"It’s safest to buy a complete e-cycle, with battery pack and charger included, from a reputable retailer"

[Peter.Bridge]

Battery safety for e-cycle users

www.gov.uk

Don't mind it as advice as long as they don't shut down the kit market

 

[thelarkbox]

Seems to echo what i perceive to be the pretty much the collective wisdom dispersed in here..
If you can afford it there are some great bikes available off the shelf,
If converting use a suitable bike and kit.
be mindful of the risks of 2nd use kit.

but since an apparently innocent official comment could be one of those wedge thin end things I share your desire its not one of those..
You will never stop kids of all ages playing with bikes tho..

 

[Peter.Bridge]

I suspect the real safety problem isn't e-bike kits but people charging batteries to the wrong voltage / with unsuitable chargers

 

[matthewslack]

Too posh to e-bike: get an e-cycle!

 

[guerney]

"Warning signs for fire risk

The warning signs that your e-cycle battery could be a fire hazard include:

Heat
It’s normal for batteries to generate some heat when charging or in use, but if it feels extremely hot to the touch, it may be defective and at risk of fire, so stop charging it immediately."

Noise
Failing lithium batteries have been reported to make hissing or cracking sounds."


Ebike fires are very rare, but in the event one ever happens in your home...any length of time gained for escape, even if it's just a few seconds, seems to be well worth the effort and expense. By the time there's smoke, it's too late.

Heat: High temperatures are alarming... or would be... if there was an alarm triggered by high temperature on or inside the battery. Looking at lithium-ion battery fire videos on Youtube, it seems highly likely vital extra seconds (at the very least) of forewarning could be gained for the soon to be sobbing and possibly bereaved former homeowner, to make their escape. Enterprising companies could build such devices into their batteries quite cheaply, for use when charging only. The same enterprising companies could make retrofit battery temperature alarm kits.

Noise: Monitor charging using a stethoscope? Or a contact microphone? Build in a short delay to prevent feedback, enabling cracking sounds of the failing battery to be amplified and heard through speakers while charging? Or transmit battery cracking sounds via Bluetooth to an earpiece or headphones? Again, cheap to integrate into a battery (without amplifier, obviously). I think this is a cracking idea.

 

[flecc]

Don't mind it as advice as long as they don't shut down the kit market

but since an apparently innocent official comment could be one of those wedge thin end things I share your desire its not one of those..

They won't shut it down, anything that gets people out of cars and onto two wheels is sacrosanct.

What could happen if fires get too bad and/or too frequent is enforcement of what should be happening anyway. Any kit bike completed having to be taken to one of the approved testing stations to be certified as ok for road use.

That would get rid of much of the illegality and dangerous installations very efficiently.
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[Peddlin' Pedro]

What could happen if fires get too bad and/or too frequent is enforcement of what should be happening anyway. Any kit bike completed having to be taken to one of the approved testing stations to be certified as ok for road use.

Challenge would be management of supply chain and parts market. The entire supply chain would have to adopt conformity at each stage and certification of same. No testing centre would sign a system off without knowing what was inside the constituent parts.

Not an insurmountable challenge and it'd certainly see off some of the crapper manufacturers and distributors, but you'd take a huge bite out of the value proposition for conversions, which should be seen as key in getting people out of cars and onto bikes.

The BA and ACT have jumped on this in a big way (see attached image), but of course - being a trade body for the UK market - it's all about safety and absolutely not about regulating conversions into oblivion. There's undoubtedly a problem that needs addressing but it needs to done in a way that preserves access to ebikes for those who can't afford an off-the-shelf product, or those who don't want to be locked into proprietary standards, technological dead-ends and designed obsolescence.

And some generic copy I've used in addressing the issue with local authorities and community groups:

'Well executed, EAPC standards-compliant conversions undertaken with high quality batteries and conversion kits are as safe as off-the-shelf bikes but at a fraction of the cost. They can offer still greater value by avoiding the designed obsolescence and technological dead ends inherent to vastly more expensive ‘off-the-shelf' options from the established industry.

Experienced and responsible installers provide comprehensive training and user guides to customers to help them realise the greatest value, efficiency and usable service life from their converted ebikes. The importance of battery-care and correct charging form a core part of this training, along with highlighting the dangers of poor quality batteries and charging any battery with a charger of poor quality or incorrect specification.

The safety of battery packs from unknown sources is of course a concern, as is the use of inappropriate chargers and non-EAPC standards compliant motors. Some form of regulation to address the use of poor quality batteries & chargers and non-compliant motors would be reasonable but must not result in effectively prohibiting perfectly safe and usable aftermarket ebike conversions.

There is now an established acceptance of the urgent need to reduce unnecessary journeys by car and combustion-powered vehicles. The safe, affordable and accessible opportunity offered by aftermarket ebike conversions should play a key part in achieving that aim.'

 

[flecc]

Challenge would be management of supply chain and parts market. The entire supply chain would have to adopt conformity at each stage and certification of same. No testing centre would sign a system off without knowing what was inside the constituent parts.

Not an insurmountable challenge and it'd certainly see off some of the crapper manufacturers and distributors, but you'd take a huge bite out of the value proposition for conversions, which should be seen as key in getting people out of cars and onto bikes.

The BA and ACT have jumped on this in a big way (see attached image), but of course - being a trade body for the UK market - it's all about safety and absolutely not about regulating conversions into oblivion. There's undoubtedly a problem that needs addressing but it needs to done in a way that preserves access to ebikes for those who can't afford an off-the-shelf product, or those who don't want to be locked into proprietary standards, technological dead-ends and designed obsolescence.

And some generic copy I've used in addressing the issue with local authorities and community groups:

'Well executed, EAPC standards-compliant conversions undertaken with high quality batteries and conversion kits are as safe as off-the-shelf bikes but at a fraction of the cost. They can offer still greater value by avoiding the designed obsolescence and technological dead ends inherent to vastly more expensive ‘off-the-shelf' options from the established industry.

Experienced and responsible installers provide comprehensive training and user guides to customers to help them realise the greatest value, efficiency and usable service life from their converted ebikes. The importance of battery-care and correct charging form a core part of this training, along with highlighting the dangers of poor quality batteries and charging any battery with a charger of poor quality or incorrect specification.

The safety of battery packs from unknown sources is of course a concern, as is the use of inappropriate chargers and non-EAPC standards compliant motors. Some form of regulation to address the use of poor quality batteries & chargers and non-compliant motors would be reasonable but must not result in effectively prohibiting perfectly safe and usable aftermarket ebike conversions.

There is now an established acceptance of the urgent need to reduce unnecessary journeys by car and combustion-powered vehicles. The safe, affordable and accessible opportunity offered by aftermarket ebike conversions should play a key part in achieving that aim.'

View attachment 56291

True indeed. Over regulation is what killed off the kit car market in the EU and damaged it here too.

I'm not advocating similar for conversions, just warning what will happen if the present situation of very damaging and sometimes lethal fires continues. The authorities will be forced to act against their own preferences for a large two wheeled EV market.

However, I think there is too much emphasis in the cycling world of the need for minimal regulation, that is nowhere near as necessary as is claimed.

When I joined the trade in 1950 it was in the process of building a large and very successful assisted cycling trade using tiny ic engines, reaching well over a million on the roads with a much smaller population then. Every one of those converted bikes had to be registered, number plated and be taxed with visible disc and insured. The rider needed to have a full motor cycle licence or provisional with front and rear L plates.

All that burdensome regulation didn't stop those over a million buying and riding. My father became one of them in his later years, he'd never tried any form of motor vehicle before in his life, always using public transport. But when he saw this route being ideal for him to get to and from work cheaply and easily, he bought a Velosolex and coped with all the requirements, including successfully taking the motorcycle test a couple of months later to get rid of the L plates.

But most of that was enforcement. We were very poor and low paid following WW2 with the country bankrupt, and public transport in a sorry state from a decade of WW2 damage and no investment. I'm saying that if the will is there to get a pedelec, they'll get one regardless of bureacracy. If the will isn't there, they won't, however easy you make it.

And the will is not there, over 90% of our car drivers simply will not get out of their cars and onto a bicycle of any sort unless forced to, and the cycling world and our politicians need to get that fact into their heads and stop day dreaming. We proved this in London with the congestion charge etc., making continuing to drive commute impossible for many.

What happened is that a minority of the mainly younger of those who stopped driving took to bicycles, the great majority to public transport, mainly using the doubled number of London's buses. Some just switched to lower paid jobs local to their homes.

Cyclings best future friend now appears to be the forthcoming enforced switch to e-cars. Their extremely high cost, increasingly starting at £30k, will rule them out for many, some of whom may adopt cycling or public transport,

But the principle remains, only enforcement gets car drivers into cycling, but then proven to be only with very limited success.
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