https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/260665

Could be better worded however.

Edited June 10, 20196 yr by youngoldbloke

as when motor cuts out the bike becomes sluggish and harder to cycle on till you reach 18mph

 

Dreadfully worded, I take it the bikes flys once you reach 18 mph

Dreadfully worded, I take it the bikes flys once you reach 18 mph

Agreed

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/260665

Could be better worded however.

 

Very premature too. We are not in a position to legally make this change until we have actually left the EU. Even after we left it would mean changes to multiple laws, getting parliament to approve all those against DfT advice.

 

Citing the USA is also a mistake since it draws attention to the fact they are the odd one out, most of the rest of the world having the EU style law that we have. Politicians and civil servants like to play safe by going with the majority in things they know little or nothing about. And in any case the USA does not have one law. They have federal law as a basis that states can use, but states are free to set their own law overriding that, and most do.

 

In summary there isn't a cat-in-hells chance of this change being made, for these other reasons too:

 

The powered bicycle class L1e-A which is also limited to 15.5 mph is a motor vehicle class having registration, insurance, number plate etc. And if without pedals a group Q driving licence is necessary.

 

There are also S class high speed pedelecs which can have 20 to 28 mph assists, but they have to be registered as L1e-B motor vehicles, number plated and insured. A moped driving licence is also necessary.

 

Clearly our pedelecs will not be allowed bureaucracy-free 20 mph assist when these other two have to be classed as motor vehicles with all that implies.

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Edited June 10, 20196 yr by flecc

Up a slope and into wind should have been mentioned . Reminds me of the time I was riding my Ariel Leader into a strong westerly wind and I couldn`t get it past 55 mph . Normally would exceed 70 mph . Ebikes exhibit similar traits , as do all cycles . I feel the same with my 37 year old Suzuki 50 `Roadie`as it`s limited to 30 mph . If the Person that decides on these Rules were the ones doing the riding , perhaps they would change their tune a bit !

Very badly worded and pretty pointless right now.

I've got to agree

It seems a child wrote out that petition

And to repeat what's already been said there's no way at all that the limit is going to change any time soon

They should be grateful it was upped from I think 12mph or so to get in line with Europe

If the Person that decides on these Rules were the ones doing the riding , perhaps they would change their tune a bit !

 

They don't because there is no need to. Those who want more power for climbing or fighting headwinds can move to the L1e-A class. That's pedelecs also limited to 15.5 mph but allowed up to 1000 watts rating, plenty to tackle anything.

 

But they have to be registered and insured, though no driving licence necessary.

 

Those who want more moped like speeds can go to S pedelecs which can have 500 watts rating, but again they have to be registered and insured. And being as fast as mopeds a driving licence is necessary.

 

So the rule makers have taken care of everyone and no change is necessary, except for the public to learn what I've just typed.

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I know I may be in a minority on here but I think the 15.5 limit is OK. On flat roads I generally ride at about 17-18 mph but I don't think greater assistance is needed.

 

Probably just me.

 

In any case the petition is written by someone who needs to go back to school - it is a formal thing so needs to be written properly. It sounds stupid so gives a very bad impressions of the whole concept. I wouldn't sign it even if I agreed with it.

 

Just re-read it what does "When motor cuts out the bike becomes sluggish and harder to cycle on till you reach 18mph + where you gain control of bike." even mean??? On mine and my wife's I just keep pedalling and it goes faster

Edited June 11, 20196 yr by Michael Price

I know I may be in a minority on here but I think the 15.5 limit is OK. On flat roads I generally ride at about 17-18 mph but I don't think greater assistance is needed.

 

You are far from a minority in here Michael, that impression mainly comes from those wanting more speed/power being so vociferous.

 

Those like ourselves who are satisfied with what we have don't have any need to raise the subject.

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Thanks - nice to know

Emotionally I would love a faster ebike. Having said that I think 25kph is actually a very good limit for assistance. Most importantly anything faster would almost certainly be banned from bridleways, forestry land , etc. This limit protects both cyclists and other trail users. Yes we can all go faster downhill but at least bikes currently go at a reasonable speed uphill. Also, I don't see how anything faster could be considered to be a bicycle, it can only be considered to be a moped. Allowing restricted evokes to be classed as bicycles rather than mopeds is actually a concession .

"Speed limiter on UK ebikes is set at 15.6mph which is slow when used on roads putting it up to 20mph would help keep up with flow and enable cyclists to get out of trouble easier.as when motor cuts out the bike becomes sluggish and harder to cycle on till you reach 18mph. Speed in USA is 20mph."

 

Just seen this, laughable, who wrote that? A 10 year old?

Richie and his mates averaged 26 mph today. .. yes I know.

 

https://www.strava.com/activities/2441681090

What are they talking about ?...when you reach the 15.5 whatever speed you drop down a gog and wizz along with little or no effort ....No way is anyone gonna sign such a badly worded petition ...

What are they talking about ?...when you reach the 15.5 whatever speed you drop down a gog and wizz along with little or no effort ....No way is anyone gonna sign such a badly worded petition ...

Well I just checked and 412 people have signed it - some people will sign anything!

You are far from a minority in here Michael, that impression mainly comes from those wanting more speed/power being so vociferous.

 

Those like ourselves who are satisfied with what we have don't have any need to raise the subject.

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You might not have any need to raise the subject but you are certainly not any less vociferous on the subject.

You might not have any need to raise the subject but you are certainly not any less vociferous on the subject.

 

Once it's raised, certainly we respond to protect what we have and to not risk losing it.

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Yes - my concern would be that raising the speed cut off limit would come with restrictions to the use of ebikes - such as no longer being classified the same as 'normal' bikes - hence not using shared cycle paths etc etc.

At the end of the day no-one can tell if my bike has a cut-off of 15 mph or 20 mph so there couldn't really be any legislation saying that I am OK on a cycle path but Fred with his 20mph limit can't use it - hence we would all get banned

 

personally I think we are lucky to have them classed as normal bikes anyway - given the rabid anti-bike people that inhabit the roads at times - so I don't want anything rocking the boat

The simple fact is that you can have an ebike with a top speed of up to 30mph and legally ride it on the roads. It’s just that you also have to register it as a motor vehicle and have insurance and the correct driving licence. No problem.

The simple fact is that you can have an ebike with a top speed of up to 30mph and legally ride it on the roads. It’s just that you also have to register it as a motor vehicle and have insurance and the correct driving licence. No problem.

and not go on cycle paths - oh - and wear a motorcycle type helmet

Type approving such bikes doesn't look easy and pre-built versions are expensive. Cheaper just to buy a Nui e-moped or similar such vehicle. I like the idea of having a 30mph e-bike as long is it's strong enough, has good breaks etc. I wouldn't mind riding it on the road only and wearing a helmet. Don't see why it should have indicators and such though, what's wrong with clear hand signals at least you won't accidentally leave your hand out after you have made your turn lol, there was a time when you could still get your motorcycle mot if indicators weren't fitted and rely on hand signals.

Don't see why it should have indicators and such though.

 

Indicators aren't necessary to register an S class e-bike allowing 28 mph assist, but a stop light is.

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Maybe you could have a referendum on pedelec speed limits?

 

...

 

Frankly I would like the speed limit dropped but not the 250W nominative. Most hub motor winds limit top speed unrestricted to 27-33 kph. Mid drives depend on gearing but most peter out at around 45 kph.

 

Then we could have a speed limit on bicycle paths of 15 kph like they do in Spain. That limit drops to 10 kph when there is a lot of pedestrians near the bike path and 5 kph when it is a shared path. That is a very intelligent system, if you want to go fast then go play with the cars on the road else limit your speed.

 

Apparently if you are very rich you can buy a car that can do 480 kph, unfortunately in France motorways have a 130 kph speed limit so it is kind of a waste those 350 extra kph. How many cyclists could you kill if you ran into the Tour de France peloton at 480 kph? Answer: all of them...

Going slightly off topic but perhaps capturing the mood of the law makers.

In an effort to reduce traffic accident deaths and injuries, from 2022 it is proposed that all new cars will be unable to go above the speed limit (unless you put your foot to the floorboards) and the car will keep a record of what speed you were travelling at together with the speed limit. Like most cruise controls it won't put the brakes on so you will be able to break the speed limit down steep hills. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the next couple of years. I expect lots of moaning and I wonder if new car sales will be high before this restriction and very low afterwards. Of course most cars built in the last ten years could have this restriction retro fitted fairly easily.

Decreasing or relaxing any regulations doesn't seem likely where there is any risk of reduced safety to road users.