​​Yes I do, but some e-bikes are more serviceable than others. If you bought an e-bike online, from Amazon or Temu, the availability of replacement parts and technical support will be spotty at best. The mechanical aspect of any e-bike is usually serviceable. Tire changes, brakes, chains and cables are a simple matter. Error codes on the display can be a lot like the check engine light on your car. Sometimes these codes are instructive, and sometimes they can mean almost anything. 

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I'm considering buying an e-bike. Which bikes would you recommend? 

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If the e-bike is primarily sold and marketed through Amazon, Walmart or Temu, run, don't walk. It has been my experience that these bikes are prone to breaking down, unsafe, and almost always unserviceable. You want an e-bike with available replacement parts, technical support either on the phone or with email and headquartered in the United States. Some brands that I've had a good or at least decent experience with have been Lectric, Ride1up, RadPower, GOTRAX, Tenways, Aventon, Velotric and Blix.

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If my e-bike has a problem while under warranty, what can I expect?

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If you bought something direct to consumer and not from a local bike shop, you can hope for free parts, but nothing for labor. In one case, a hub motor failed and the company did not have a replacement part, so they offered to send a new bike. I've seen other off brand companies send motor controllers with wiring free of charge, but nothing for labor. And some companies offer nothing but excuses. This is why it's important to purchase an e-bike from a company headquartered in the US that values its brand reputation. Purchasing a reputable brand from a local bike shop (Trek, Specialized, Aventon or from REI), is the surest, albeit the most expensive way to avoid buyer's remorse. Buy once and cry once. 

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Can I make my e-bike faster? 

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Sometimes, but I wouldn't do it. In some cases, there are settings that can be changed so that the bike can be made to comply with local regulations. The options are usually 20km, 30km and 40km depending on the country or local laws. If you can do metric, conversions in your head, 30km is close to 20 mph and 40km is close to 28 mph. It is very important that the motor size, the controller, and the battery output work together correctly. Most of the battery fires you see in the news were probably due to DIY performance modifications. If you build you own e-bike from a kit, you can program the controller to believe the bike has 20" wheels when let's say it has 26" wheels.  This will allow the controller to spin the wheels faster because it believes it has undersized wheels. It is important to remember that local governments are cracking down on non-compliant e-bikes. Anything that has >750 watts and can throttle above 20 mph is not strictly legal as an e-bike.

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​What makes an e-bike legal and compliant and who can ride them? 

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E-bike classifications are Class 1, pedal assist only with no throttle and a top speed of 20 mph, Class 2, pedal assist or throttle with a top speed of 20 mph, or Class 3, pedal assist up to 28 mph. Some legal Class 3 e-bikes can throttle up to 20 mph but check your local regulations. Many local governments are restricting riders under the age of 16 to Class 1 or class 2 e-bikes. If the e-bike has no pedals or is able to exceed 20 miles per hour with the throttle only, some local communities are banning them outright, or restricting ridership to persons over the age of 16 wearing a helmet, and in some cases, requiring registration and insurance. 

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My son or daughter wants an e-bike. What should I know as a parent? 

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The current conventional wisdom is that holding parents responsible will make parents act more responsibly. If your child behaves recklessly on an e-bike, you could be fined for your child's behavior, and the e-bike could be impounded. For some inexplicable reason, some local communities think that e-bike riders are public enemy number one. Due to public pressure, regulations regarding e-bikes are changing. You should expect greater enforcement by local police and with that same public pressure, I suspect that city councils will enact new fines. My advice is to be proactive and not purchase any bike that is either illegal now or is likely to be heavily regulated by your local community in the future.