News: CEN Standard for e-Bikes Almost Finalised

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From BikeEurope :




BRUSSELS, Belgium – Today the members of the Technical Committee TC333 for bicycles are discussing at the Brussels office of the CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, an almost final draft of the new safety standard for e-Bikes. It’s the EN 15194 for EPACs; Electrically Power Assisted Cycles.
After this meeting, a second public inquiry will start at CEN committee’s in 30 countries. It is expected that early 2008 the new standard for e-Bikes will be accepted by the European Commission and come into effect.
The second public inquiry on the EN15194 for EPAC’s follows a first one that got lots of comments. It resulted in the finalization of requirements and test methods and the draft that is now being discussed. This draft contains the scope of the standard EN 15194 which are:

• EPACs up to a voltage of 48 DC.
• Maximum continuous rated power of 250 W.
• Output progressively reduced and finally cut off as the vehicle reaches a speed of 25 km/h.
• The new standard confirms with the EU Safety Directive 2002/24.

Once the new EPAC Safety Standards is published in the Official Journal of the European Union, it will give it the ‘presumption of conformity’ with the EU Safety Directive that: “Lays down an obligation on producers to place only safe products on the market.” To be more specific on ‘market’; EN 15194 is for the 25 EU members plus Rumania, and four Efta countries.
The Technical Committee TC333 is next to the Safety Standard for e-Bikes also working on EN 15496 for cycle locks; on EN 15532 for cycle terminology while new projects are bicycle trailers and BMX bikes.
Currently there are five different CEN standards into force; EN 14764 for City and Trekking bicycles; EN 14765 Bicycles for young children; EN 14766 for Mountain bicycles; EN 14781 for Racing bicycles and EN 14872 for Accessories for bicycles – Luggage carriers.

 

[flecc]

Seems that our days of relative freedom are even more certain to end, first the Royal Mail calls for legal clarification and now these strict measures. Several companies will have to make a lot of changes to comply with number 3, the phasedown of power and cutoff at 15.5 mph. I suppose the pedelec only rule will be repeated.

The first cycle trailer law proposal to follow concerns me a bit, since the sort of large trailers and loads that a few like me commonly have will never be permitted.

Oh well, perhaps they just want the rest of us to switch to 4 x 4s.
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[JohnInStockie]

Is it other case of the blind leading the blind.

 

[allotmenteer]

Who killed the electric bike?

Are the oil companies behind this?

 

[Ian]

We should not confuse the CEN stardards with the law, which already exists.
The standards are an approval system similar to our own British Standards, obviously to comply with the standards a bike will need to comply with the EU law but it will also have to be constructed to a minimum standard and be safe to use. Given the extremely poor quality of some bikes it's perhaps not such a bad idea

 

[flecc]

I realise that Ian, but it worries me that these sort of standards almost always become convenient platforms for law just as much as they follow the law, since they make law drafting so much easier. We don't have to look too far to find all the references to BS numbers in our laws, with compliance enforced.

Once there's a cycle trailer standard, I bet the law on those will follow.
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[Ian]

I know what you are saying Flecc but I wouldn't worry about it, after all the only visible change that I can see to those bikes already affected is that they must be sold with a bell, which the user can then quite legally remove if they wish. I think the proposed trailer standard will be aimed mainly at trailers for carrying kids, as trailers like yours are not commercially available the standards will not apply.

 

[flecc]

Hope so Ian, though Germany does have one major make of fairly large cycle goods trailers.

I just feel more at ease when there's silence on these subjects, out of sight, out of mind.

This sort of exposure tempts providence, and we're never short of those who want to restrict and control everything they see.
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[Ian]

It's fairly reassuring that it's not a hot topic in A to B, at least as far as I know.

PS Flecc, I assume the aluminium ladders that you used were approved to a standard, If so you should be allright