Is the UK legal limit 250 Watts?

[AshleyBrayson]

Just out of interest I've been browsing ebay uk and quite a few e bikes are stated as having 500W motors. Are these only for off road use? One advert has a video of a guy riding on the road..........

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The standard says a motor with a maximum continuous rated power of 250w. My interpretation of that is that a motor rated at 500w will always be illegal, no matter what you do with it. On the other hand, if the motor is rated at 250w, you can pump 2KW through it, and it's still legal.

If you want good power, take a slow wind 250v 36v motor and run it at 48v, Alternatively, there's a 25 amp 36v version of the 250w Bafang BBS01 crank-drive kit.

 

[soundwave]

 

[KTM Bike Industries UK]

Just out of interest I've been browsing ebay uk and quite a few e bikes are stated as having 500W motors. Are these only for off road use? One advert has a video of a guy riding on the road..........

Offroad / onroad... they are illegal to be used on both. The only place you can use them is on private land where there is no public access.

Essentially the eBay sellers are playing on ignorance, but they are putting all the risk onto their customers. Selling them is not illegal, using them is.