More Seizures

[Sparksandbangs]

This is a screengrab from Samebike website.

So, they need to make their minds up, are they legal or not.

If they aren't legal then I think there is a good case for a refund and if not forthcoming a chargeback.

Since I can't verify one way or the other I suppose it is all academic.

 

[Waspy]

Don't forget that some "throttles" can be set to only allow 6km/hr, and some can be set to only give power when pedalling. That includes the one fitted to the Samebike 20LVXD, which looks like what she had. The 750w ones all have fat tyres.

Either the police made a massive mistake or her bike was an direct import with a motor marked 350w or whatever, like this one:

SAMEBIKE 20LVXD30-II City Electric Bike 350W Motor

SAMEBIKE 20LVXD30 e-bike seems to offer several convenient and practical features for commuters and cyclists. Here's a breakdown of the key features you've mentioned: Foldable Design: The e-bike can be folded up, making it easy to transport and store. This eliminates the need for a separate bike...

alloybike.co.uk

Yes, your reasoning makes more sense. Especially considering the owner was nowhere in sight when they decided to seize it.

 

[saneagle]

This is a screengrab from Samebike website.

So, they need to make their minds up, are they legal or not.

You can change its mode of operation with P09 and P10.

7 or 8 years ago, it was quite common that when you bought an ebike online, the throttle was provided in a box so that you could choose whether to fit it or not.

 

[lenny]

On patrol with the police seizing illegal e-bikes
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06/13/police-illegal-e-bikes/

https://www.gmp.police.uk/news/greater-manchester/news/news/2025/september/tackling-illegal-and-dangerous-e-bikes-across-stockport-town-centre/

Police seized illegal e-bike and e-scooter in Melksham crackdown

Police have seized an illegal e-bike and e-scooter in Melksham as part of a crackdown. Officers from the local Neighbourhood Policing...

www.wiltshire999s.co.uk

40 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters seized in police crackdown on anti-social riding in Preston

https://www.lep.co.uk/news/40-illegal-e-bikes-and-e-scooters-seized-in-police-crackdown-on-anti-social-riding-in-preston-5238446

Police seize electric off-road bike posing a 'risk' to public

Police from the north sector neighbourhood team received reports of a balaclava-clad biker riding in an antisocial manner

www.plymouthherald.co.uk

Illegal e-bikes and e-scooters seized in Bristol police crackdown

It took just minutes to confiscate a van full

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Powered-up e-bike stopped for speeding in Wiltshire town

Police in Wiltshire stopped a souped-up e-bike that was breaking the speed limit.

www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk

 

[saneagle]

This came up om my feed:

Dangerous E-Bikes Seized in Major Police Operation

Anti-social and reckless driving brings misery to communities across the country.To combat this, West Midlands Police carried out an operation to crack down ...

www.youtube.com

 

[Baz the balloon man]

With this nation wide crack down on e motor bikes that look like legal branded bikes and I would have thought the amount of business the big companies like Giant and Halfords for example are losing to cheap imports and self builds .

That the Police are being given intelligence on which China imports to look out for and with self builds that look to big ie Two or very big batteries or a huge hub motor for instance then they probably just seize and let some one fight to get there bike back .

Most people who are new to Pedelechs do not know the rules or laws and probably would not argue if they thought further cost and charges might follow would just let the bike get crushed or go to Auction if told by a police officer that it was illegal.

I would have thought that any business that sold an illegal bike to an unsuspecting customer may find themselves liable to civil or criminal prosecution if they sold it on the understanding that it was road legal .
Or just not inform them that the bike they were purchasing was not road legal.

One for the Solicitors to work out I would have thought .

If the Supermarket was closed at the time with a gate or barrier stopping vehicle access then legally the bike would have been on private property .

I think in time with the current hysteria about e bikes soon you will see traffic cops accompanying trading standards into the small independent businesses that sell these types of e bikes and seizing them .

One thing that I am not sure about as in my limited experience all the 250W motors can be made to do more than 15.5MPH that I have used IE Carrera 250W Suntours motors for example.

So if a bike say has a motor that is capable being used up to 750W but is in fact being restricted by the controller to cut off at 15.5MPH and therefore is marked as a 250W motor is it then legal or illegal to use on the highway ?

 

[saneagle]

With this nation wide crack down on e motor bikes that look like legal branded bikes and I would have thought the amount of business the big companies like Giant and Halfords for example are losing to cheap imports and self builds .

That the Police are being given intelligence on which China imports to look out for and with self builds that look to big ie Two or very big batteries or a huge hub motor for instance then they probably just seize and let some one fight to get there bike back .

Most people who are new to Pedelechs do not know the rules or laws and probably would not argue if they thought further cost and charges might follow would just let the bike get crushed or go to Auction if told by a police officer that it was illegal.

I would have thought that any business that sold an illegal bike to an unsuspecting customer may find themselves liable to civil or criminal prosecution if they sold it on the understanding that it was road legal .
Or just not inform them that the bike they were purchasing was not road legal.

One for the Solicitors to work out I would have thought .

If the Supermarket was closed at the time with a gate or barrier stopping vehicle access then legally the bike would have been on private property .

I think in time with the current hysteria about e bikes soon you will see traffic cops accompanying trading standards into the small independent businesses that sell these types of e bikes and seizing them .

One thing that I am not sure about as in my limited experience all the 250W motors can be made to do more than 15.5MPH that I have used IE Carrera 250W Suntours motors for example.

So if a bike say has a motor that is capable being used up to 750W but is in fact being restricted by the controller to cut off at 15.5MPH and therefore is marked as a 250W motor is it then legal or illegal to use on the highway ?

Any motor marked as 250w by the manufacturer is de facto legal. You guys are always trying to make it more difficult than it is. The bike is illegal if it goes faster than 15.5mph with power or gives power above 4mph without pedalling. How is that complicated?

 

[lenny]

16 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters crushed by police in targeted crackdown

A 21-year-old man from Preston has also been charged

www.lancs.live

 

[lenny]

Op Pedalfast results this week

Good afternoon Braunstone and Rowley Fields residents, ‍♂️ Pedalfast Community Safety Update ‍...

www.neighbourhoodlink.co.uk

 

[lenny]

WATCH: Illegal e-bikes seized and crushed in crackdown across Chorley and South Ribble

Lancashire Police are intensifying efforts to tackle the growing issue of...

hellorayo.co.uk

 

[Peter.Bridge]

Looks like a Carrera Vengeance e-bike !

 

[saneagle]

Looks like a Carrera Vengeance e-bike !

It does indeed. It has the big crank torque sensor and no throttle, and it's very difficult to defeat the speed limit. I doubt that it's an illegal bike, but maybe he was doing something illegal with it.

 

[Nealh]

No crack down where I live, youths are seen brazenly /openly riding off road type suron bikes around. No helmets , tailgating vehicles, weaving in and of traffic, taking to paths , red light jumping.

 

[Tony1951]

No crack down where I live, youths are seen brazenly /openly riding off road type suron bikes around. No helmets , tailgating vehicles, weaving in and of traffic, taking to paths , red light jumping.

Yes - two weeks running - at pretty much the same time, I saw such a character riding the same pedestrian only road in Newcastle. He spends about a third of the time with the front wheel reared up off the road - usually when he passes pedestrians.

This is it.



I think he is likely a drug dealer. People like this don't live around here. The houses cost a million quid.

I would report it, but it would be pointless to do so.

Hopefully, during one of his rearing up manoeuvres, he will lose control and smash his brains out on a tree.

Like others of this sort that I have seen, the uniform is all black with a face mask and hoodie. An obvious criminal outlaw - brazenly advertising what he is.

 

[saneagle]

Yes - two weeks running - at pretty much the same time, I saw such a character riding the same pedestrian only road in Newcastle. He spends about a third of the time with the front wheel reared up off the road - usually when he passes pedestrians.

This is it.

View attachment 64401

I think he is likely a drug dealer. People like this don't live around here. The houses cost a million quid.

I would report it, but it would be pointless to do so.

Hopefully, during one of his rearing up manoeuvres, he will lose control and smash his brains out on a tree.

Like others of this sort that I have seen, the uniform is all black with a face mask and hoodie. An obvious criminal outlaw - brazenly advertising what he is.

Our local community police asked on Nextdoor App to grass up those guys. They said that if we see any regular or predictable misuse of cycle paths, we should let them know, so that they can lie in wait, or words to that effect.

 

[Nealh]

Yes - two weeks running - at pretty much the same time, I saw such a character riding the same pedestrian only road in Newcastle. He spends about a third of the time with the front wheel reared up off the road - usually when he passes pedestrians.


View attachment 64401

Hopefully, during one of his rearing up manoeuvres, he will lose control and smash his brains out on a tree.

One can only hope !!!!

 

[esuark]

One can only hope !!!!

..........Darwin's theory of natural selection takes place.

 

[Baz the balloon man]

Any motor marked as 250w by the manufacturer is de facto legal. You guys are always trying to make it more difficult than it is. The bike is illegal if it goes faster than 15.5mph with power or gives power above 4mph without pedalling. How is that complicated?

Yes understand fully if it goes faster than allowed at the time of a stop it’s illegal.
And if it has an off road switch to go faster it’s illegal by a switch I mean on and off .

Say for instance a Bird Bike Bafang motor so fully compliant and factory marked at 250W .

But as soon as you change the controller you can get what is in fact 500W so I am told ?

This is done and you are using this modified bike on the road set at all the legal requirements say with an unbranded controller and LCD screen that any one with basic knowledge can access the the advance settings and make the bike go faster than is legal. But to do this the bike first has to be switched off and the settings have no password protection.

So you have been pulled over for a check and your bike is road legal .

However the inspector of the bike then knows what he is doing access’s the advanced settings makes changes in the settings to access the full power of the motor declare’s the bike now not road legal and its seized.

Who do you think would win in a court if the seizure was subsequently challenged?

 

[Peter.Bridge]

I think you are mixing up power and speed. There are 2 requirements

1) the Motor is certified and marked as 250 w
2) the motor doesn't assist over 25 km/h

There is no regulation on how much power the controller supplies to the motor, just that it cuts out at 25 km/h

 

[Nealh]

I think you are mixing up power and speed. There are 2 requirements

1) the Motor is certified and marked as 250 w
2) the motor doesn't assist over 25 km/h

There is no regulation on how much power the controller supplies to the motor, just that it cuts out at 25 km/h

Sadly Peter some people simply can't get their head around understanding the simple rules.
EN15194 clearly states those two facts.