Fatbike manufacturers welcome possible introduction of minimum age

Fat bike manufacturers would welcome a minimum age. A group of manufacturers united in the Federation for Safe Fat Bikes does not fear that an age requirement will affect the sales of their fat bikes. On Saturday, the PVV announced that it wants to introduce a minimum age for these electric bikes with thick tires. As a result, the majority in the House of Representatives open to this has become even broader.

The majority in the House of Representatives wants stricter measures, particularly a minimum age, to be introduced for riding fat bikes. The PVV, GroenLinks-PvdA, and VVD parties want Infrastructure Minister Madlener to introduce an age limit. However, the PVV MP has expressed little support for the measures, RTL Nieuws reports.

Hwoever, it is not yet certain that a specific proposal for a minimum age can also count on a majority in parliament because there are still questions about where the limit should be and whether it should also apply to other e-bike users.

The discussion about fat bikes has been going on for some time. At the end of June, the VVD already stated that it was in favor of stricter measures, such as a helmet requirement, a driving license, or a minimum age. We all see how many accidents and nuisances young people cause on fatbikes. These machines are de facto just mopeds," says MP Hester Veltman.

Fatbike manufacturer Niels Willems, a wants a minimum age provided it applies to all e-bikes. "Otherwise, you will see that you are shifting the problem. Fatbikes are not a separate category, but regular e-bikes," he says.

The group of manufacturers finds a minimum age of 12 years a "no-brainer," says Willems. "Many children use the fatbike to cycle 10 or 15 kilometers to school." He thinks that if the minimum age was higher than 12 years, those students would be disadvantaged. However, Willems emphasizes that manufacturers would not object to a limit of 16 years, as Caroline van der Plas of BBB proposed on X. "But people have to understand that you are then no longer offering students the opportunity to cycle to school on a fatbike."

Willems, co-founder of fatbike manufacturer Brekr, does not fear a decrease in sales if an age requirement is introduced. "We make beautiful, legal products that are a bit more expensive than the ones that younger children jump on en masse." Moreover, the nuisance caused by souped-up fatbikes that children ride around on could decrease with an age limit, improving the image. "So it could be that we also benefit from it," he says.

The PVV was previously against an age limit, but Member of Parliament Hidde Heutink said on Saturday on X that he was in favor. On Thursday, Barry Madlener (PVV), Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, was not very enthusiastic about measures against fat bikes. "It is a very strict measure," he said about an age limit.