Is my ebike legal on the road

Gooseman

Pedelecer
May 12, 2020
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angus

Craiggor 2

Pedelecer
May 30, 2018
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Hi new to forums and ebikes. Recently purchased a kit from ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Voilamart-250W-26-Front-Wheel-Electric-Bicycle-Conversion-Kit-Cycling-26/223229377064?hash=item33f981fa28:g:bgMAAOSwbqddvfVu which i thought was legal as it only does 15mph and 250w motor but i have been informed the twist throttle makes it illegal is this correct and how would i change this as the throttle mechanism is also the power switch and battery meter. Any advice much appreciated.
This may be the only kit on the market that you can't alter the speed limit.So yes its legal.
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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sjpt

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 8, 2018
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You could just leave the throttle disconnected; it should work fine just on PAS. As soundwave says you are very unlikely to get into issues because of it.
 

Benjahmin

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 10, 2014
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Who knows? As far as I understand throttles on manufactured bikes can only work
1 If they only assist to 6kph
2 If they only assist whilst peddles are turning.
However nowhere does it mention self built bikes. It is therefore legal because it is not specifically illegal:eek::D:oops:
Some bike suppliers give customers a throttle that they can retrofit summising that this is legal because it was not part of the manufacturing process.
Perhaps Flecc will be along to inject whatever clarity and/or sanity is to be had here.

I'd say, keep your throttle, don't take the ****. In other words use it for hill starts and get away from junctions but don't swan down the road at 15mph not peddaling - it'll attract unwanted attention.
 

Andy-Mat

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 26, 2018
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Who knows? As far as I understand throttles on manufactured bikes can only work
1 If they only assist to 6kph
2 If they only assist whilst peddles are turning.
However nowhere does it mention self built bikes. It is therefore legal because it is not specifically illegal:eek::D:oops:
Some bike suppliers give customers a throttle that they can retrofit summising that this is legal because it was not part of the manufacturing process.
Perhaps Flecc will be along to inject whatever clarity and/or sanity is to be had here.

I'd say, keep your throttle, don't take the ****. In other words use it for hill starts and get away from junctions but don't swan down the road at 15mph not peddaling - it'll attract unwanted attention.
Great Post. Well said.
Andy
 

jokskot

Pedelecer
Jul 14, 2018
156
47
75
Not relevant to your query, and possibly teaching granny to suck eggs, but make sure you put a connector in the cable to the motor so that you can easily remove the wheel to fix punctures. I have one of these conversions and absence of a connector is the only criticism I have of the supplied kit.
 
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LeighPing

Esteemed Pedelecer
Mar 27, 2016
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The Red Ditch
I myself find the throttle very useful when cross a road say from rest in a hurry. It is more so if the ebike is on a uphill gradient. This is a pensioner's view and young bikers may dismiss it out of hand.
My better half wasn't too keen on ebiking until I showed her where the throttle was. :)

 

Gooseman

Pedelecer
May 12, 2020
74
6
angus
Not relevant to your query, and possibly teaching granny to suck eggs, but make sure you put a connector in the cable to the motor so that you can easily remove the wheel to fix punctures. I have one of these conversions and absence of a connector is the only criticism I have of the supplied kit.
Hi, just looked at the cable and this makes sense to do. this cable holds 9 seperate wires what connector would you suggest for this or would you just use a series of bullet connectors?
 

jokskot

Pedelecer
Jul 14, 2018
156
47
75
I would think that 9 bullet connectors would be a bit bulky.
I used the following and have had no issues:
The male part of the plug has a loop in the molding that was useful to cable-tie onto the fork.
fwiw my cable had only 8 wires.
Deliveries from China are currently very slow and I'm sure you could get something similar from a UK source albeit probably at a much inflated price!
It's also worth making a loop at the bottom of the cable so that any rainwater will run off the bottom of the U rather than into the hub.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
However nowhere does it mention self built bikes. It is therefore legal because it is not specifically illegal:eek::D:oops:
That is the reverse of the truth I'm afraid. In UK law every form of motorised vehicle is illegal unless specifically allowed in law.

Ergo, an otherwise legal pedelec with a fully acting throttle is illegal. There is a complex workaround in the UK only, but it's not worth all the trouble.

As others are saying, don't worry about it if you use the pedelec sensibly and adhere to all the main aspects of the law.
.
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
However nowhere does it mention self built bikes. It is therefore legal because it is not specifically illegal:eek::D:oops:
Some more on the lack of any legal status for kit motors:

None of the e-bike laws make any mention of kits in the UK and Europe. All three laws, technical standards EN15194, the exemption from motor vehicle type approval 168/2013 and the usage on the road law EAPC 1983 as modified 2015, they all only refer to complete manufactured electric assist bikes, trikes and quad bikes.

So both individuals and suppliers operate in a legal vacuum in which all try to supply and use as closely conforming to the complete e-bike law as they can, trusting that is acceptable. That has always worked elsewhere throughout all of Europe and the UK without any mention of a possible prosecution, providing the three main points of the law are adhered to, i.e. 250 watts maximum assist, 15.5 mph maximum assist speed and power only when pedalling.

However, I can tell you the theoretical UK legal way of dealing with a kit, although no-one has ever done it with a kit yet:

1) Buy and fit the motor kit.

2) Make an appointment at an approved vehicle testing station, paying the £55 test fee.

3) Normally the purpose of this is to get an SVA (Single Vehicle Approval), entitling it for use as as type approved motor vehicle. However your aim will be to get the inspector to agree that it meets the pedelec requirements so is exempt from being a motor vehicle and is approved as a pedelec as well as having SVA.

There is only one testing station set up for this, the one at Southampton!

That's because an arrangement has been made there for pedelecs with an added otherwise illegal throttle to be tested for L1e-A approval to make the throttle legal in the UK only under a DfT approval. So it kills two birds with one stone, legalising both the fitted kit and the throttle, but on that one e-bike only.

But to my knowledge they've only ever done this once.

In summary, legislators don't like kits, too many variables, so avoid their mention like the plague. Mainland Europe killed the kit car industry long ago and our laws have damaged it here too, so we are perhaps lucky that the lawyers don't pay attention to our little pedelec kit niche.
.
 
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Nealh

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Aug 7, 2014
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The Germans turn a blind eye to them as we do, the kit scene is bigger there then here. You only have to peruse pedelecs forum.de to see how big it is.
 
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jeffjh7

Just Joined
Apr 6, 2021
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0
I would think that 9 bullet connectors would be a bit bulky.
I used the following and have had no issues:
The male part of the plug has a loop in the molding that was useful to cable-tie onto the fork.
fwiw my cable had only 8 wires.
Deliveries from China are currently very slow and I'm sure you could get something similar from a UK source albeit probably at a much inflated price!
It's also worth making a loop at the bottom of the cable so that any rainwater will run off the bottom of the U rather than into the hub.
Hi ya, I just clicked on the Link to the connectors you mentioned but looks like it's not opening the page, do you know the name of the connector please? thanks, Jeff