I was just idly googling for info on e-bikes when I came across this link to a bbc eco page. It's fairly positive with regards to e-bikes but there's a little snippet at the end that surprised me. It states that legally you have to pedal when on the road, even if you're on full power via the throttle. Is this correct?
Legal Query
- Thread starter Rad
- Start date
Not in the UK at present, though the law is intended to be changed.
They are quoting EU law which we were supposed to have adopted in 2002 but which ouir civil service messed up at the time, leaving our law still in force as well.
In Europe e-bikes cannot be sold with throttle only capability anyway, and that will happen here in due course. We will still be able to use our existing bikes throttle only though.
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They are quoting EU law which we were supposed to have adopted in 2002 but which ouir civil service messed up at the time, leaving our law still in force as well.
In Europe e-bikes cannot be sold with throttle only capability anyway, and that will happen here in due course. We will still be able to use our existing bikes throttle only though.
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I seem to remember reading somewhere on this forum that the law was/is going to be changed so that all ebikes must be pedelecs (i.e. no throttle-only machines). Not sure where you'd find this legislation though, nor when it is going to become law, nor whether it is retrospective and applicable to older ebikes.
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Thanks for the clarification guys. It just struck me as a really daft piece of legislation. Having had the opportunity to try a couple of e-bikes last weekend (Thanks to aaaaaaannndddyyyyy, great chap) I have to say that I found the throttle&pedalling combination a really nice way to ride. Just feeding in the power as you need it. I've not ridden a pure pedelec yet, but as the bike I intend to buy has both options I do intend to try both just to see what suits best.
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Further info. The Royal Mail intend to buy 16,000 ebikes for postal duties and have asked for our legal mess in respect of e-bikes to be tidied up. It's now on the government's "jobs to do" list, but they seem to be occupied with bailing out banks and attacking foreign countries most of the time so goodness knows when that will happen.
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Yes, I'd like to know the full sp on the legal side as at present I believe there's confusion over EU electric bike regulations and those within the UK.
As I understand things, it's illegal to have throttle control within the EEC, yet not illegal within the UK, (as long as pedelec control is present too). Also, the article states it's legal to have a motor up to 250 watts in power. I always thought that was the maximum allowed on the continent whilst 200 watts was the maximum allowed in the UK. Hence the proliferation of 200 and 250 watt motors on our shores.
P.S. Oops, where did all those other replies come from? Went to put the kettle on, and by the time I type and post a response there's half a dozen replies to Rad's query.
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The position is this.
Nominal power: EU 250 watts, UK 200 watts bike, 250 watts trike.
Pedelec: EU compulsory, UK optional.
Throttle: EU only combined with pedelec, UK throttle only permitted.
Assisted speed limit: EU 25 kph with gradual power phase down leading up to it, UK 15 mph with no phase down necessary.
Maximum weight: All areas: 40 kg bike, 60 kg trike or tandem.
Lower age limit: Only Sweden (15 years) and Britain (14 years).
Some countries have additional laws. For example, Germany has an over-riding 24 kph limit, and Sweden requires third party insurance and helmet wearing but allows 30 kph (18.75 mph). Germany and outside the EU, Switzerland, have high speed e-bike classes in addition, permitting around 20 mph but with other restrictions like insurance and helmet wearing.
In this country we have both laws fully in force and conflicting due to the civil service error in failing to arrange cessation of the UK law. Theoretically it would be safest to only stick to one set of rules and not "pick and mix", though the risk of any police officer having a clue about e-bike law is vanishingly small.
The Department for Transport have refused to give a definitive ruling while both laws are in force, saying that only a test case before the courts can resolve a prosecution outcome.
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Nominal power: EU 250 watts, UK 200 watts bike, 250 watts trike.
Pedelec: EU compulsory, UK optional.
Throttle: EU only combined with pedelec, UK throttle only permitted.
Assisted speed limit: EU 25 kph with gradual power phase down leading up to it, UK 15 mph with no phase down necessary.
Maximum weight: All areas: 40 kg bike, 60 kg trike or tandem.
Lower age limit: Only Sweden (15 years) and Britain (14 years).
Some countries have additional laws. For example, Germany has an over-riding 24 kph limit, and Sweden requires third party insurance and helmet wearing but allows 30 kph (18.75 mph). Germany and outside the EU, Switzerland, have high speed e-bike classes in addition, permitting around 20 mph but with other restrictions like insurance and helmet wearing.
In this country we have both laws fully in force and conflicting due to the civil service error in failing to arrange cessation of the UK law. Theoretically it would be safest to only stick to one set of rules and not "pick and mix", though the risk of any police officer having a clue about e-bike law is vanishingly small.
The Department for Transport have refused to give a definitive ruling while both laws are in force, saying that only a test case before the courts can resolve a prosecution outcome.
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So a civil service cock up means more dinners for lawyers and not fewer dinners for civil servants.
Nick
Brilliant! Essentially the D.O.T. are sitting on their hands (or more likely at the trough) and waiting for a prole to get nicked for some transgression and have the legislation decided by the courts.
Thanks for the Full Monty on the e-biking regulations Flecc.
- Hope you keep stuff like that in a file somewhere to save having to laboriously re-type every time a similar question comes up
- Hope you keep stuff like that in a file somewhere to save having to laboriously re-type every time a similar question comes up
I do have a folder with several hundred ready typed items like this Danny. That said, I've worn the lettering off two keyboards with my over 8600 posts since this forum started two years ago!
This one was only a partially complete one though, hence the repeated editing above when I added more to bring the total info fully up to date.
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This one was only a partially complete one though, hence the repeated editing above when I added more to bring the total info fully up to date.
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Looks that way, but the real problem is the very small issue that e-bikes are due to the very small number of them in Britain. For a long time just one man in the department was responsible and it was only a part of his job. A couple of years back he was moved onto other duties and no-one was appointed to replace him, but he did make one decision before departure, the one saying that our existing throttle control bikes will remain legal after the law is sorted out.
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Ahhh... reminds me of when the voice-over intones, from The Files of Edgar Lustgarten
(for those with long enough memories, the rest of you can go, Edgar who???)
Yes, I remember all that stuff. My pedelecs pre-typed folder now holds 472 files, but that's nowt compared to the days when I advised members on operating systems in the PC Advisor forum. That folder holds 1436 files.Ahhh... reminds me of when the voice-over intones, from The Files of Edgar Lustgarten
And I still can't type.
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Aha, I recognise the origin of that language; Kazakhstani isn't?
No, wait a minute Ubuntu, Ubu... Ubu-un-tu. Yep, Kunti Kinti territory definetly Swahili.
Failing that, I'll settle for Double Dutch.
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