How on earth does he get away with this?

thestew

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 24, 2016
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37
another nice bike, they certainly aint cheep though. i just see the price of that and think i could have like 4000watts more for not much more monies. it just doesn't look like its meant to be.
 

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
5,786
The European Union
If it's a bicycle 4000 W is of no use to you. A bicycle can get by just fine with 500 W - 750 W because it is light and your power to weight ratio is in a sweet spot for correct range. Sure, bang a 10 kW motor in there and do smoky burn outs, nought to 50 in 3 seconds and after 10 km go home and recharge the battery. Or carry 20 kg of battery with you and become a motorbike.
 

thestew

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 24, 2016
7
1
37
i agree with what has been said regarding a pedelec on the road only having a limited power output and assist upto 15.5mph, esp considering you can ride them from 14... just i was thinking of these ebikes as being a way to stop pumping dead dinosaurs out the exhaust pipes of my daily use car and wknd use of the scrambler, by just the changing a few settings i could have the best of both. iv taken head of what has been said so i dont think i shall bother for now.
 

ABritInNY

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 27, 2016
5
3
47
turbo911, did you actually read what flecc has just written?

Just to try to help it sink in, here it is again.

"a pedelec is limited to a 250 watts rating. Anything above that is classified as a moped or motorcycle, regardless of whether it has pedals or not".

It isn't a case of particular forum members approving or disapproving, it is UK written law, end of!

It's like banging your head against brick wall on here sometimes!





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WHAT EXACTLY do you think the Ped in Moped stands for? obviously peddles! and motorized by electric or ICE, it's still a motorized peddled vehicle, that if goes over 20 and is over 250w nom isn't a UK pedelec, but an E Moped. Why is this so hard for people to understand?
Merely having the ability to be peddled doesn't make it a "Bike" which is the only conveyance capable of over 20mph. to be traditionally allowed to operate without a license or insurance!
If it helps less fit humans both enjoy their bikes/outdoors more, and keep up better with street traffic, by the simple addition of a low powered motor, then the resulting hybrid will still act and feel like a bike, however bigger motor setups require larger batteries and generate HP not human power so logically should be excluded.
I live in Brooklyn NY for the last few years, and over here (NY State law,) all Ebikes are ILLEGAL!! doesn't mean I don't have a bunch OR have stopped riding around. Instead I try to ride safely, stay off the pavement (sidewalks they call it here ;) and I nearly typed that accidentally lol.) I stay under 25mph (NYC speed limit): on ALL my bikes when on the roads (OK when I see cops ;p) There is Ebike insurance over here that one can get, but having it here is irrelevant to confiscation for illegality. In states with more liberal laws there is still a state v federal ebike law standoff because of the power definitions, but folks in Cali can have a 1000w nom motor and still not need any licence or insurance! sometimes I wonder why I'm still here in NY, coz if you're gonna leave blighty anyway, may as well have gone somewhere warm ;)
I built myself a multi Kw bike (cost about $4000 in parts) YES it has peddles! a rear 7sp derailleur too lol as well as an 8 magnet pedelec sensor (Yes, it has a half twist and seperate 3sp too lol) but I'm not deluding myself that it's even a Speed pedelec, because it isn't! If I'm honest it's a light e motorcycle built with bike parts for weight. Federal law in the US allows a grey area for inventors to operate and that's what I'm using. So far, so good, in it's testing but I've not exceeded 25mph despite pulling over 4000w on acceleration getting there :) Cars can't keep up lol unlike my turn key bikes which can do 25mph too, but accelerate about as fast as peddling.
I even have a UK legal, 250w pedelec MTB (that I initially hated!) that I now use for exercise. I initially thought it was slow as heck, as I was comparing it to my throttle Ebikes, and I always came home tired! I got stronger, learned to shift gears better, (I have 27 on the Freway,) went on a trail and had my Eureka moment. Of course now I know what each Ebike is good for, I'm very happy with my little 250w pedelec only bike. It's only 40lbs with battery so it's a bike still, and even in ebike banned NYC the police haven't even given it a 2'nd glance.
Nevertheless, it would be really good if they could just figure this whole legal issue out, and draft a set of laws that we can all reference, and based on them, license the bike/Us, or NOT as the law required us.
 

ABritInNY

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 27, 2016
5
3
47
If it's a bicycle 4000 W is of no use to you. A bicycle can get by just fine with 500 W - 750 W because it is light and your power to weight ratio is in a sweet spot for correct range. Sure, bang a 10 kW motor in there and do smoky burn outs, nought to 50 in 3 seconds and after 10 km go home and recharge the battery. Or carry 20 kg of battery with you and become a motorbike.
lol my battery IS 19 kilo! (lifepo4 is heavy) but the motor is only a 1500w nominal (4500+ peak) leafmotor, and I used All bike parts, so @under 45kilo it's not a motorbike either. Also, at under 40wh/mile (no peddling,) according to my CAv3 my 24s 30ah battery has 2.3 kwh in the pack, and will go waaay more than only 10km!!
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,152
30,567
Our UK assist speed limit is 15.5 mph since 6th April 2015 (matching the EU 25 kph). Before that it was 15 mph, and way back in the early 1980s the original UK EAPC law limited the assist speed to 12 mph.

Legal 20 mph assist we can only dream of. :)
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ABritInNY

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 27, 2016
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47
Our UK assist speed limit is 15.5 mph since 6th April 2015 (matching the EU 25 kph). Before that it was 15 mph, and way back in the early 1980s the original UK EAPC law limited the assist speed to 12 mph.
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Right but isn't that 15.5mph with motor assistance only, I thought peddling together with the motor after cutoff and freewheeling (as long as no motor assistance above,) was also legal upto 20, based on some of the earlier stuff I read.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,152
30,567
Right but isn't that 15.5mph with motor assistance only, I thought peddling together with the motor after cutoff and freewheeling (as long as no motor assistance above,) was also legal upto 20, based on some of the earlier stuff I read.
No, the motor has to be completely cut off at 15.5 mph and even below that speed can only operate if pedalling as well. Pedalling combined with motor power above the assist speed limits has never been allowed in either the UK or the EU. In addition, independently acting throttles are illegal on any new e-bike now.
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Fordulike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 26, 2010
3,802
1,538
I even have a UK legal, 250w pedelec MTB (that I initially hated!) that I now use for exercise. I initially thought it was slow as heck
I think you'll find a lot of UK legal pedelec owners over here share your thoughts. It's amazing what a difference another 4.5 mph makes. At 20 mph, the feeling of slow disappears, for me anyway. It's just a really nice happy medium between useable speed and safety.

I reckon if the UK law was ever changed to 20 mph, then a large number of threads on here would become redundant, as a lot of them are filled with questions on 'how do I make my bike faster?'.

Someone who buys a pedelec that is capable of assisting to 20 mph is less likely to want it to go faster.

Soundwave is the exception of course :D
 
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,152
30,567
I think you'll find a lot of UK legal pedelec owners over here share your thoughts. It's amazing what a difference another 4.5 mph makes. At 20 mph, the feeling of slow disappears, for me anyway. It's just a really nice happy medium between useable speed and safety.
It's surprising how national these feelings are though. The Dutch often find 10 to 12 mph a nice happy medium but will sometimes ride at 15 mph if needing to get a move on. I think most would regard 20 mph in town as positively anti-social.

The Danes seem to regard about 15 mph as their happy medium and the Germans are often content with speeds much slower than our UK desires.

Slower speeds generally rule in India, Africa and the Orient, so it does seem that we in the UK are somehow out of step with much of the cycling world.
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anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
5,786
The European Union
35 kph (+20 mph) assisted on the open road would be really really nice. When in town I am usually between 17 and 25 kph on the flat. And in the city speed is often limited to 10 kph on the cycle paths so I am often around 15 kph just to stay in the flow with the other cyclists around me.
 
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ABritInNY

Finding my (electric) wheels
Feb 27, 2016
5
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It's surprising how national these feelings are though. The Dutch often find 10 to 12 mph a nice happy medium but will sometimes ride at 15 mph if needing to get a move on. I think most would regard 20 mph in town as positively anti-social.

The Danes seem to regard about 15 mph as their happy medium and the Germans are often content with speeds much slower than our UK desires.

Slower speeds generally rule in India, Africa and the Orient, so it does seem that we in the UK are somehow out of step with much of the cycling world.
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Interesting how national viewpoints on speed differ, at first I found the 24.3mph top unassisted throttle speed on my kayman flash+ to be absolutely perfect, (It hits 25.7mph HOC for a few mins at the outset, but then settles down to just under 25mph (NYC city speed limit, and 29.8mph max for maybe 5 or 6 seconds ;) if I'm peddling my hardest and fighting the limiter with fury, all while standing in the saddle to peddle ;p lol.
No, I'd say it's the pathetic 'torque' I hated most about low power ebikes/pedelecs, and wanted to fix first, since at traffic lights I felt too slow 'off the mark,' and at a crazy impatient drivers mercy :(
So I endeavoured to build my own from scratch, rather than rely on an Ebike manufacturer speccing it 4 me.
However since it was Me that decided the specs, I "may," have gone a lil overboard with the power on it.
My plan was to peel and restick the 250w 36v bafang hubmotor stickers, on to the 1500w nominal, leafmotors case, just above my 7sp derailleur, in case an official visually looked to check...) I installed a 3sp switch on my CAV3, to control power levels 'on the fly,' but even @28a continuous on the lowest setting @80v is approx 2kw, it goes over 40 mph! Never mind settings 2 or 3!! (I Went 61 mph max during testing stage, over 90mph with no load ;) so even with stickers saying different, I don't think that would fool the cops in any way.
Perhaps if I was Dutch instead of English I wouldn't have been tempted to build it! As it is, (@least 4 now) I'm very grateful that I am. Imo, in certain traffic situations, being too slow is much more dangerous than being able to keep up with the traffic, even if that happens to be over 15.5mph.
 

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Pollmak

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jan 16, 2017
8
7
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Caterham
Only the restriction makes them slow. The S class bikes all used to be based on standard 250 watt pedelcs using exactly the same motor and controller, just without the restriction. Those with limited gear ranges assistd to about 22 mph, those with more extensive gear ranges like 10 speed or the Rohloff hub were good for 26 mph. Both those speeds are well beyond what the average cyclist normally continuously achieves on the flat.

I think you've got the wrong idea, e-bikes are not motor vehicles, they're bicycles with motor assistance. Look at the logic, if someone can't cruise at 26 mph when assisted with the allowed 250 watts rating, (actually typically circa 500 watts), they certainly wouldn't be able to on an unpowered bike, which rather dismisses your argument that the lack of power makes them slower. The only thing that makes them slow at 15 mph is the law.

Those who want a more capable powered two wheeler can buy a moped or motorbike, no-one's stopping them. They can even have one bike-style with pedals, so long as it meets the relevant safety standards and is registered and has motor vehicle insurance and the rider is licenced.

Which brings us to what this is all about, those who just want to dodge all the laws and just do anything, 1kW, 2 kW, 5kW or more, with 30mph, 40mph or very much more.

The law is what it is and isn't going to change, simply because it's entirely logical. Those who can cycle a bike at 20mph or more can continue to do so on their unpowered bike. Those who can only manage much less can get some assistance to keep them riding at up to the speeds they can manage on an unpowered bike.

That's the logic, pedelec law isn't about performance improvement. It's giving some assistance to enable people to continue cycling at normal cycling speeds, which are not 20 to 30 mph or more.
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I'd be happy to have a consistent 20 mph speed over say a 18 mile commute with out getting too exhausted to work with in 1 hour or so travel time, and then cycle back home again at the end of the day....saving on buying a £1900.00 Southern Rail Season ticket.
 
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flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,152
30,567
I'd be happy to have a consistent 20 mph speed over say a 18 mile commute with out getting too exhausted to work with in 1 hour or so travel time, and then cycle back home again at the end of the day....saving on buying a £1900.00 Southern Rail Season ticket.
That's a popular sentiment in this forum, and indeed among British e-bikers. It isn't shared elsewhere though, and that's the problem. There's a widespread consensus about the 25 kph (15.6mph) e-bike assist limit, mainland Europe, China, Australia, Japan and others having adopted it. That makes it difficult to get a government to do different.

We finalised our law on 6th April 2015 to harmonise with the EU, unfortunate timing now we are leaving the EU. Given the Brexit workload on the civil service for several years to come, it's unlikely any time will be spared for a low demand low priority thing like our assist speed issue.

Of course we could adopt the S class if the government permits it, and most S class bikes have an assist speed around 20 mph, some near to 28 mph. But they can't use cycle paths etc, only road use, and in the UK will have to be registered with a number plate and insurance and riders need a minimum of a group Q driving licence.

With all that bureaucracy and restriction, I don't think it's worth it.
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LeighPing

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 27, 2016
2,547
1,945
The Red Ditch
I'd be happy to have a consistent 20 mph speed over say a 18 mile commute with out getting too exhausted to work with in 1 hour or so travel time, and then cycle back home again at the end of the day....saving on buying a £1900.00 Southern Rail Season ticket.
 

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