Legal status of ebikes that are identical to those that have gone through the DVSA approval process but haven't been tested

[Az.]

If you want to have a new twist and go ebike you have to have a piece of paper, ball ends to your brake levers and extra flaps on your mudguards?

Don't forget they are technically mopeds, so different rules apply.

I don't have mudguards, kickstand and balls on my brakes, but no throttle either. I learned to ride without it and don't miss it that much really.

 

[guerney]

I don't own such an ebike myself but just curious how you could be prosecuted for having a identical ebike to those DVSA tested models but without paying for the testing and having enabled the throttle.

Are you asking because you're nervous about your throttle? Does seem likely the rozzers are fingering throttles and people with them more often, unsure how probable having your bike siezed and the book thrown at you actually is. Because of 20" wheels and firmware settings, starting off powered is easy to activate on my mid-drive bike, provided I'm on a gear I can pedal (on the flat, I can start pedalling on my highest gear by standing on the pedals, motor activates very soon afterwards), and acceleration is rapid. I've set the firmware to activate pedal assist to activate very fast. Downside is, it can activate when walking the bike through long grass... but there ebrakes to cut power to the motor if that happens. I very rarely walk my bike. I would fit a throttle if they became legal, because some rare tricky maneuvers are easierwith one, when towing a heavy trailer around certain uphill bends and through certain gates... but in general I don't miss the throttle, and don't need one.

 

[Ghost1951]

I took the throttle off my full sized ebike (BBS01) because I could not programme it to be fully legal in my version of the firmware. There are very few occasions where I miss it. As Guerney says though, you do need to ensure in a hilly place that you come to a halt in the right gear so you can pedal off when you start again.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Are you asking because you're nervous about your throttle? Does seem likely the rozzers are fingering throttles and people with them more often, unsure how probable having your bike siezed and the book thrown at you actually is. Because of 20" wheels and firmware settings, starting off powered is easy to activate on my mid-drive bike, provided I'm on a gear I can pedal (on the flat, I can start pedalling on my highest gear by standing on the pedals, motor activates very soon afterwards), and acceleration is rapid. I've set the firmware to activate pedal assist to activate very fast. Downside is, it can activate when walking the bike through long grass... but there ebrakes to cut power to the motor if that happens. I very rarely walk my bike. I would fit a throttle if they became legal, because some rare tricky maneuvers are easierwith one, when towing a heavy trailer around certain uphill bends and through certain gates... but in general I don't miss the throttle, and don't need one.

I'm down in Yeovil in the south west and personally I've not seen the police show any interest in ebikes at all. Even reading this forum I can't remember seeing any prosecutions for throttles its always been more powerful unrestricted ebikes not related to throttles on their own, such ebikes just happen to have throttles. Maybe someone knows of a prosecution for a lightweight low powered ebike that also has a throttle and is the only part of the spec that isn't legal. There are loads of low wattage Chinese ebikes with twist and go throttles out there. Years ago I remember seeing police on ebikes with twist and go throttles but that would have been ebikes before the 2017 cut off I guess, I doubt they are still using those. likely the battery packs are end of life at this point. That was probably back in 2018/19. Nowadays I don't see the police out on the beat, their numbers have been cut and no time now for show policing they don't even have time to deal with the crimes themselves.

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Yes - the KT controller setting allow you to use the throttle from rest to 6 km/h (useful for starting off from junctions in the wrong gear !) and then once it detects pedalling the throttle gives maximum assist.

If anyone checked it would show a max speed of 6km/h throttle only

 

[guerney]

I took the throttle off my full sized ebike (BBS01) because I could not programme it to be fully legal in my version of the firmware. There are very few occasions where I miss it. As Guerney says though, you do need to ensure in a hilly place that you come to a halt in the right gear so you can pedal off when you start again.

I reckon it's possible with your firmware version too, but I removed my throttle to avoid some know-nothing bozo cop causing problems owing to it's mere existence. If cops tested for throttled speed with the rear wheel off the ground, it'll probably fail because speed is all over the place when doing that, depends on what gear you're using... but in use the current controlled throttle limits speed to less than 6km/h. Climbs hills at a little more than 4.3kph or thereabouts. Difficult to balance climbing this slow on a 20" wheeled bike.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

As requested…



I know!!!

All the best, David

 

[jamesporritt]

As requested…

View attachment 60058View attachment 60059

View attachment 60060I know!!!

All the best, David

Silly rule! What's the maximum size a front bumper can legally be? Fat lot of good that tiny thing's going to do.

 

[AndyBike]

This made no difference though, any CG125 that had not been taken for the test had to pay the ULEZ charge. Just another aspect of the criminal conspiracy of Kahn's fiefdom.

You do know that ULEZ was thought up by Boris Johnson and forwarded by the conservative party while he was mayor.

If Khan wins, if some tory wins, or whomever takes the mayor election its still going to be implemented at such and such a date, But credit where credit is due. ULEZ is a tory concept first and foremost

 

[flecc]

Silly rule! What's the maximum size a front bumper can legally be? Fat lot of good that tiny thing's going to do.

This protection obsession dates back to when motorcycles AND assisted bicycles had front number plates, nicely placed to slice a pedestrian into two. They got rid of those and have never stopped looking at two wheelers ever since.

 

[Bonzo Banana]

Don't forget they are technically mopeds, so different rules apply.

I don't have mudguards, kickstand and balls on my brakes, but no throttle either. I learned to ride without it and don't miss it that much really.

They aren't technically mopeds surely as you can ride them anywhere a normal bicycle can ride with the same age restrictions and they are just the same as most ebikes in the world which do have throttles and are classed as bicycles. I can understand that in the legislation you can make the point that its bit from this legislation and bit from the other its sort of a mixture of legislation but ultimately these ebikes are the same as sold elsewhere in the world as electric assisted bicycles. It was just a workaround in the UK to get around the awful moronic EU legislation. Across Asia, South America, Africa etc twist and go throttle based ebikes are the norm. Admittedly in China for example there are weight restrictions and other factors that would make some of our ebikes illegal in their market like the very heavy dual suspension mid-drive motor ebikes because of their weight restrictions etc (20kg) plus I think they have a true wattage limit of 400W so again would be illegal but as a general rule twist and go throttles are legal for most people in the world. I have to say 20kg weight limit and 400W true limit seems much more sensible than what we have in Europe with regard legislation for the criteria of a electrically assisted bicycle when you think about walking down a single lane path and a huge ebike around 30kg is coming your way (peddled) at 25mph be it a mid-drive or hub motor ebike. I think in Canada and US their legislation for ebikes was set up for throttle control but allow pedelec type ebikes. I watched a video about an ebike factory in China and they make videos of their ebikes only on rough ground where its legal for them to be ridden as if they showed them on the road it would be illegal. They make many ebikes they can never use themselves on the road.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_bicycle_laws

 

[Bonzo Banana]

This protection obsession dates back to when motorcycles AND assisted bicycles had front number plates, nicely placed to slice a pedestrian into two. They got rid of those and have never stopped looking at two wheelers ever since.

View attachment 60071

What a beautiful vehicle that is.

 

[Az.]

They aren't technically mopeds surely as you can ride them anywhere a normal bicycle can ride with the same age restrictions and they are just the same as most ebikes in the world which do have throttles and are classed as bicycles.

"The new class for Twist & Go EAPCs is called "250W LPM", a sub-category of the standard "Low Powered Moped", which is the L1e-A category which T&G EAPCs fell into before.
The new edition of the test manual reduces the requirements somewhat for this new sub-category. For example, a kickstand is still required, but it does not have to auto-retract. Moped-like mirrors are now not required, etc., etc. Basically almost any legal pedelec meets the requirements, but check the PDF manual linked to below:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/821685/motorcycle-single-vehicle-approval-inspection-manual.pdf

"

 

[jimriley]

This protection obsession dates back to when motorcycles AND assisted bicycles had front number plates, nicely placed to slice a pedestrian into two. They got rid of those and have never stopped looking at two wheelers ever since.

View attachment 60071

Ooh, had one of them, 1959 Thunderbird. Stripped the crap off, including the kiddy slicer and fitted a Bonneville twin carb head and 10:1 pistons. Zoom zoom. Sold it with all the bits and it was rebuilt by an enthusiast.