CRUISING THE FAST LANE
As e-bikes surge in popularity among LA's South Bay teens, communities are facing new challenges around safety, regulation, and youth independence. This piece explores how a local injury sparked community concern. It explores the rise of teen e-bike culture in the South Bay post-pandemic, featuring the perspective of a mother and community advocate.
Photos courtesy of @noah01.jpg via Instagram
In 2021, on a sunny day along the Hermosa Beach Strand, 58-year-old veteran Glenn Kumro was sitting on his bicycle chatting with friends when a child on an e-bike crashed into Kumro at full speed. As a result, Kumro fractured his hip, broke his shoulder, and knocked two teeth out. The young e-biker apologized and then promptly rode off.
Kumro’s crash was not just a one-time incident. The surge of e-bike usage among teens has risen across LA’s South Bay since the pandemic, bringing independence to youth and convenience for parents. However, these e-bikes have also contributed to a growing number of injuries and conflicts. These South Bay cities, like Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Palos Verdes, are now trying to find a way to address safety concerns regarding age restrictions, helmet laws, and speed limits. Ultimately, at the center if this issue is the tension between freedom and safety, with parents, residents, and even local officials divided on what they think is the best way to manage this new era of youth mobility.
The clustering of stores on this map shows how closely tied South Bay bike culture is to the beach itself. E-bike shops (marked in red) outnumber traditional bike shops (blue), particularly in cities like Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. The surge in e-bike shops reflects the fast-growing shift in how locals navigate the coast post-pandemic, offering convenience along The Strand, but also raising concerns about safety in the region’s crowded beach areas.
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For parents in the South Bay, the shift is more than just visible on a map. It’s personal. Tanya Monaghan, a Manhattan Beach mother of three and active community advocate, has watched the e-bike boom unfold on her own street.
A Mother’s Perspective: Navigating the E-Bike Boom in Manhattan Beach
Tanya’s concerns aren’t unique. In response to the growing number of e-bikes, and the accidents that have followed, South Bay cities have started implementing new safety measures. For instance, the Manhattan Beach Police now post bike safety guidelines and have increased patrols near The Strand. Other cities have introduced local ordinances aimed at teen riders, including speed limit enforcement and helmet education campaigns.
Parents and young riders can explore the full e-bike safety course here:
When asked how parents can strike a balance between safety and independence, Tanya pointed to a local effort led by her friend Meghan Lamb. In partnership with city officials and police, Lamb helped launch eBikeSense, an online safety course that kids are encouraged to complete before riding on the road. "An e-bike is basically a car," Tanya said. "It goes fast, it travels far. And every day, all over the streets of Manhattan Beach, you see kids flying around with no clue how dangerous it can be."
Pictured: Tanya Monaghan and her husband, Liam Monaghan, riding their son’s e-bike in Manhattan Beach.
That danger has become increasingly visible. In recent months, Hermosa Beach police have stepped up enforcement against unsafe e-bike riding, especially among teens. A recent Instagram post from the department shows officers stopping young riders for blowing through stop signs and popping wheelies.
“Riding an e-bike is NOT against the law. Riding unsafely IS,” the post reads.
This post reflects the broader challenges local cities face as they try to balance public safety with a youth-driven e-bike movement that’s moving faster than policy can keep up.
For Tanya, safety isn’t the only concern. It’s the culture that has formed around e-bikes. She said she felt pressure to buy her second son an e-bike, not because he needed one, but because without it, he would have been left out.
This just shows how much e-bikes have changed the lifestyle of South Bay residents. It’s not just how kids get around. It’s how they connect, how they socialize. It has gotten to the point where if you’re not riding, you’re not part of it.
Despite her concerns about speed and traffic, it’s the culture forming around e-bikes that worries her most. One group at the center of that culture is a crew of teen riders known as the Goonies, or “The Goons. One of their regular meetup spots is the Vons parking lot near Manhattan Beach pier, where they gather before riding together through town. Tanya says the group has been linked to vandalism, including graffiti and even a beach lifeguard tower that was burned down.
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The group calls itself “The Goonies Squad” on Instagram, describing their identity as “a group of young riders who came together during the pandemic, out and about in our community.” Their motto? “Goonies stay outside & never say die.”
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But their presence has sparked concern. A recent editorial in La Vista, Mira Costa High School’s student newspaper, called out the group’s reckless behavior, arguing that local teens need to be held accountable for unsafe and disrespectful riding. ​
Those concerns are echoed in local police reports. In April, an e-bike-riding suspect allegedly threw a rock at a man in Hermosa Beach and later stole his bike, according to a report in the Easy Reader. The same article mentions other e-bike-related incidents, including one where police were hit with eggs.​
The rise of groups like the Goonies reflects something larger: a shift that began during the pandemic and hasn’t slowed down since. What started as a way to get outside during lockdown has now reshaped how South Bay teens move, gather, and socialize.
The Pandemic
The e-bike boom didn’t happen overnight. It accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. With team sports canceled, classrooms closed, and few ways for teens to socialize, e-bikes became a new kind of freedom. Riding offered a socially distanced way to get outside and connect with friends. Parents, looking for safe outlets, ultimately gave in. Essentially, what started as a workaround during lockdown has now transformed into a defining part of teen life in the South Bay.
According to the NPD Group, e-bike sales in the U.S. surged by 240 percent between 2019 and 2021, making them the fastest-growing category in the bike industry. In South Bay cities like Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, that national trend played out on an even more visible level, which was reflected in the number of kids riding and the wave of e-bike shops opening just blocks from the beach.
However, what began as a pandemic workaround has evolved into something much bigger. E-bikes are now woven into the everyday lives of South Bay teens, and for many families, they’re not going anywhere.
For parents like Tanya, the question isn’t whether e-bikes are here to stay. It’s how to keep the kids riding them safe, and aware of the responsibility that now comes with every ride down to the beach.
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​As more cities adapt and families adjust to this new normal, the conversation around e-bikes is only just beginning. What started as a trend has become a cultural shift that is redefining how teens move, socialize, and grow up along the coast.