Cruise control and retrofitting a throttle to a 2014 ebike legally?

[daniel84uk]

Hello all, id like some advice please.

I bought a pre 2015 small ebike, and its labelled as only 200w. So it seems to comply with the 1983 law. I have a few questions.

1) The bike goes into a cruise mode after pedalling for about 10 second, so i don't have to pedal once im up to speed. Is this legal?
2) The bike came with no throttle, can i legally retrofit one as its pre 2015?
3) If not, am i correct in saying the only fully legal way to have a throttle and not have to pedal at all would be L1e-a 250W LPM?

The reason im asking this, and why i need a throttle is because despite only being 39 for the past few years ive been having trouble walking/cycling. I was relying on an escooter to get me about. However a few weeks ago the police confiscated it (It was a small scooter and i was going about 5 mph!). I knew it was a possibility, however the local force until now have been always been friendly and turned a blind eye. So a few weeks ago i bought a cheap ebike, the problem is the pedalling is killing me, no matter how easy it is to actually pedal. Its not a lack of fitness issue (Ive been active all my life) I seems I have some yet odd undiagnosed issue with my legs.

Thanks for any help all.

 

[flecc]

I bought a pre 2015 small ebike, and its labelled as only 200w. So it seems to comply with the 1983 law. I have a few questions.

1) The bike goes into a cruise mode after pedalling for about 10 second, so i don't have to pedal once im up to speed. Is this legal?

Yes.

2) The bike came with no throttle, can i legally retrofit one as its pre 2015?

Yes.

In both cases it has Grandfather Rights. The rights it had back in 2015, whether taken advantage of or not then, remain indefinitely.
.

 

[Nealh]

Does the controller have the facility to add a throttle ?

 

[daniel84uk]

Yes.



Yes.

In both cases it has Grandfather Rights. The rights it had back in 2015, whether taken advantage of or not then, remain indefinitely.
.

Thank you, i was hoping it would be you that advised

 

[daniel84uk]

Does the controller have the facility to add a throttle ?

I haven't had a good look at the controller yet. Im guessing i should be able to replace it with something similar, or programmable vesc. Legally i should keep it until 200w to remain legal, but i might bump it up to 250w. As long as i stick to the restricted speed limits i doubt they would ever know. Im sure nearly all controllers peak far higher. The motor never gets hot in its current configuration, so there head room there.

I just want to use it pain free. I did a load of miles on the canal yesterday, cycling on the flat bit was fine, but up the locks needed assistance, and now my legs are destroyed despite it feeling fairly easy whilst doing it.

 

[daniel84uk]

Still tempted to go down the L1e-a 250W LPM route too, just for the certificate in case the police try to take it off me due to ignorance of the law. When they seized my scooter i asked them what they look for with ebikes, they said a throttle.

 

[flecc]

Legally i should keep it until 200w to remain legal, but i might bump it up to 250w.

You don't even need to do that Daniel, a 250 watt controller is permissable, despite the stricture about every detail agreeing with the 1983 law. In fact that law had become entirely unenforceable on 10th November 2003 due to the EU legal order to abolish it. That of course our DfT had failed to do, but that failure didn't make it legal.

Here is the text of that EU order:

The EU Directive 2002/24/EC comes into effect on
May 9, 2003 and will replace the current Directive
92/61/EEC.

Until May 9, 2003 the current national regulations concerning the status of pedelecs will remain unchanged.
After May 9, 2003, the EU Member States have the choice of either keeping their current regulations for another 6 months or changing over to the EU-directive.

By November 9, 2003 all Members of the EU are required to integrate this Directive into their national legislation and abolish their previous regulations.

Example:
In Great Britain pedelecs with a top speed of 15 mph (22.5 km/h) and 200 Watt motor are classified as bicycles. Pedelecs with a higher top speed or a stronger motor require a type approval.

No later than November 9, 2003, Great Britain must conform to the EU-directive: Pedelecs may have a 250 watt motor and be able to reach a top assist speed of 15.5 mph, and still be classified as a bicycle.

Download the Document
The directive 2002/24/EC is available to download at the Official Journal of the European Communities:
.

 

[flecc]

Still tempted to go down the L1e-a 250W LPM route too, just for the certificate in case the police try to take it off me due to ignorance of the law. When they seized my scooter i asked them what they look for with ebikes, they said a throttle.

I certainly wouldn't bother Daniel. The police have little idea of the correct law and have made numerous mistakes, but they are gradually learning not to. We had an instance in London a while ago when in a swoop they confiscated a number of pedicabs, but then had to return them all due to their mistake. They tend to remember embarrassments like that.

Copy and print the letter below from the DfT and carry it with you on the bike. Paragraph 4 proves you can continue with a throttle due to your bike's age

Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPC) grandfather rights for existing electric bicycles.

Your correspondence has been passed to us in International Vehicle Standards (IVS) as we have responsibility for vehicle safety.

The overarching EU legislation for two and three wheeled vehicles, EU
Regulation168/2013 (http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:060:0052:0128:EN:PDF) enters into force on 1 January 2016 and mandates type approval for the new categories of powered cycles which includes ‘Twist and Go’ EAPCs. There is a staggered set of dates for each category to obtain type approval and these can be found in the annexes to the regulation.
Type approval can either be obtained by the vehicle manufacturer (if they are approving in volume) or by a motor vehicle Single Vehicle Approval (MSVA) conducted by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for individuals to obtain approval. I attach our information sheet on the MSVA system which I hope you find helpful and you can also find further information by clicking on this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/colle...ehicle-approval-msva-forms-guides-and-manuals

The legislation will not be applied retrospectively and therefore cycles with ‘Twist and Go’ used before 1 January 2016 will not be mandated to undergo any Type Approval processes.


As part of the GB EAPC amending legislation, that will come into force on 6 April 2015, the requirement for the marking identification has been amended. Previously a plate showing the manufacturer, maximum continuous rated power output and voltage was necessary, from April 6 2015 the requirement will be that the manufacturer, maximum continuous rated output and maximum assisted cutoff speed shall be marked on the cycle. The changes also include the change to the motor power for bicycles (200W to 250W), an amendment to maximum assisted cut- off speed (15mph to 15.5 mph), removal of the weight limits and the inclusion of cycles with more than three wheels.

Although ‘Twist and Go’ cycles will require Type Approval according to the dates in EU 168/2013 the decision has been taken that cycles that have ‘Twist and Go’ capabilities up to 15.5 mph will not be considered as motor vehicles and therefore will not require registration, tax, insurance and rider licensing. Any cycle with ‘Twist and Go’ capability above this speed will be classed as a motor vehicle.

There is no change to the law with regards to age that remains in place, no person under the age of 14 may ride an EAPC.

Yours sincerely,

James Brown

.

 

[saneagle]

I haven't had a good look at the controller yet. Im guessing i should be able to replace it with something similar, or programmable vesc. Legally i should keep it until 200w to remain legal, but i might bump it up to 250w. As long as i stick to the restricted speed limits i doubt they would ever know. Im sure nearly all controllers peak far higher. The motor never gets hot in its current configuration, so there head room there.

I just want to use it pain free. I did a load of miles on the canal yesterday, cycling on the flat bit was fine, but up the locks needed assistance, and now my legs are destroyed despite it feeling fairly easy whilst doing it.

The 200w/250w limit applies to the rating of the motor. There isn't now and never has been any law that regulates the maximum output power, neither has there ever been any regulation that prescribed a test method for maximum power of an ebike, so you can use whatever controller you want and run that motor with whatever power you want. That doesn't change it from being a 200w motor.

 

[daniel84uk]

I certainly wouldn't bother Daniel. The police have little idea of the correct law and have made numerous mistakes, but they are gradually learning not to. We had an instance in London a while ago when in a swoop they confiscated a number of pedicabs, but then had to return them all due to their mistake. They tend to remember embarrassments like that.

Copy and print the letter below from the DfT and carry it with you on the bike. Paragraph 4 proves you can continue with a throttle due to your bike's age

.

Excellent, thank you ever so much for this Ill do just that!

So the only reason to go down the L1e-a 250W LPM route would be if in the future i bought a more modern bicycle and wanted to power it solely via a throttle. (Which i may do at a later date)

 

[daniel84uk]

The 200w/250w limit applies to the rating of the motor. There isn't now and never has been any law that regulates the maximum output power, neither has there ever been any regulation that prescribed a test method for maximum power of an ebike, so you can use whatever controller you want and run that motor with whatever power you want. That doesn't change it from being a 200w motor.

Thank you