Many of us of a certain age might remember our tween years — those days in the late ’60s when mini-bikes became all the rage for young men too small for a motorcycle and too young for a drivers’ license.

I was one of them, too, who’d ride my 3.5-horsepower, Sears Craftsman up and down patchtown alleys and coal roads, often trying stupid stunts that we thought would make Evel Knievel proud.

In following years, as we traded two wheels for four, we learned the responsibility that came with navigating the rules of the road.

There were still tweeners, though, whose mini-bikes morphed into dirt bikes that often buzzed past us on just one wheel.

And today, they’re doing the same thing, but they’re much quieter. E-bikes and e-mini-bikes are the modern version of our two-wheeled suicide machines.

What’s different now, though, is scale. Today’s two-wheeled terrors are mass marketed, more affordable and more powerful than what we knew.

These days, a 14-year-old can walk out of a big-box store with a 30 mph electric bike that requires no registration, no insurance, no training and no adult supervision.

And once those tweeners are out the door, it’s up to municipalities, trail managers and police departments to figure out what to do with them.

Consider, if you will, a place like the D&L Trail, an almost unenforceable stretch that snakes through the Lehigh Gorge and attracts thousands of people annually.

Its space is shared by walkers, runners, families with strollers and maybe even seniors out for slow rides to enjoy the views.

Mix in a 70-pound, battery powered bike capable of hitting moped speeds with a helmetless driver, and suddenly it’s a problem that can get real serious really fast.

And it happens daily.

Local governments are seeing the same thing on their streets. Young daredevils weaving through traffic, riding against the flow, blowing stop signs and turning parking metered sidewalks into personal slaloms.

Residents complain and police respond, but without clear rules and ways to enforce them, the cycle — no pun intended — continues.

Back in the day, towns had rules on dirt bikes or mini-bikes. I’ve seen many impounded crotch rockets crushed under the tracks of a bulldozer or just sold for scrap.

E-bikes fall through the cracks, though, because the law hasn’t caught up to the technology. Sure, the state has rules, but the machines flooding the markets don’t quite fit cleanly.

Some are sold as bicycles to avoid regulations, and municipalities are left to sort out the mess.

But what can be done? Governments can’t ban everything with a battery. E-bikes have legitimate uses, transportation for workers, recreation for families and mobility for seniors.

Technology is not the problem. It’s how that technology is used.

Locally, Lehighton, Weissport and Jim Thorpe are dealing with the problem, and supervisors in East Penn Township have already adopted a 10 mph speed limit on portions of the D&L Trail that pass through its boundaries.

They’re on the right track.

The state already has rules, and local governments can add to them to bring some order to the chaos.

Local police should have the ability to impound e-bikes on the streets illegally. They can require registrations, grab anything that’s overpowered or illegally operated. Many places used that method for dirt bikes with success.

Posting signs that tell what’s allowed, what isn’t allowed and any penalties would let people know exactly what the locals expect from e-bikers.

Perhaps most important would be educating parents and tweeners about what they’re buying. Anything over 750 watts or goes more than 20 mph isn’t a toy. Schools, governments and civic groups might partner on spreading the word.

It’s not like they need to reinvent the wheel. Some of the e-bikes are more like motor vehicles than bicycles.

Our trails need to be safe for everyone and streets shouldn’t turn into racetracks.

The last thing anyone wants for an e-biker is a trip to the local ER.

Or worse.

ED SOCHA | tneditor@tnonline.com

Ed Socha is a retired newspaper editor with more than 45 years’ experience in community journalism.

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.