Police asked me to stop using my bike!!! :( :( :(

[cwah]

Hello all,

Yesterday morning I was cycling to work a bit late.. (happens to me often...)

There was a red light in a junction and load of cars were in front of the bike lane. Just in front of me there was a large motorbike blocking me to go to the bike lane...

How annoying motorbike would be I thought! hopefully my bike would allow me to filter around cars easily! And because motorbikes start fast, I should be able to quickly go past the cars.


The light turned green, the motorbike started and then I quickly put max amp (37A or 2800W) and went in front of all cars too and continued my way to work...

There was a puddle on the road, and I had to brake... I want to turn slightly on the right and I've just seen the same motorbike just sticking next to me. So I resigned to go inside this puddle...


I let the motorbike go in front as usual, not knowing what he wants... and then the motorbike slows down too!! How annoying!


He noticed I was waiting for him to go away... so he ran close to me and said:
"I'm a police officer on my way to work. I've seen you few times on the road running at 40mph! (no way, my bike max out around 25-30mph) Here electric bike are limited at 12mph! If I see you again on this bike I'll arrest you!"

Then he ran away...






I'm so annoyed now! My first thought is that I need to take another road to go to work. But most importantly, I need another electric bike. A more discreet one. My current one looks like this:

The bike in his current state, although massive and heavy and not discreet at all is doing an INCREDIBLE JOB regarding my requirement.

I live in a small flat in central london and:
- I need to keep the bike inside my room.
- It can go 25mph for more than 30 miles.
- It can carry a friend on the bike (yes that's what I'm doing now)
- It has to fit in a small lift because I live in the first floor

And that bike CAN do that. I have quite specific requirement and I don't know what to do. I'm ready to get a bigger/heavier one as long as I can take the battery out to charge it home.

I need help

What shall I do???

 

[flecc]

Clearly you are outside the law on the assist speed cwah, but that police officer, if he was one, is badly out of date. The 12 mph assist limit was last in force decades ago, it's now 15 mph in UK law.

If he is a police officer and does stop you again, the police have the power to confiscate the bike and get a magistrate's order to destroy it once it's shown to have over 15 mph power assist.

Your problem is not only the assist speed, it's how distinctive the bike is, standing out very obviously. Your options are just to continue risking using it, altering it to legality, or scrapping it.

 

[EddiePJ]

Not very helpful, but everyone including the police would give you a wide berth, if you were to fit a children's windmill to the bike, perhaps wear a skirt, and put some wings on the side of the cycle helmet.


It is a nice bit of kit that you have there though.

 

[Mikerudkin]

IMO in order to stop and arrest you this 'police officer' would have to be on duty and identifiable by you as a police officer.
I think you've had your chain yanked !

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I was thinking the same. It was a shame you didn't ask to see his ID.

 

[john h]

As d8veh said I D, as as claiming to be a police officer when you are not, is a more serious offence.

 

[cwah]

Do you think this guy is a joke and I don't have to worry?

Maybe he is really one ans couldn't arrest that's why it's just a warning?

 

[flecc]

As we've all said, it's questionable whether he is a police officer, though he has some historic knowledge of e-bike law so may have been one or possibly is/has been a civilian employee of the police.

So it's your option to risk carrying on and challenging him if he bothers you again, or giving in to legality and modding your bike.

 

[Cyclezee]

My advice, get up 15 minutes earlier then you wouldn't have to rush to work

 

[D8ve]

Or he could be genuine and given you fair warning.
You know it's illegal and you don't have a leg to stand on.
So stop breaking the law in an obvious way. Doing 30 on a funny looking motorised vehicle in a predictable pattern.
It hardly takes Sherlock to catch you.
If he did you next week who's fault would it be.

Think and be discrete.

 

[cwah]

I don't need 30mph. 25mph is enough.

But it has to be small and able to do 30 miles distance....

That's the hardest part because I can't see having less than 1000wh battery capacity

 

[trex]

your wish may be granted sooner than you think...

 

[D8ve]

But 25 is still illegal and fast enough to stand out.
It's 15 for a reason. It's a bike not motor bike.
If you ride faster you are working hard for your speed. Or you are on a moped.

Screw the nut. You have been caught and warned.
If you had been slower and not tried to race the cop at the lights he might have not bothered.

 

[trex]

cwah is a young guy, 25mph (assisted) is not out of the ordinary if the bike looks like a normal road bike.

 

[D8ve]

But it is a compact bike not racer or recumbent. And out accelerating cars and bikes looks sus.
Yes I hit 40 regularly and I'm not young. But the legs are moving and sweat is flowing too.

 

[drsolly]

1000 wh capacity isn't illegal. If you put the batteries in a pannier at the back, that would help it look less like a too-fast ebike. Then if you limit the speed to 15 mph (you should be able to do that with a controller), you would be legal. I'm guessing you're in London, or another big city; 15 mph is pretty good in traffic.

 

[Deus]

Isnt 15 mph only the cut off point for assisted power and if you pedal faster than this you can as long as you dont break the roads speed limit? im sure many lycra and normal cyclists go faster than 15mph everyday.

 

[D8ve]

Deus
The cut off is 15 and I average over 15 on my non electric bike.
But on a compact folder doing 15 is unusual. Doing 25 on the flat is exceptional and drag racing motorbikes is not normal.

Doing high speed and performing like a pro rider without sweating draws attention.
Cwah is highly visible. And rides a bike that looks odd and outruns mopeds.
I doubt his legs spin fast enought to realy move his bike at 25mph.
It is unlikely that the bike is built to the DOt standards with lights etc. never mind insurance, road tax licence.
If the motor cyclist is police and stops Cwah he is (technically know as buggered).USCWP.
If they truly through the book at him he could end up in a HM holiday camp.
D8veh will declare that all our bikes are illegal due to some infringement like no pedal reflectors or missing BS number but these are not going to get much attention.

Note I am not insulting Cwah but pointing out the potential trouble he could face and advising him to lie very low .

 

[Kudoscycles]

Cwah,quick glance at that bike,it must be heavy....I assume that is the battery pack aside the cross tube? From memory if you are the same cwah I met at the green fair on the Mall,some 4 years ago,you are not a small guy?it looks like a powerful motor in the rear.You are propelling a lot of weight and fast
But you seem to be braking only using the original Dahon rim brakes,stopping must be exciting at times.
There are some exciting and fully legal bikes around now,which can be derestricted to some extent,wouldn't you be better to go production and move away from illegals...inevitably either you,the bike or the police are going to come into conflict at some time.
I notice everyone in that photo is looking the other way and walking away from your bike,hehe !!!!
KudosDave

 

[halfer]

Off-duty police officers do from time to time "have a word" without making an arrest. I have a friend who will occasionally flash his badge and give someone a bit of a ticking off. So it's not necessarily a good idea to challenge it, in case the threat is genuine.

The two buckets tied up over the crossbar, are they batteries? They might be your problem - they are rather large, especially on such a slim bike. If you want bigger capacity than a bottle battery, is a back-pack battery, with a discreet cable going into the back of the bike, viable for you? Or a bottle battery plus carrying a spare?

Also, consider modifying your route to work, so you don't run into the same individual again. He may be well-motivated, having had experience of road-traffic accidents and wanting to avoid the same, and of course he might just be an authoritarian jobsworth. Difficult to say, but it would be nice not to find out!

If you don't want to go down the path of full compliance, consider reducing the top speed - if you are getting 30mph tops out of it, could you drop down to 23mph or so? That's still a good bit of assistance, and much less eyebrow-raising.

PS - your pic looks like a demonstration at Downing Street. Can you sort out a placard that says "What do we want? Increased legal e-bike speeds! When do we want it?" (etc).