Please step forward, Is your bike legal ?

[Beeping-Sleauty]

Hi Everyone,
i'd like to ask for your input.
-

does your bike contravene the Law ?

does it go faster than it should ?

is it heavier than it should be ?

does it have additional attachments that exceed the legal specifications ?

have you modified your machine, to circumvent the rules ?

if yes to any above, was the bike supplied with the illegal specification ?

-
i'd like to hear from anyone who has at any time had their bike inspected by any authority, or been advised that their machine might be outside the permitted specification of the law.

my thanks ina dvance.
beeps

 

[flecc]

Hi beeps

My Twist was supplied legal and matching both UK and European law, but I'm running it with a rear sprocket that enables it to assist 1.5 mph higher. This exceeds European law which doesn't at present override UK law. However, because of the way the power phases out towards cut-off, it's practically impossible to detect the cut-off point with enough accuracy for a case under UK law which permits full power to 15 mph, so safe. Weight is only just over half the legal limit.

My Torq was supplied with limiter connected. It's currently disconnected but not cut, so quickly and easily reconnected. Again weight only just over half legal limit.

My Quando is standard as supplied. It comfortably exceeds the legal limits on freshly charged batteries by 2 to 3 mph depending on battery type, but as the charge is being used this very quickly drops to the legal 15, so again a far from clear cut situation which wouldn't support a secure prosecution. Again the weight is the same as above.

The overall situation on the market is that the newer generation of mainstream Chinese production aimed at the Dutch and other European markets are low powered, definitely meet both laws, and don't have the power to have the speed inceased much if at all. Typical are the Giant Suede, Powacycle Windsor and Salisbury and the Urban Mover bikes.

The smaller Oriental manufacturers have many illegal offerings or options, some through the internet as you know, some with fringe suppliers in the UK.

Many of the US sourced bikes and motors are illegal on speed grounds, not surprising as their limit is 20 mph, but some are trying to become legal, like BionX who have a European lower wattage model.

 

[andrewelectricbike1]

"Is your bike legal?"

Don`t tell em your name Pike

 

[flecc]

Nice one andrewelectricbike1.

 

[andrewelectricbike1]

Just a bit paranoid about questions like that. Sorry.
I have adjusted my Giant Suede for push button/full throttle. Still have the pedlec function but find the button really helps on the hills. (Bike won`t go if the torq sensor is disconnected)

By the swift way the acceleration stops at 14-15mph I still think the hub would take the bike faster on the flat. No one on the web has publicly overcome/reprogrammed the VPC control (I just need the key-presses please ). Neither has anyone explained what the external adjuster screw/pot? on the controller does.

To sum up, yes legal but I want to go FASTER

 

[flecc]

They must have tweaked the controller a bit, earlier Suedes struggled to reach the legal limit. That external pot might be the voltage cutoff adjustment for the battery's protection.

A to B reckon that Sanyo motor in the Suede is developed from the US Birkestrand Corporation's Motorised Wheel, so that might give a search route for futher info on it.

Ahem. That's not faster, that's BIGGER!

Here's FASTER.

 

[rsscott]

Something that I would imagine is in the 'grey' area is the subject of lighting. I am riding with two HID lights on the front with an extremely bright 3W Dinotte light on the rear (set to flashing) and a Cateye TD-L1000 set to steady.

In Germany I know HID bike lights are not legal on the road but I don't think the law is so clear over here.

The rear Dinotte light is easily as bright (maybe more so) than a car's rear fog light.

 

[tallbloke]

My setup will exceed the speed limit by a few mph on the flat, but the people darn sarf who invent these rules live in the flatlands and don't appreciate that oop in the frozen norf the hills require a few more watts. No doubt a limiter could be introduced to the design of the currie controller, but since i usually try to conserve battery power by running below full throttle on the flat it's an unecessary complication IMO.

A car would only need 30 horsepower if it only ran on the flat. Hills mean it's going to need more like 85-100 horsepower.

Similarly, ungeared kits like the currie need more torque to cope with hills, and more torque means more watts.

And optionally more volts for brief bursts up steep hills when I get the new battery packs online

 

[aroncox]

Sorry to be a pain, but can you state what the laws are? I don't know anythign about weight limitations for example, or additional non-legal attachments.

Hi Everyone,
i'd like to ask for your input.
-

does your bike contravene the Law ?

does it go faster than it should ?

is it heavier than it should be ?

does it have additional attachments that exceed the legal specifications ?

have you modified your machine, to circumvent the rules ?

if yes to any above, was the bike supplied with the illegal specification ?

-
i'd like to hear from anyone who has at any time had their bike inspected by any authority, or been advised that their machine might be outside the permitted specification of the law.

my thanks ina dvance.
beeps

 

[MaryinScotland]

For a bicycle, the maximum legal weight is 40 kg.

Other things get complicated because you've got the old British rules (never repealed as far as I know) and the slightly different European rules, running in parallel.

Ben Cooper at Kinetics has an outline of the legal situation here:

Kinetics - UK Electric Bike Law

Mary

 

[flecc]

And the laws are elsewhere on this site too, and also on A to B's site.

Only the basics need to be worried about:

Maximum weight: 40 kilos (Eu and UK)

Maximum Motor assist speed: !5 mph (Eu and UK)

Maximum Average Motor Wattage: Bike 200 & Trike 250 (UK), 250 for both (Eu), power phasing down as speed approaches 15 (EU only).

Minimum Rider Age: 14 (Eu and UK)

 

[allotmenteer]

I think the law on electric bikes is ridiculous. My bike is a 350W geared hub motor and thus is illegal. However at 24V it can only achieve a top speed of nearly 17mph on the flat. I can pedal faster than that so I can't see why my motor should not be legal.

I don't expect any of us to get stopped by the police though. I think as long as we don't go too fast, conceal any obvious wiring and batteries and respect the highway code then I think the police have other things to worry about, like chasing all the totally illegal mini-motobikes and petrol scooters I see around!

 

[rsscott]

Hi Everyone,
i'd like to ask for your input.
-

does your bike contravene the Law ?

does it go faster than it should ?

is it heavier than it should be ?

does it have additional attachments that exceed the legal specifications ?

have you modified your machine, to circumvent the rules ?

if yes to any above, was the bike supplied with the illegal specification ?

-
i'd like to hear from anyone who has at any time had their bike inspected by any authority, or been advised that their machine might be outside the permitted specification of the law.

my thanks ina dvance.
beeps

Hi Beeps,

do you have specific concerns with your own electric bike ?

All the major brands discussed here on the forum that have been purchased from UK retailers are supplied legal on our roads although I don't have specific knowledge of the Whirlwind bike you have (other than the similarities to my original Cyclone)

 

[flecc]

I replied to beeps on another thread about the weight limits vis a vis his bike, hence his interest in way the law was being observed generally.

It's probably unwise for this discussion to continue now that beeps has had a number of answers. The fact is that the overwhelming majority of electric bikes ridden on UK roads are legal in every respect, usually conforming to both European and UK law in this construction and use area. This thread could very easily give a totally false picture therefore.

With any of the vehicles on our roads, there will always be a small minority who operate outside of the legal requirements, but they are never in any way representative of the whole, and with electric bikes having a very high proportion of older and often non-technical users, they are more likely than any other vehicle on our roads to be operated legally as supplied.

 

[Beeping-Sleauty]

Legal bikes

Thanks everyone for your input,

loved the Dads' Army quip,

Good job i'm not with Traffic Div 'Black-Ops'.

My Whirlwind is the same spec as a number of other cheap imports, it is just inside the 40kilo limit at 83lbs, it is also just inside the limit with 250watt motor, other aspects of it have differing legality in each of the EU nations,

i am encouraged that similar machine are ridden by police persons.

the law covering these machines is confusion at best, as Flecc points out, most are ridden by sensible law abiding citizens, differing specs are to a great degree, merely technical detail, and can probably be safely ignored.

i'm comfortable with the issues raised by this discussion, and the legality of my own machine,

so having kicked it around in the bushes for a bit, i think we can let this thread wither into the mists of time.

thanks for your contributions,
beeps

I replied to beeps on another thread about the weight limits vis a vis his bike, hence his interest in way the law was being observed generally.

It's probably unwise for this discussion to continue now that beeps has had a number of answers. The fact is that the overwhelming majority of electric bikes ridden on UK roads are legal in every respect, usually conforming to both European and UK law in this construction and use area. This thread could very easily give a totally false picture therefore.

With any of the vehicles on our roads, there will always be a small minority who operate outside of the legal requirements, but they are never in any way representative of the whole, and with electric bikes having a very high proportion of older and often non-technical users, they are more likely than any other vehicle on our roads to be operated legally as supplied.

 

[MazB]

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I'd ask:

In A to B mag they say the Currie Kit is illegal in the UK or "has legal issues".

Is this true? Am I now and illegal rider? could I be jailed?

Maz.

 

[flecc]

I shouldn't worry Maz.

A to B's test of the Currie was when it was a very early model. In those days it had insane power, around 900 watts, enough to do wheelies and scare the life out of new riders and would overheat and even burn out. Currie first tried large heat sinks, then resigned themselves to the need for something more sensible.

Thus it's been tamed by stages and is now fully domesticated.

The old one was fun while it lasted though.