Total newbie looking to buy an eBike, want some advice on a model!

[Karliah]

Hi all,

I am looking to buy an eBike, I have an offer of a Shengmilo MX05 for £750 Brand new in box, I'm not sure if I should take it or not or look elsewhere, my budget is definitely around that price point.

Some additional information:

I have a normal bike already that I love, so I am totally open to getting a conversion kit although it is more hassle, I do have the capacity to build my own lithium ion 18650 battery with the help of a qualified electrician, if it will save me a significant sum of money.

- The shengmilo has a really long range, My health is quite bad so I would want the comfort of knowing I can get back without pedaling much of that makes sense.

One person has told me that the MX05 is not road legal, looking for some advice on this as it says it conforms to UK law, can be limited to 15mph etc, looking for some advice on that.

If you need any more info please let me know, as I said I know nothing about this sector, so all advice is welcome

 

[sjpt]

500w motor, so not legal as a pedelec. Must have max (nominal continuous) power 250w to qualify.

 

[soundwave]

its not road legal but not much on the roads theses days ebike wise is not road legal anyway inc my bosch bike with a dongle i have had for 10 years now.

750 is a ok price but a bosch 500w batt is £633

 

[Karliah]

500w motor, so not legal as a pedelec. Must have max (nominal continuous) power 250w to qualify.

Right, is it legal to have a 500w motor but have it limited to 250w output? That was how I understood it worked with the speed limiter, is that not so?

 

[flecc]

Right, is it legal to have a 500w motor but have it limited to 250w output? That was how I understood it worked with the speed limiter, is that not so?

No. If the limiting is under the user's control it is illegal.
.

 

[Karliah]

its not road legal but not much on the roads theses days ebike wise is not road legal anyway inc my bosch bike with a dongle i have had for 10 years now.

750 is a ok price but a bosch 500w batt is £633

Right understood, so back paths and pavements are perfectly fine for this type of bike?

Or am I mistaken there too?

 

[StuartsProjects]

Right understood, so back paths and pavements are perfectly fine for this type of bike?
Or am I mistaken there too?

Yes you are mistaken, very mistaken.

However, a 500W motor would be legal on private land with the permission of the owner.

 

[soundwave]

yes it could do that tho id not take it off road on any down hill tracks ect others set there bikes to 250w in there controllers but under law its not road legal.





all road legal bikes will have these marked on them

 

[Karliah]

Yes you are mistaken, very mistaken.

However, a 500W motor would be legal on private land with the permission of the owner.

Understood. I see people everyday riding pedal bikes on the pavement even though it's illegal, would this fall into the same category too?

I've always known it's not been allowed to ride a bike on a pavement, but lots of people seem to do it? It seems almost never enforced



As you can see here Shengmilo are claiming it can be ridden in the UK legally

 

[Karliah]

yes it could do that tho id not take it off road on any down hill tracks ect others set there bikes to 250w in there controllers but under law its not road legal.

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all road legal bikes will have these marked on them

Thanks for that, really helpful to see it visually.

I have no intention of riding it on a road (unless on situations where there is no pavement to get across a road etc, so I was intending on using it on back paths / pavement)

I wondered if it was the same as a pedal bike, while technically illegal to ride on a pavement it is done anyway by most people and never enforced

 

[soundwave]

Understood. I see people everyday riding pedal bikes on the pavement even though it's illegal, would this fall into the same category too?

I've always known it's not been allowed to ride a bike on a pavement, but lots of people seem to do it? It seems almost never enforced

im not dead yet

 

[Karliah]

im not dead yet

Is this the 250w/36v one you pictured before?

From that video, that is exactly what I'm looking for!

 

[StuartsProjects]

would this fall into the same category too?

Nope.

https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules

"Any electric bike that does not meet the EAPC rules is classed as a motorcycle or moped and needs to be registered and taxed. You’ll need a driving licence to ride one and you must wear a crash helmet."

Riding a motorcycle on the pavement does tend to be frowned on, and if caught your driving license is at risk.

Nice try though .........................

 

[StuartsProjects]

I have no intention of riding it on a road (unless on situations where there is no pavement to get across a road etc, so I was intending on using it on back paths / pavement)

So in other words you are intending to ride it on the road .....................

 

[soundwave]

 

[sjpt]

I agree with the comments above; just clarifying (I hope) and reinforcing.

If an ebike satisfies the various regulation (esp 15.5 mph max assisted speed, 250w max nominal continuous power) then the same rules apply as for a push bike. This excludes pavements and footpaths, but includes roads (except motorways), bridle paths and most canal paths.

If it does not satisfy the regulations it is legal to ride on the road subject to registration, insurance, helmet etc. It is not legal to ride in any other publicly accessible space (such as bridle paths), only in private space with no general public access and with landowners permission.

As observed, almost all of these rules are routinely broken and as long as you are riding basically responsibly the police are very unlikely to take any action. If you are not riding responsibly then they may well do so; as was seen in a couple of recent cases which sadly ended with the irresponsible riders killing themselves.

The bike you mentioned clearly does not satisfy the regulations. The motor is nominally above 250w; even if tuned down that nominal value remains. It is less clear on the speed front. It mustn't include a switch that will allow it to assist over 25kph, but the definition of 'switch' is unclear. Changing the max assist speed in firmware that cannot easily be changed while using the bike is probably enough for it to comply on that front.

Be very suspicious of the range advertised for any ebike (especially cheap ones). They are often 'up to' ranges; minimal assist given to a very light rider on a completely flat well surfaced road in windless conditions. Real world range is typically around 1/3 of this for moderate riding in normal conditions, and a lot less still for hard hilly riding.

 

[Nealh]

A pavement is still part of the highway.

Regarding self building batteries (which you mentioned), do you have/possess a spot welder ?

 

[Karliah]

Nope.

https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules

"Any electric bike that does not meet the EAPC rules is classed as a motorcycle or moped and needs to be registered and taxed. You’ll need a driving licence to ride one and you must wear a crash helmet."

Riding a motorcycle on the pavement does tend to be frowned on, and if caught your driving license is at risk.

Nice try though .........................

I'm not trying to be sneaky, I'm just trying to be realistic about my use case.

 

[Karliah]

A pavement is still part of the highway.

Regarding self building batteries (which you mentioned), do you have/possess a spot welder ?

Yes, I have a spot welder and around 200 18650s I can use, they are of different brands but I'm perfectly fine with buying Samsung cells of needed.

 

[Karliah]

I agree with the comments above; just clarifying (I hope) and reinforcing.

If an ebike satisfies the various regulation (esp 15.5 mph max assisted speed, 250w max nominal continuous power) then the same rules apply as for a push bike. This excludes pavements and footpaths, but includes roads (except motorways), bridle paths and most canal paths.

If it does not satisfy the regulations it is legal to ride on the road subject to registration, insurance, helmet etc. It is not legal to ride in any other publicly accessible space (such as bridle paths), only in private space with no general public access and with landowners permission.

As observed, almost all of these rules are routinely broken and as long as you are riding basically responsibly the police are very unlikely to take any action. If you are not riding responsibly then they may well do so; as was seen in a couple of recent cases which sadly ended with the irresponsible riders killing themselves.

The bike you mentioned clearly does not satisfy the regulations. The motor is nominally above 250w; even if tuned down that nominal value remains. It is less clear on the speed front. It mustn't include a switch that will allow it to assist over 25kph, but the definition of 'switch' is unclear. Changing the max assist speed in firmware that cannot easily be changed while using the bike is probably enough for it to comply on that front.

Be very suspicious of the range advertised for any ebike (especially cheap ones). They are often 'up to' ranges; minimal assist given to a very light rider on a completely flat well surfaced road in windless conditions. Real world range is typically around 1/3 of this for moderate riding in normal conditions, and a lot less still for hard hilly riding.

Wow, what a breath of fresh air. You have explained it in the common sense way, I have quite a lot of health issues so would be riding on a pavement / back paths extremely responsibly, and the electric aspect is for when I'm feeling ill and really tired. I'm not interested at all on riding it on roads.

Regarding the firmware, you have to enter a combination of gears / buttons to enter the firmware and change the max speed, takes around 2-3 minutes and isn't a "switch" so to say if that helps. It appears that even though the max output is limited to 250w, the fact that the motor is 500w means it doesn't qualify?

Regarding the range, that really helps, I do have my own bike that I'm willing to buy a conversion kit for but for the price, that £750 one seemed a good price for the motor, bike and battery.