80 cc bicycle convertion kits are they legal in the uk and stockists

[not bradley]

hello all
I have been considering getting an electric bike but are mainly put off by the weight of these bikes, cost of replacement batteries, lighter bikes are very expensive.

whilst looking on ebay there are convertion kits that use 80cc or 48cc 2 stroke motorcycle type engines that fit two 26" wheel size mountain bikes fuel tank on crossbar ,engine mounted above front chainring.

modest price about £120 +pp

however I cannot find a uk stockist and wonder if this convertion is legal in the uk, or liable to road fund licence etc

thank you all for any info

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

From my understanding it's unlikely that these would be legal in the UK. The law only makes provision for assisted bicycles to be powered by electric motors of 200 watts or less and limited to 15mph. (Rules here)

To make it legal you would have to register it as a moped and pass an SVA test, get number plates, vehicle tax, and insurance. The Single Vehicle Approval test would probably be the killer as a bicycle is not made to meet the same requirements as a motor vehicle so you'd likely have to make plenty of modifications.

Edit: Oh, and as it would be a moped, you'd not be able to use it on cyclepaths.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

As stated to be legal you would need to get type approval first (Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval Scheme) and an MOT test certificate.
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-approval/single-vehicle-approval

Next insure it, then register it, then get vehicle excise duty.

If you don't have a full licence, you will need 'L' plates.
You will also have to wear a crash helmet conforming to EU regulations, how silly would that look on a bicycle?

Consider an electric bicycle.... no type approval, no MOT, no tax, no insurance, no helmet, no minimum age, all perfectly legal.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Consider an electric bicycle.... no type approval, no MOT, no tax, no insurance, no helmet, no minimum age, all perfectly legal.

Minimum age is 14 for an electric bike.

 

[gavintc]

I followed an e-bike up a hill the other day and was very impressed at its turn of speed.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Minimum age is 14 for an electric bike.

I stand corrected....... you are correct sir.
In my defence I'm stupid and have had an off today pity for my stupidity and sympathy for my off both gladly accepted

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Not damaged I hope.

I'm doing better than the bike.. lol
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/ho...een-knocked-off-your-bike.141884/post-2719451

Sometimes you just have to count your blessings

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I stand corrected, you are correct sir.
In my defence I'm stupid and have had an off today pity for my stupidity and sympathy for my off both gladly accepted

I'm a bit slow too.... managed not to catch up with your post about the off 'til just now. Hope you are okay. From your description it doesn't sound like the bike is.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

The bikes scrap, can't face looking at it at the moment my minds not in a great place

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

The bikes scrap, can't face looking at it at the moment my minds not in a great place

I'm not at all surprised. I wish I could offer some easy way to make it feel better.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

As long as I'm still around to buy another bike, its never that bad IMHO
There are others with far greater loss than I.

Just sucks a little.

 

[Sara_H]

Edit: Oh, and as it would be a moped, you'd not be able to use it on cyclepaths.

Thats one of the main reasons I chose ebike over moped when I was too ill to ride, cos I could still use the cycle paths and dodge the traffic that I would have been stuck in on a moped.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

As long as I'm still around to buy another bike, its never that bad IMHO
There are others with far greater loss than I.

Just sucks a little.

GWS! I presume there is no chance that the experience puts you off carbon rims henceforth?

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

GWS! I presume there is no chance that the experience puts you off carbon rims henceforth?

Nahh but its most certainly put me off crashing

 

[sreten]

I followed an e-bike up a hill the other day and was very impressed at its turn of speed.

Hi,

That is what they are good at, going up hills, and into strong headwinds.
But given they shut off at 15mph I've had no problems going past them
on the flat, though downhill the extra weight should help for more speed,
but not really, as hardly any have proper gears for going downhill.

TBH if they could do 20mph before shutting off (pedal assisted or
not) they would be lot more interesting to committed cyclists.

There is a world of difference between 15mph and 20mph.

In their favour though is whilst you can't go fast easily,
they are great at preventing you going slowly, and
take all the effort out of setting off from a stop.

Conversely one could argue you can go faster overall
on a normal bike and generally an electric bike prevents
the development of the fitness needed for a normal bike.

Personally, whilst its still possible I'll struggle up the hills.

rgds, sreten.