bikemotion x35
- Thread starter RichC
- Start date
having dabbled with the x35 system do you think its worth trying to transfer it over to another bike, my longitude has great drop outs that would take almost anything, i then just stick the sensor in a frame gap of which there are several on the drop out, put the battery in a tube and fit it to the bottle mounts under the top tube and i think i'm sorted with the additional range extender in a bottle cage. or should i just go down the hub or mid drive route and leave my gravel bike intact for hacking around the forest when my knee is better?
Firstly I'm no expert, but I'd say you're best going down the Bafang / Tongsheng route, for a few random reasons (depending on whether you're touring or MTB'ing):
- The ebikemotion setup is designed to be inside the frame, where most of the connectors are protected from a direct water/mud hit. However, the round connectors do look fairly water resistant.
- A system built of separate parts is more easily & cheaply fixed when it goes wrong
- If you're riding mostly offroad, then there's no reason to limit yourself to the 250W/15.5mph limits. The ebikemotion isn't open to
- If you go mid-drive, you can fit any rear wheel. I looked hard at the Tongsheng ones but you do need to make sure your bottom bracket is compatible with it. My tourer has cable routing channels under it so I couldn't fit one without recourse to filing/brutality.
- Mid-drive is generally thought to be better for off-roading.
- If you're only tarmac riding some of the above don't factor in, and either hub or mid-drive are OK, especially if the hub motor is a standard connection (in terms of replacement)
Or - radical and somewhat expensive - buy a secondhand one off eBay, use it for a few months until your Ribble arrives, and then sell it again. You'll get most of your money back, but you do have to sink about £1200-1500 into it for those months. Eeek.
[Edit: Ha! VFR said most of that in one sentence. Well done. That'll teach me not to read to the bottom.]
That is: If you're riding offroad on private land with no public access.
Above 250W/15.5mph onroad riding is OK with insurance etc, but offroad riding in public places (bridleways, towpaths, cycle paths etc) is prohibited.
can you get insurance without a licence plate and MOT? i have a full car licence and have looked at electric motorbikes recently and doing my CBT
Ah - good correction, sjpt. My mistake.
And above 15.5mph you're in motorbike/moped territory - proper British Standard helmet, etc:
www.gov.uk
> Any electric bike that does not meet the EAPC rules is classed as a motorcycle or moped and needs to be registered and taxed. You’ll need a driving licence to ride one and you must wear a crash helmet.
At which point, you may as well just give up on the pedals. And fitness.
And above 15.5mph you're in motorbike/moped territory - proper British Standard helmet, etc:
Electric bikes: licensing, tax and insurance
Electric bikes meeting the EAPC regulations can be ridden on the road without being taxed, licensed or insured
> Any electric bike that does not meet the EAPC rules is classed as a motorcycle or moped and needs to be registered and taxed. You’ll need a driving licence to ride one and you must wear a crash helmet.
At which point, you may as well just give up on the pedals. And fitness.
Just to make it clear, to be legal and ride a bike with assistance above 15.5 mph, you'd have to register it as a L1eB vehicle.
The other way round, riding a bike with assistance above 15.5 mph and/or a motor above 250w and without registering it, doesn't mean that you're riding a moped, motorbike or L1e-B vehicle. It means you're riding an illegal bicycle. If caught, you'd be treated accordingly. The penalties are completely different.It's a complete myth that you'd be charged with no insurance, no licence, no helmet, no MOT, etc., as demonstrated in the recent case where a Thomas Hanlon ran down and killed a woman while riding an illegal bicycle.
No, the 'etc' in 'insurance etc' includes licence plate and MOT. I have heard it is quite difficult to get insurance even then, because it is a somewhat niche market .
The illegal riding market is much bigger with only tiny risks of being caught, unless unlucky enough to be in an accident in which case the police might look a bit more closely.
That case certainly shows how unlikely you are to be charged with the various no insurance etc laws, but it doesn't prove that those laws are not applicable. I think they were so sure they would get convictions on the more serious charges that they didn't bother to charge with the lesser ones (but stand to be corrected).
About 1/5th the way down is Article 4 'Vehicle categories', Section 2.a.(ii):
Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles (Text with EEA relevance)
Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles (Text with EEA relevance)
It really is a moped, with all the laws that come associated with that (inc type approval, reg plate, helmet, brakes on both wheels, etc)
Failure to register one doesn't mean it isn't a moped. For example, if I don't register my motorbike, it's definitely still a motorbike!
I'm now mildly regretting suggesting RichC gets a faster one, but you're forcing me to educate myself, which is definitely appreciated.
don't worry, i've decided to go down the 250W route and i've emailed Woosh a few questions on kits and i'm sure they will keep me legal! Thanks for the inputAbout 1/5th the way down is Article 4 'Vehicle categories', Section 2.a.(ii):
> L1e-B vehicle (two-wheel moped);Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles (Text with EEA relevance)
Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles (Text with EEA relevance)www.legislation.gov.uk
It really is a moped, with all the laws that come associated with that (inc type approval, reg plate, helmet, brakes on both wheels, etc)
Failure to register one doesn't mean it isn't a moped. For example, if I don't register my motorbike, it's definitely still a motorbike!
I'm now mildly regretting suggesting RichC gets a faster one, but you're forcing me to educate myself, which is definitely appreciated.