uk law on this e bike??

[jake90]

hi this is my first post i ve been going through some of the threads here, but i couldnt find the answer i was looking for..so after ur help ebike gurus.so here it goes...

i m planning to get this e bike which is 500w(throttle based,pedleless(2 variants available 250watts(15mph) and 500watts(22mph))

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aero-most-portable-ebike-that-folds-in-seconds-sport-design#/

i dont want to get the 250w one,since its basically useless when climbimg inclined surfaces and i read somewhere anything over 250w is not considered e bike in uk......

so what r my options......???

 

[flecc]

Both are illegal in the UK and the EU, working pedals are compulsory. A legal pedelec is restricted to 250 watts assisting to a maximum of 15.5 mph, and the power must cut out when pedalling stops.

A throttle is only allowed at up to walking speed, up to 4 mph, since it's only intended for walk assistance.
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[jake90]

Both are illegal in the UK and the EU, working pedals are compulsory. A legal pedelec is restricted to 250 watts assisting to a maximum of 15.5 mph, and the power must cut out when pedalling stops.

A throttle is only allowed at up to walking speed, up to 4 mph, since it's only intended for walk assistance.
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hey thanks for the reply....damn that company making this e bike is based in france....somewhere in the website it also says the bike also has a walking mode???
i was looking at this bike stealth bomber....how do these bikes get past the law???

 

[flecc]

i was looking at this bike stealth bomber....how do these bikes get past the law???

They don't get round the law Jake, they're always illegal.

They exploit the fact that it's not illegal to sell any vehicle, whether it fits the law or not. The onus for obeying the law is always on the user.

Add to that the lack of policing on UK roads and it's often possible to ride illegally for years, and many do, accepting the risks.
.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

You can get away with just about any motor, but it must have pedals, and the pedals must be able to propel the vehicle at a reasonable safe speed.

It's a real shame that we can't use this type of vehicle. I can't see it doing any harm if restricted to 15 mph., no matter what the power. I suppose there's a chance of it changing after brexit, but that chance is pretty small.

 

[IR772]

It's done wonders for the girl in the photos, sign me up.

 

[KentGuy]

i dont want to get the 250w one,since its basically useless when climbimg inclined surfaces

I wouldn't go that far. Recently got a Boardman converted to a crank drive, and it can handle even the most horrific hills near me. Obviously the steepest ones slow it down a fair bit, but thus far it's handled every road I've thrown at it. Crank drives much better than hub drives for hills is the basic wisdom.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Crank drives much better than hub drives for hills is the basic wisdom.

Not true, I'm afraid. It just depends on which motors you use.

The only definitive test results I've see were by a German magazine. The KTM with the Panasonic hub-motor and the Bionx hub-motor trounced the Bosch and Kalkhoff crank motors in a climb up a steep mountain. The hub motors used less battery, went further and were faster up the mountain - by quite a bit.

Where I live, we have some exceptionally steep hills at over 30%. My hub-motors don't have any trouble with them. I've done side-by-side tests with a crank motor and a hub-motor running with exactly the same battery and controller. there was no difference in battery usage, so the idea that crank-motors are more efficient is also unfounded.

Some hub-motors climb very well, but you won't find them in a cheap Chinese E-bike. Those bikes have cheap motors in them that are designed for average conditions for the masses.

In theory, you could use very low gearing with a crank motor to lift a rider vertically, but I'm talking about normal bikes with sensible gearing.

 

[KentGuy]

Interesting d8veh. I was mostly going by a) experience on these boards, and b) this fairly comprehensive looking test over at Woosh http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?motorcharts .

And agreed, a 30% gradient would no doubt challenge the Bafang beyond its limits (this is pretty much the incline of the very top 10 climbs in the UK, so would be pretty exceptional here at least).

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Interesting d8veh. I was mostly going by a) experience on these boards, and b) this fairly comprehensive looking test over at Woosh http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?motorcharts .

According to their charts, that BPM can do 23 mph. That would be a code 11. A code 15 or 16 (17 and 15 mph max) would easily go up a 15% hill on throttle alone with the same battery and controller. A 48v code 16 can manage 20%.

My Xiongda hub-motor makes a real 60 Nm of torque at 4.74 mph with an efficiency of 64%. It's like a winch when it comes to hills because it can change to a lower internal gear so that it runs at nearly half the speed (externally). Mine's the 48v one, which is identical to this apart from the windings. you can run a 36v one at 20 amps instead of 15A to get the same torque as mine.

https://xiongdamotor.en.alibaba.com/product/1557267270-220560510/New_Invention_Double_speed_Motor_for_Front_Wheel.html?spm=a2700.8304367.0.0.s2lEcA

 

[Kudoscycles]

I wouldn't go that far. Recently got a Boardman converted to a crank drive, and it can handle even the most horrific hills near me. Obviously the steepest ones slow it down a fair bit, but thus far it's handled every road I've thrown at it. Crank drives much better than hub drives for hills is the basic wisdom.

Kent Guy...if you have the time I can loan you a BPM hub drive versus a well known crank drive bike,you may be surprised the result.
We are down near Whistable.
The latest Kudos Mistral is available for this test.
KudosDave

 

[BigG]

hi this is my first post i ve been going through some of the threads here, but i couldnt find the answer i was looking for..so after ur help ebike gurus.so here it goes...

i m planning to get this e bike which is 500w(throttle based,pedleless(2 variants available 250watts(15mph) and 500watts(22mph))

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aero-most-portable-ebike-that-folds-in-seconds-sport-design#/

i dont want to get the 250w one,since its basically useless when climbimg inclined surfaces and i read somewhere anything over 250w is not considered e bike in uk......

so what r my options......???

If this was legal in the uk I'd certainly buy one.... it folds so easily.... far easier than the Dahon (non-electric) bike that I had some years ago.

 

[flecc]

I think it's an awful design. Wheels too small for many road conditions, dual disc brakes on the rear wheel and no brake on the front wheel alone make it fundamental unsafe. I'm betting it's quite heavy too, something they avoid mentioning.
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