Hi new to forums and ebikes. Recently purchased a kit from ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Voilamart-250W-26-Front-Wheel-Electric-Bicycle-Conversion-Kit-Cycling-26/223229377064?hash=item33f981fa28:g:bgMAAOSwbqddvfVu which i thought was legal as it only does 15mph and 250w motor but i have been informed the twist throttle makes it illegal is this correct and how would i change this as the throttle mechanism is also the power switch and battery meter. Any advice much appreciated.
Is my ebike legal on the road
- Thread starter Gooseman
- Start date
This may be the only kit on the market that you can't alter the speed limit.So yes its legal.
i really would not worry about it as you are not going to be setting any world speed records with that kit anyway even with a throttle 
www.pedelecs.co.uk
UK Electric Bike Law – Pedelecs – Electric Bike Community
www.pedelecs.co.uk
You could just leave the throttle disconnected; it should work fine just on PAS. As soundwave says you are very unlikely to get into issues because of it.
Who knows? As far as I understand throttles on manufactured bikes can only work
1 If they only assist to 6kph
2 If they only assist whilst peddles are turning.
However nowhere does it mention self built bikes. It is therefore legal because it is not specifically illegal
Some bike suppliers give customers a throttle that they can retrofit summising that this is legal because it was not part of the manufacturing process.
Perhaps Flecc will be along to inject whatever clarity and/or sanity is to be had here.
I'd say, keep your throttle, don't take the ****. In other words use it for hill starts and get away from junctions but don't swan down the road at 15mph not peddaling - it'll attract unwanted attention.
1 If they only assist to 6kph
2 If they only assist whilst peddles are turning.
However nowhere does it mention self built bikes. It is therefore legal because it is not specifically illegal
Some bike suppliers give customers a throttle that they can retrofit summising that this is legal because it was not part of the manufacturing process.
Perhaps Flecc will be along to inject whatever clarity and/or sanity is to be had here.
I'd say, keep your throttle, don't take the ****. In other words use it for hill starts and get away from junctions but don't swan down the road at 15mph not peddaling - it'll attract unwanted attention.
Great Post. Well said.Who knows? As far as I understand throttles on manufactured bikes can only work
1 If they only assist to 6kph
2 If they only assist whilst peddles are turning.
However nowhere does it mention self built bikes. It is therefore legal because it is not specifically illegal
Some bike suppliers give customers a throttle that they can retrofit summising that this is legal because it was not part of the manufacturing process.
Perhaps Flecc will be along to inject whatever clarity and/or sanity is to be had here.
I'd say, keep your throttle, don't take the ****. In other words use it for hill starts and get away from junctions but don't swan down the road at 15mph not peddaling - it'll attract unwanted attention.
Andy
Not relevant to your query, and possibly teaching granny to suck eggs, but make sure you put a connector in the cable to the motor so that you can easily remove the wheel to fix punctures. I have one of these conversions and absence of a connector is the only criticism I have of the supplied kit.
I myself find the throttle very useful when cross a road say from rest in a hurry. It is more so if the ebike is on a uphill gradient. This is a pensioner's view and young bikers may dismiss it out of hand.
Hi, just looked at the cable and this makes sense to do. this cable holds 9 seperate wires what connector would you suggest for this or would you just use a series of bullet connectors?
I would think that 9 bullet connectors would be a bit bulky.
I used the following and have had no issues:
The male part of the plug has a loop in the molding that was useful to cable-tie onto the fork.
fwiw my cable had only 8 wires.
Deliveries from China are currently very slow and I'm sure you could get something similar from a UK source albeit probably at a much inflated price!
It's also worth making a loop at the bottom of the cable so that any rainwater will run off the bottom of the U rather than into the hub.
I used the following and have had no issues:
The male part of the plug has a loop in the molding that was useful to cable-tie onto the fork.
fwiw my cable had only 8 wires.
Deliveries from China are currently very slow and I'm sure you could get something similar from a UK source albeit probably at a much inflated price!
It's also worth making a loop at the bottom of the cable so that any rainwater will run off the bottom of the U rather than into the hub.
That is the reverse of the truth I'm afraid. In UK law every form of motorised vehicle is illegal unless specifically allowed in law.However nowhere does it mention self built bikes. It is therefore legal because it is not specifically illegal
Ergo, an otherwise legal pedelec with a fully acting throttle is illegal. There is a complex workaround in the UK only, but it's not worth all the trouble.
As others are saying, don't worry about it if you use the pedelec sensibly and adhere to all the main aspects of the law.
.
Some more on the lack of any legal status for kit motors:However nowhere does it mention self built bikes. It is therefore legal because it is not specifically illegal
None of the e-bike laws make any mention of kits in the UK and Europe. All three laws, technical standards EN15194, the exemption from motor vehicle type approval 168/2013 and the usage on the road law EAPC 1983 as modified 2015, they all only refer to complete manufactured electric assist bikes, trikes and quad bikes.
So both individuals and suppliers operate in a legal vacuum in which all try to supply and use as closely conforming to the complete e-bike law as they can, trusting that is acceptable. That has always worked elsewhere throughout all of Europe and the UK without any mention of a possible prosecution, providing the three main points of the law are adhered to, i.e. 250 watts maximum assist, 15.5 mph maximum assist speed and power only when pedalling.
However, I can tell you the theoretical UK legal way of dealing with a kit, although no-one has ever done it with a kit yet:
1) Buy and fit the motor kit.
2) Make an appointment at an approved vehicle testing station, paying the £55 test fee.
3) Normally the purpose of this is to get an SVA (Single Vehicle Approval), entitling it for use as as type approved motor vehicle. However your aim will be to get the inspector to agree that it meets the pedelec requirements so is exempt from being a motor vehicle and is approved as a pedelec as well as having SVA.
There is only one testing station set up for this, the one at Southampton!
That's because an arrangement has been made there for pedelecs with an added otherwise illegal throttle to be tested for L1e-A approval to make the throttle legal in the UK only under a DfT approval. So it kills two birds with one stone, legalising both the fitted kit and the throttle, but on that one e-bike only.
But to my knowledge they've only ever done this once.
In summary, legislators don't like kits, too many variables, so avoid their mention like the plague. Mainland Europe killed the kit car industry long ago and our laws have damaged it here too, so we are perhaps lucky that the lawyers don't pay attention to our little pedelec kit niche.
.
Hi ya, I just clicked on the Link to the connectors you mentioned but looks like it's not opening the page, do you know the name of the connector please? thanks, Jeff
Hi
Try the following link:
If you have no joy, reply and I'll send a pic of the page
Try the following link:
If you have no joy, reply and I'll send a pic of the page
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