FAQS

What is the Road Legality of Electric bikes in the Uk?

The law relating to this dates back to 1983, and covers what you can legally use on public roads in the UK.

The limits are: 200W continuous power (250W for tricycles and tandems), 15mph maximum assisted speed, maximum weight 40kgs (60kgs for tricycles and tandems).

As long as your cycle is within these limits, and you are over 14, you can ride your bike legally on UK roads with no restrictions. This law is laid down in the Road Traffic Act, and the police have the power to enforce it.

What is a pedal sensor and what's the difference between a pedelec and an e-bike

Basically, a pedal sensor is a device which makes sure that the pedals are turning - if they are, it enables the throttle, and if they aren’t it cuts power to the motor.

So, in effect, the electric motor will only work if you are turning the pedals. A bike of this sort is called a Pedelec - a bike without a pedal sensor is called an E-bike.

Under the new EU rules, a pedal sensor is required for the bike to avoid Single Vehicle / Whole Vehicle Type Approval - this is the complex (and expensive) approval scheme used for motorbikes and mopeds. But under UK law, a pedal sensor is not required for the bike to be road-legal.

Note that some electric bikes use the pedal sensor to decide how much power the motor provides - they don’t have a throttle, instead a microprocessor automatically controls the motor depending on how much effort you are putting in. Heinzmann don’t do this - Heinzmann kits and bikes still have a separate throttle so you have full control, and it doesn’t matter how much effort you are putting in, only that the pedals are turning. Koga and SRAM bikes and kits do measure your pedaling effort and use this to determine how much help you get.

So what is the situation for various bikes? Some examples

200W, 15mph, with pedal sensor: Completely legal to use on UK roads (and European, for that matter). Legal for the manufacturer to supply without a type approval certificate.
200W, 15mph, without pedal sensor: Completely legal to use on UK roads (but not European). The manufacturer should supply a type approval certificate.
250W, 15mph, with pedal sensor: Only legal on tricycles and tandems in the UK, NOT bicycles - a bicycle can only be used on the road with a license plate, tax, insurance, moped helmet and moped license for the rider. The manufacturer does not need to supply a type approval certificate.
250W, 15mph, no pedal sensor: As above, but the manufacturer should supply a type approval certificate.
Above these limits: As above.

What are the 'Type Certification & Construction Regulations'?

This covers what manufacturers like us build and sell - in that respect, it’s similar to the old Kitemark or CE mark. This law has recently been revised and standardised across Europe, and is a matter for Trading Standards.

Basically, all road vehicles are supposed to be Type Certified - this is a series of standards and tests the vehicle has to pass, like an MOT, but the manufacturer can get one certificate to cover all the bikes of one model they make.

Because this process is very expensive, there is an exclusion for some electric bikes, which do not need Type Approval. To avoid it, the cycle must be under 250W continuous power, 25km/h maximum assisted speed, and must have a pedal sensor which cuts the motor when the rider stops pedalling.

In addition, the UK also has regulations about the construction of electric bikes which are used on UK roads - basically, they have to be constructed to the same standards as non-electric cycles, to comply with BS6102 part 1.

THE ABOVE EXTRACT INFORMATION - WWW.KINETICS.ORG.UK

What the UK law requires for E-bikes that are faster than 15mph, or more powerful than 250 Watts, or heavier than the weights mentioned above?

The subject of getting type approval for a faster e-bike regularly crops up, so please see below for what is requred. Here I'm trying to cover the whole subject of what is necessary and possible.

TYPE APPROVAL

There are two forms of type approval, the normal one used by manufacturers and importers to gain approval for use on UK roads for a number of a given vehicle, and the Single Vehicle Type Approval Scheme. The latter is intended to cover such thing as personal imports of a vehicle not yet approved here and vehicles built by amateur constructors, and the standards required by the single vehicle scheme are much less strict than those for the commercial world.

For example, those with reasonable memories will recall TV news items on a motorised garden shed complete with window boxes being driven from inside it's windows, and a motorised double bed which had the driver within the bedclothes. Both of these were type approved, registered and taxed with number plates etc and driven regularly on the public roads. There have also been numerous individual commercial publicity equivalents such as the mobile beer bottle and coke bottles. For anyone not recalling any of these, there's also the 87 mph sofa which was used to transport visitors to and from an exhibition using UK public roads.

None of these oddball examples would have a chance of getting manufacturer type approval for bulk production and sales, but Single Vehicle Approval wasn't a problem.

The examples clearly show that as long as a basically roadworthy vehicle is presented for testing, conformity with any existing vehicles isn't necessary and many of the usual requirements are waived, so getting a fast e-bike through single vehicle approval as a moped is not going to be difficult. It could be one you have asked us to create for you, using a motor of up to 1000 Watt* rating - currently the highest that the Heinzmann systems we use go up to. Links with details of the type approval scheme and test locations are given at the end of this, the cost of the moped/light motorcycle Type Approval test (currently as of 28/03/09) is £78, and £16 for a retest should any item fail.

There's plenty of precedent since both the old autocycles and petrol add-on bike motors that are still sometimes used on the roads by enthusiasts are registered as motorcycles or mopeds now and both have many similarities to fast e-bikes, having part time pedals and bicycle like construction and use.

Apart from being a sound and strong e-bike with adequate brakes, a rear mudguard is necessary since a motorcycle style small format rear number plate will have to be mounted once registered, and there will have to be a brake light fitted, not a big problem since motorcycle brake light switches and number plates with stop lights are suitable for adaptation. A licence holder for the tax disc will need to be mounted on the left hand side of the bike, and it would be necessary to equip the bike with a horn of some kind. Lights are not a requirement but can be fitted of course. To ride a fast e-bike as a moped means an approved motorcycle helmet must be worn, but there are light open face models on the market and since the cycling effort won't be too great on a high powered e-bike there shouldn't be high discomfort levels.

The annual road tax is free for an electric vehicle, but an MOT test will be needed from three years onwards. From experience with other non-motorcycle types a motorcycle dealer does these on a virtual nod-through basis in minutes. Third party insurance is compulsory, but low cost electric moped insurance should suffice. Motorcycle parking restrictions also apply, but I doubt there'd be strict enforcement of that since there never has been with motorised bikes in the past. Number plate or not, they tend to be seen as ordinary bikes by parking enforcement officers who don't go looking in bike stands anyway. In fact it's common to see mopeds parked on pavements next to cycle stands in my area without them attracting any attention.

Single Vehicle Type Approval Scheme (scroll down for motorcycles) http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/BuyingAndSellingAVehicle/ImportingAndExportingAVehicle/DG_4022105

Fees for type approval (scroll down for motorcycles, second type) http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/BuyingAndSellingAVehicle/ImportingAndExportingAVehicle/DG_10018282

*There is no limit to the size of motor that can be presented for approval, but my reason for suggesting 1000 Watts is that it's the maximum permitted for approval in the lesser low speed (15 mph) moped class. Conforming to that is likely to make it all the easier for the type approval examiner to accept your bike.

DRIVING LICENCE NECESSARY

Anyone with a full car driving licence gained before 1st February 2001 is already qualified to ride a moped and no further test is necessary.

Anyone with any form of full moped or motorcycle licence is also pre-qualified.

Those without one any these licence types will have to take a CBT course (Compulsory Basic Training) before taking the driving test to gain a moped (P group) licence. Some have raised the objection that CBT instructors and testers will not know how to cope with such a different vehicle, but that's their problem, not yours. They have had to cope in the past with many of the different types as they've been introduced, such as the petrol add on cycle motors, and will no doubt cope again. Alternatively, for those shy of any hint of difficulty, the simple answer is to do what many already do before committing to buying a moped, hire a moped for the CBT training and driving test.

SNAGS

The only minor difficulty I foresee in the process is getting the necessary third party insurance since the insurance industry prefers known situations to strange ones, so it would be wise to research that first. Probably the best way would be to try one of the brokers who specialise in motorcycle insurance, explaining that it's to be an e-bike which has to have insurance since it can exceed 15 mph assisted. Mentioning the £1000 E-Go and similar electric mopeds would provide a reference point for the broker. Since insurance is obtainable for 87 mph sofas, I'm quite sure it's much more easily available for a fast e-bike. Checking moped insurance online for a car licence holder of 40 years old in a London borough brought up a cheapest quote of £54, and that was without any no claims bonus, so the cost will be low for most people.

The above information extracted from: http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bicycles/3831-having-faster-e-bike-uk.html