The Woosh Gale folding cycle, will this be legal to EU law after January 2016?

[Woosh]

This question was asked by one member today.
Here is our reply:

The Woosh Gale is currently equipped with a full throttle which is allowed on bikes that are bought up to 31st December 2015.
If you buy your Gale after that date, we will supply your bike with the throttle disconnected.
We will endeavour to seek type approval for this type of bikes in early 2016.
Until the type approval is granted, please note that riding the bike with a full power throttle may expose you to police prosecution. That does not however affect the hardware guarantee we give to your bike.

Tony

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Tony, have you found a mechanism for Type Approval?

All the best David

 

[Woosh]

Hatti is dealing with it David.
I am sure she'll keep this thread up to date when it's done.

Tony

 

[Nigrl Ips]

Snippet from elsewhere in the Pedelecs forum:
(does this let customers/riders off the hook?)

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/news/twist-go-type-approval-guidance-emerges/

Twist and go type approval procedure
....
In a response to Pedelecs, the DfT clarified: “The responsibility for obtaining type approval (or single approval) rests squarely with the manufacturer or retailer. The user is not committing an offence by riding or purchasing a non-approved bike.”

On obtaining type approval, A DfT spokesperson continued: “To obtain type approval, in cases of vehicles imported from the far east, the manufacturer and not the retailer/importer needs to obtain type approval, due to the need to control Conformity of Production.....

...lots of waffle....

.....for most electric bicycle suppliers, the realistic current route to type approval is the MSVA test, which does not yet include those requirements. And so long as a “twist and go” electric bicycle passes the MSVA (currently, by satisfying the MSVA test requirements for a ‘low powered moped’) it is regarded as type approved for the UK, despite the fact that the current MSVA is not yet aligned with the EU requirements, or the vehicle classes, set out via EU Regulation 168/2013.”

 

[LeighPing]

The user is not committing an offence by riding or purchasing a non-approved bike.

Curiously, can an offence ever be committed for purchasing a 'non-approved' bike?

 

[D8ve]

It's normaly an offence to use not purchase.