E-bike Build - UK law

[brit151]

Hi

I've been an owner of the cyclotricity stealth 1000W for the past year. I've found it an excellent bike for getting into e biking and have used it for commuting daily in the 250W mode and on private land to get the full power out of it. I am now keen to upgrade to a nicer bike by either fitting a new kit to it or transferring across my existing one. I have read a little into the developments in UK e bike law but what I don't understand is why many kits state they are not legal in the UK if the motor is above 250W yet the cyclotricity 1000W is legal. I appreciate the LCD has a setting within its programme to switch between both 250 and 1000W but why can't all kits/bikes just be set up this way?

 

[Simon Rafferty]

I would question whether the Cyclotricity kit is legal! I can't remember the exact phraseology, but it must be impossible for the user (you) to change the power output whether on or off road.

I'm not even convinced password protected settings are good enough as the passwords always leak and as soon as they do, the kit is illegal.

Si

 

[Alan Quay]

Hi

I've been an owner of the cyclotricity stealth 1000W for the past year. I've found it an excellent bike for getting into e biking and have used it for commuting daily in the 250W mode and on private land to get the full power out of it. I am now keen to upgrade to a nicer bike by either fitting a new kit to it or transferring across my existing one. I have read a little into the developments in UK e bike law but what I don't understand is why many kits state they are not legal in the UK if the motor is above 250W yet the cyclotricity 1000W is legal. I appreciate the LCD has a setting within its programme to switch between both 250 and 1000W but why can't all kits/bikes just be set up this way?

What is stamped on the motor? That's the really important bit, as the law states that the motor may not have a continuous rating above 250w.

 

[trex]

the bike mustn't be advertised as 1000W if you want to label and sell it as legal.

 

[brit151]

It's advertised at 1000w. Can't see a stamp on the motor tho will need to give it a clean!

 

[cibaker1]

I cannot express how happy I am with my Cyclotricity Stealth. I have now owned the bike for three weeks and in that time I have covered almost 90 miles in leisure time. My intention is to commute during the summer months and I am convinced that the 15 mile round trip to the office will be quicker on the bike than by car given its ability to avoid traffic. Cycling to work in the past has not been an option due to the steep hills where I live however, this E-bike has changed all that. I am an overweight 18 stone man yet the bike seems to cope easily with weight and the battery is providing about 25 miles range in 250 Watt mode. If you de-restrict the power (off road of coarse) the battery will struggle to provide 10 - 12 miles range. My only complaint with the Stealth is the lack of gears. When the battery does die it becomes a Very heavy bike to pedal especially on an incline. The addition of a further 1 or 2 cogs on the front crank would make the bike almost perfect. I did test a couple of crack drive bikes prior to purchasing the stealth and whilst I was very impressed with them (particularly the Haibike) the cost of well over £2k and some cases up to £3.5K was impossible to justify to she who must be obeyed.
Anyone looking to buy their first ebike I would recommend taking a look at the Stealth it is a good looking bike with a reasonable battery and excellent after sales service from Zak at Cyclotricity.