Illegal e-bikes for sale ?
- Thread starter Scaleyback
- Start date
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ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Widnes
I have wondered about the device they used to check the speed cut off
How much tolerance do they allow??
I mean - if it cuts out at 15.5 mph then clearly it is OK
but do they regard it as failed at 15.6 mph
or do they allow 10% - and let it go if it is below about 17??
after all - if the cutoff was set to 16.7mph then it is clearly not fiddled - and probably just set a smidge high by the factory
or the tyre is not exactly what the speed detector expects
( I presume - it is often done by wheel revs - and the exact size of the tyre would change that)
How much tolerance do they allow??
I mean - if it cuts out at 15.5 mph then clearly it is OK
but do they regard it as failed at 15.6 mph
or do they allow 10% - and let it go if it is below about 17??
after all - if the cutoff was set to 16.7mph then it is clearly not fiddled - and probably just set a smidge high by the factory
or the tyre is not exactly what the speed detector expects
( I presume - it is often done by wheel revs - and the exact size of the tyre would change that)
classic33
Leg End Member
Leeds police have been seizing any that go above the cut-off speed on throttle only. Given that throttles are supposed to be walk assist, it puts them well above the cut-off speed.
N0bodyOfTheGoat
Über Member
- Location
- Hampshire, UK
There needs to be some tolerance, to allow for when the rider fits a bigger tyre.
I dangerously presume the 15.5mph motor cutoff is calibrated against the supplied tyres by the manufacturer, in my gravel ebike's case, 40mm Nanos.
But last week I fitted a 45mm Caracal Race to the rear, stupidly I've barely been out on it so far, but I think the rear hub motor is possibly cutting off closer to 16mph now.
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Widnes
My Raleigh had failry basic tyres at the start but i have replaced them with Marathons
which I think are a bit bigger - in terms of more tread and stuff
so maybe the speed it a bit off
but you also have to allow for tyre wear as you ride
mine are certainly quite a bit down from their initial depth of tread
UglyWithaSidePart
Regular
How about this for a confusing message from an actual police force. I was commenting on a video with some surron electric motorbikes and yet again the police are calling them ebikes and actually doubling down on it when challenged 🤷♂️
So do the police in England care a "portable dynamometer" in their cars to check random cyclist?
glasgowcyclist
Charming but somewhat feckless
- Location
- Scotland
"There is still a way to go when it comes to education" because the police insist on using the wrong terminology!
The public won't learn if the police don't point out the difference.
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Widnes
It does seem like a confusing message
If they use ebikes in messaging - to mean illegal electrically powered motorcycles
but the general population uses the same term to mean "any bike with an electric motor of any kind"
and they use EPAC to mean a legal bike with an electric motor that complies with the law
but the general population never uses that term (except people like us)
then whoever is doing their "messaging" needs to give their brain a reset
but it does explain a lot of what I see and hear
If they use ebikes in messaging - to mean illegal electrically powered motorcycles
but the general population uses the same term to mean "any bike with an electric motor of any kind"
and they use EPAC to mean a legal bike with an electric motor that complies with the law
but the general population never uses that term (except people like us)
then whoever is doing their "messaging" needs to give their brain a reset
but it does explain a lot of what I see and hear
UglyWithaSidePart
Regular
I did argue back that they're perpetuating the problem, but they're not having it. So 🤷♂️
ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Widnes
Yes - they need to use another word for legal ones to illegal ones
EPAC seems to be available for this!
The thing is, as you said a few posts back, very few people apart from enthusiasts and (some) police have a clue what that is. So it’s not going to work in headlines
As an aside, isn’t the legal term EAPC not EPAC?
Alex321
Guru
- Location
- South Wales
(Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle).Alex321
Guru
- Location
- South Wales
They aren't really though.
e-bike generally means any bike with an electric motor, whether legal or not. That is generally accepted usage, and you can't say it is wrong, because there is no legal or dictionary definition saying otherwise.
