bonzobanana
Guru
I only made a correction as someone earlier in the thread mentioned throttles being illegal which they aren't for ebikes as there are many exceptions that allow them. Just trying to provide the correct information.
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I only made a correction as someone earlier in the thread mentioned throttles being illegal which they aren't for ebikes as there are many exceptions that allow them. Just trying to provide the correct information.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Although they might as well be in the UK.
A start-up throttle is nothing like what an ordinary person would expect if told 'the bike has a throttle'.
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youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
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youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
- refer you to post 24. I think that will suffice for most everyday conversations.
bonzobanana
Guru
What do you mean by a start-up throttle compared to a normal throttle? I'm a bit confused by that statement.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Throttles on bikes used in the UK are only supposed to aid starting off to a max speed, if I recall, of 7kph.
That may be widely ignored and the chances of being nicked may be relatively slim, but the polis, in common with riders, are becoming more educated in these matters.
When I started ebiking about 12 years ago, no one ever got nicked for anything, but we do now see a small number of prosecutions.
Become involved in a damage or injury collision on a full throttle ebike and things could easily get very sticky.
bonzobanana
Guru
It's perfectly legal to have a full range throttle on a brand new pre-built ebike as long as it only operates when you pedal. The legal issue is with twist and go ebikes where you don't need to pedal to power the motor. However even those are legal in many cases. If you have bought your ebike before 2016 which had twist and go throttles and they are still legal to use. If you convert your own bike to an ebike a twist and go throttle is still completely legal and you can also buy Wispa bikes which are fully legal twist and go ebikes. There is no realistic way anyone would ever be prosecuted for having a twist and go throttle and as far as I know that has never happened. It could be someone had very high wattage ebike that went beyond 15.5mph assistance and was prosecuted and that ebike had a twist and go throttle but the throttle was not part of the prosecution. Many elderly and disabled riders rely on a twist and go throttle ebikes so it would be a very harsh prosecution if they prosecuted people who owned such ebikes but in all other ways were more clearly legal. Every single e-scooter you see going about is twist and go and while they may not be legal the police are not in anyway stopping those riders and those scooters are clearly outside the law unless a hire scheme.
https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/dft-pedal-cycles-converted-twist-go-exempt-type-approval/
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
Good stuff, but Wisper appear to be about the only maker offering DVSA approval on new bikes.
The Department for Transport seem to be saying that only a bike previously ridden on the road - not new - is exempt from approval for a full throttle if it is subsequently converted.
Thus all ebikes sold new with a full speed throttle remain illegal for road use.
I agree a prosecution purely based on having a full speed throttle is unlikely, so provided the assistance cuts out at 15.5mph, and the motor is 250w 'nominal', you are on fairly safe ground.
The full throttle ebikes I have seen on sale comply with none of the above, although there may be one or two.
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youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
bonzobanana
Guru
Yes each Wisper ebike has to be individually tested so I think Wisper take a batch of ebikes to the testing centre and each is approved separately. This is time consuming and therefore adds a chunk of money to the price of these bikes. Some people have bought pre-built ebikes and not got on with the cadence or torque sensor and have later modified them to add a throttle. This is the one conflicting area I've seen because some claim that DfT statement allows for that and others claim it doesn't and there is no clarification on this matter from DfT. Realistically this probably is only something a hub motor ebike can get away with as they are basically using fairly standard frames mostly. It's not something you could do to a pre-built mid-drive ebike where the motor has a dedicated frame mounting and the product has mainly proprietary parts including battery because you could never claim this was a normal bicycle. Many hub motor based ebikes you can remove the electronic parts from and return to using as a standard bicycle.
Intereting Article in Ars Technica the new GoCycle. It's appraised from an American point of view.
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/0...signed-foldable-e-bike-but-not-without-flaws/
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/0...signed-foldable-e-bike-but-not-without-flaws/
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youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
Cycling Weekly UK review for comparison: Go-cycle. Interesting, but not really comparable with the sort of bikes that the Mavic system is intended for - lightweight e-road bikes. At around 18kg the Go-cycle appears rather heavy - I certainly couldn't carry it far! The e-road bikes fitted with the Mavic system will be in the region of 10 - 12 kg. It's also very pricey at £4500+. I don't need a folding bike and I'd rather spend my money on a lighter e-road bike, as I'm after that kind of riding experience.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Partially human powered
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youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
- round and round we go ...
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Eh, fact else it’s not an e bike
