Europe is generally seen as more bike-friendly than the states, but we lag behind them in one important regard.

In the UK if you have an electric bike with a motor more powerful than 250W and capable of assisting you above 15mph, it is legally a moped and requires all of the burdensome paperwork that entails.

In the states you are allowed 750W and 20mph before your bike is no longer officially a bicycle.

250W is not a lot of power. For any real load carrying capability it is seriously underpowered.

I wonder if this is hangover from before the days of computer controlled motors where digital speed limiting is easy? In the old days, if you didn't want a bike going faster than 15mph, limiting the power of the motor was the only way to achieve this. This is no longer the case.

By all means place a speed restriction on electric bicycles, but why force them to labour with underpowered motors?

This law strikes me as a serious barrier to electric bicycles achieving their true potential.

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Blue 2007 Nazca Fuego rider



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2012 08:10PM by AbrasiveScotsman.

Hmmm... I think one problem you would get if you sanctioned higher power motors is you would also then need bigger, heavier batteries to power them any distance and then not only do you have a bicycle that can go faster, you have one that is more difficult to stop and more dangerous in any collision.

I'm no fan of paperwork either, but if along with it goes some training and mandatory helmet use (for the two-wheeled at least) then I think it's no bad thing.

The law as it stands has no impact on the weight of electric bicycles.

Many electric motors sold in this country are simply digitally downrated from their true wattage to that required by UK law by reprogramming the controllers. They are the same motors, batteries and controllers you would find elsewhere - it's just they've been electronically neutered.

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Blue 2007 Nazca Fuego rider



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/03/2012 10:02PM by AbrasiveScotsman.

250W is actually a pretty good sustained output for a cyclist. At 750W the motor is definitely going to be doing most of the work, not just assisting the cyclist.
A 50cc moped won't have much real load carrying capacity either.

"A 50cc moped won't have much real load carrying capacity either."

A 50cc moped has a suprising large carrying and pulling capacity especially the multi direct geared versions. Even my old Puch Maxi would pull 2 good sized men up a long hill with gradients approaching 1 in 10 with a bit of run and just a touch of pedal assistance on the steepest bits. We used it for carrying shopping up a steep hill (1 in 4) for years again pedaling on the steep sections. In the Alps I have seen 50cc geared versions pulling milk churns on trailers.

It's not so bad at all in Europe. The 250W is supposed to be an average power output so peak power outputs are 350W - 600W depending on the motor.

250W average can be very capable on steep hills or pulling a load with a crank drive system which goes through the gears. Hub motors are more limited in this respect, OK if you can keep going above about 8mph, but not very helpful on the steepest inclines.

The rules are being revised in Europe and it is anticipated that the power restriction will go, but the speed restriction at 25kmh remain. This would improve the load carrying / uphill capability whilst still keeping the bike within an assisted speed which the regulators think is appropriate for bikes using shared use bike / pedestrian paths.

It's not all plain sailing in the US as those 750W / 20mph are by no means universal and there are differences in different States and a couple of States where e-bikes are not allowed at all unless registered as powered vehicles.

Personally I'd quite like a 20mph limit for assist speed, but that is very unlikely to happen. I really like the idea of say an assisted Bakfiets cargo bike, but whilst having the power to go up hills loaded at 20mph would be nice the stopping power probably wouldn't be there for safely coming down the other side!

A good compromise would be the present power limit for 15mph but a higher power limit if limited to say, 12mph and an even higher power limit for 8mph. This would allow loaded load bikes enough power to be viable in less tha flat areas.

I'd suggest 250w for 15mph, 400w for 12mph and 600w for 8mph limits. Maybe we could the allow 150w for 20mph???

"I thought of that while riding my bike." --Albert Einstein, on the Theory of Relativity

2007 ICE QNT
2008 Hase Kettwiesel AL27
2011 Catrike Trail.
1951 Engine in need of partial rebuild.

I think the best idea would be to maintain the speed cut-off to 15mph, but to allow a higher draw from the battery. If the road is flat then you don't need much Wattage anyway, and if you're going downhill then you don't need the electric assist at all. Therefore, if I had access to more than 200W going uphill, I could perhaps maintain the 15mph on far steeper climbs. I don't think this would raise any further health and safety issues to those that already exist for e-bikes?

Yes this would drain the battery quicker, but I currently have a 39v 16Ah battery which claims to offer 56 miles on assist mode. I regularly cycle 25 miles on very mixed terrain and only use a quarter of the battery power, so I think my battery could very easily accomodate this increase. Unless of course there are some technical floors in my plan?!