action by Bike North Penn and organizations like Partnership for Transportation, Upper Gwynedd opted to add bike lanes to their section of the road but Lansdale Borough decided to move forward with resurfacing without adding bike lanes (but has undertaken work for an Active Transportation Plan). Though Montgomery County opted to add bike lanes, their section of the road was not going to be resurfaced until issues with the crossing over the Towamencin Creek, near Allentown road, was addressed.
Well, this is just to let everyone know Bike North Penn as not forgotten about that section of the road. Unfortunately, the only thing to report is that the approach to resolving that crossing is on-going based on the latest engineer’s report from Upper Gwynedd Township. At present there is no timeline for work related to the creek crossing to start, nor the resurfacing of the road.
And so, we watch and wait.
Sharrows on Park Rd. near the intersection with West Point Pike.
Last fall, sharrows were added to the street where I live in Upper Gwynedd Township – Park Road in the West Point neighborhood. This was the first sharrows-only application in the township and the first on a secondary, residential street. Nearby South Broad Street has had a mix of painted bike lanes and sharrows since 2024.
These sharrows are the first of others which will be coming as part of the township’s Comprehensive Recreation, Parks and Open Space Plan, which was adopted in January of 2025. If you click through to the PDF of the plan on this link, go to pages 92 and 93 to see an explanation of bike-related changes planned for the township and a map.
Bikes May Use Full Lane sign on Park Road in Upper Gwynedd Township
I cannot say the sharrows have done anything to slow drivers from excessively exceeding the posted speed limit of 25-MPH, and I cannot say yet there are yet significantly more bikers on Park Rd. However through my unscientific observations I can report there have been more parents and younger children on the road as well as young teens – though this may have more to do with the age of my neighbors than the presence of the sharrows. Additionally I have a neighbor who works in Worcester Township and recently started biking to work. He is out on a short segment of Park Rd in his travels – so I am happy these sharrows pay a small part in his choice of active transportation for his commute.
The township did a good job of posting the sharrow markings at frequent intervals and placing them in the center of each side of the road (rather than over to the right). I have been told by others the “Bikes May Use Full Lane” signs posted at each end of the street are unusually large – they sounded jealous.
When I am out riding on the street now, I do have a subtle sense of agency I did not feel before. As I approach each sharrow and it sides beneath me I get a very slight affirmation riding a bicycle on the street where I live is not an unusual or strange thing to do.
My hope others in Upper Gwynedd will get to have this same feeling as lanes, sharrows and other bike-centric elements are rolled out at some point none of this will be any big deal.
Map showing where sharrows have been placed on Park Rd.
2025 Western Philly Trail Summit
This trail summit is promoted as a trail summit for Philadelphia western suburbs, but truth be told, it is mostly about trails in Delaware County. That said, it is still very much worth attending if you are interested in development trails in the region – including Montgomery County.
This event is very well organized – in its 14th year – and is a great place to see how trails and bike infrastructure are being built out in neighboring communities. This usually includes relevant details on working with local and state government entities like SEPTA, DVRPC, PenDot and PECO.
Registration is free. If anyone from Bike North Penn is interested in attending, please notify President, William Jackson and attempts at car pooling can be made.
Below are links to the presentation deck for the January 2026 general meeting and a recording of the meeting. The recording of the meeting will auto expire after 90 days.
This is the online voting for President and Vice President of Bike North Penn for 2026. Printed ballots will also be provided at the January general meeting. If you vote on paper, please do not vote here. Voting is open between January 8 and January 31. Results will be announce at the February General Meeting.
To be clear there is only one candidate for each position:
The link below will take you to a PDF draft of the Bike North Penn bylaws which have been created by Vice President Geary Kochersperger. The goal of getting this document reviewed and generally approved by the membership of Bike North Penn is that it is one of the documents required needed towards attainting our formal not-for-profit designation.
Please take the time to look this over. Post and questions or feedback as comments to this blog post.
On Thursday, October 9 (second Thursday of every month) Bike North Penn held its monthly organization Meeting.
Link to meeting recording (will expire)
Here are the high points of the meeting (see the links above for more details):
1. For 2026, we want to encourage members to step forward to take on these formal volunteer roles:
2. Elections for BNP President and Vice President will be in December
3. Coming Bike Lanes on Lansdale’s East Main Street / Welsh R. (Line Street to North Wales Rd.):
4. Bike North Penn in the Lansdale Mardi Gras Parade
5. Annual Tweed Ride – Lansdale – November 15
6. Annual Holiday Lights Ride – Lansdale – December 10
On May 12, members of the Lansdale community, Borough Council members, and Bike North Penn met at the corner of Columbia and Richardson Avenues to hold a vigil and observe a moment of silence in memory of Diane Kopena. Diane was struck by a vehicle while walking across that intersection on April 24, and later succumbed to her injuries.
Following the vigil community members walked to the Borough Hall with a police escort to hear the results of the Borough Traffic Calming Study. A large turnout of Borough residents shared their thoughts and concerns on the results during the question and answer session led by Lansdale PD Chief Trail and a Pennoni Engineering representative. One of the primary concerns voiced by residents was that addressing visibility at intersections was outside of the scope of the study. Chief Trail stated that Lansdale PD will be ramping up enforcement of parking setbacks at intersections and crosswalks.
Study results will now go to the Lansdale Public Safety Committee for review, they will be linked here when they become available.