350w+ mountain bike, upto £5k

[PhilX]

Hi flecc.
Thanxs again for your reply it explains why I cannot trace that back to source which is a pity.
You are a gold mine of information.
On the plus side your mention of BEBA took me to their web site where under "About" they clearly state that" E-bikes are legally classified as bicycles, provided they have motors of 250 watts or less ...". This may be so in the parts of the EU that have adopted the directive but conflicts the reply given to me by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport in answer to my question on motor size where he advised waiting until the results of the review had been made public and a decision made to change the limit from 200wt to 250wt.
They are the BRITISH Electrical Biking Ass' and their word should be gospel to us Brits and may be it is?
Who knows???
I was amazed how many e-bikes had already been sold and that sales in 2012 were expected to reach £27M and expand further in 2013.
A sizable industry.
I will be interested as to what the Right Honourable Member has to say.
Personally I find it all smoke and mirrors so I have decided to do my own thing.
Fondest regards,
PhilX

 

[flecc]

BEBA's publication of the limit being 250 watts is a direct result of that meeting Phil, one of a number which BEBA and other interested parties have attended with the DfT. The industry has a parliamentary lobbyist in Lord Laird who, with BEBA, has mounted an e-bike demonstration to parliament as you can see on this link. Note that the City of London Police also gave a presentation there and that all e-bikes present were 250 watt rated.

I'm not at all surprised by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport reply that you received, they would have been bound to state the legislated provision. There are precedents for these informal waivers though, even in cycling. For example, the Countryside Act of 1968 permits cycling on bridleways, mentioning only "bicycles". Other UK cycling legislation mentions "bicycles, tricycles and bicycles with four or more wheels". So the act precludes tricycles. However, the government backed Sustrans sustainable transport organisation successfully lobbied the DfT for a waiver for tricycles, now permitting tricycles.

Another is the issue of cycling on pavements which is illegal, but a waiver exists for those who do so out of fear of traffic. Here's the detail:

On 1st August 1999, new legislation came into force to allow a fixed penalty notice to be served on anyone who is guilty of cycling on a footway. However the Home Office issued guidance on how the new legislation should be applied, indicating that they should only be used where a cyclist is riding in a manner that may endanger others. At the time Home Office Minister Paul Boateng issued a letter stating that:

"The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so. Chief police officers, who are responsible for enforcement, acknowledge that many cyclists, particularly children and young people, are afraid to cycle on the road, sensitivity and careful use of police discretion is required."

Almost identical advice has since been issued by the Home Office with regards the use of fixed penalty notices by 'Community Support Officers' and wardens.

"CSOs and accredited persons will be accountable in the same way as police officers. They will be under the direction and control of the chief officer, supervised on a daily basis by the local community beat officer and will be subject to the same police complaints system. The Government have included provision in the Anti Social Behaviour Bill to enable CSOs and accredited persons to stop those cycling irresponsibly on the pavement in order to issue a fixed penalty notice.

I should stress that the issue is about inconsiderate cycling on the pavements. The new provisions are not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of the traffic, and who show consideration to other road users when doing so. Chief officers recognise that the fixed penalty needs to be used with a considerable degree of discretion and it cannot be issued to anyone under the age of 16. (Letter to Mr H. Peel from John Crozier of The Home Office, reference T5080/4, 23 February 2004)
.

 

[Sacko]

Thanks Dave

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=14824

I'm 6ft 4" 17stone and this takes me to 45mph, quickly!

Direct drive is what you need for off road, geared drives are very good but like Dave has said; they maybe subject to abuse off road.

 

[hillclimber]

Sounds great. How many Watts is the motor ?

 

[Sacko]

Peaks at 4.5kw (45amps @ 100.6v)

At 20mph it cruises at a mere 270-280w, there aren't many bikes as efficient as that.

Range 17-30 miles
Will climb ANY hill @ 29mph
Comfortable cruising at any speed from 5mph-40mph
Top speed 45mph

Can be restricted by programming the speeds on the 2 speed switch. Currently set for 30mph and 45mph.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You could change the battery configuration from 24s2p (4 x 2 bricks) to 12s4p (2 x 4 bricks) to give 20aH at 50v. It would then go about 22mph for much further if you find 43 mph a bit scary, or go down to 18s2p for just over 30mph. Loads of options to get the speed how you want without having to spend any additional money.

 

[mountainsport]

Peaks at 4.5kw (45amps @ 100.6v)

At 20mph it cruises at a mere 270-280w, there aren't many bikes as efficient as that.

Range 17-30 miles
Will climb ANY hill @ 29mph
Comfortable cruising at any speed from 5mph-40mph
Top speed 45mph

Can be restricted by programming the speeds on the 2 speed switch. Currently set for 30mph and 45mph.

That is awesome Sacko

MS

 

[Sacko]

Thanks

New motor is being laced this week for the next project.