E-bikes, insurance proposal

02gf74

See here.
https://www.bikebiz.com/.amp/news/bikes ... ance-in-eu

danlightbulb

Can kinda understand it tbh. What if, in a couple of years time, e bikes can do 50 mph. Where is the line drawn between a bike and a motorbike.

Matty2B

danlightbulb wrote:

Can kinda understand it tbh. What if, in a couple of years time, e bikes can do 50 mph. Where is the line drawn between a bike and a motorbike.

How about exactly where it is now, at 250W and pedal assist up to 25kph? A derestricted ebike can do 50mph now, but it would also be illegal to ride without insurance now too. There is no need for additional regulation, just enforcement of what we have already. This is just the EU nanny state leaping into action again to "protect" its citizens by curtailing their rights.

I don't own one nor will I be buying one anytime soon (never say never though), but the vehement anti ebike lobby need to be careful what they wish for. They might see this as something that will curtail ebike usage and safeguard "their" sport, but on roads and cycle paths a conventional bike is actually faster than an ebike; the additional weight and the fact pedal assist cuts out at 15.5mph means they are effectively speed limited. It is only a small leap for the regulators to realise this, at which point they might decide to require 3rd party insurance for all bikes, electrically assisted or not.

steve_sordy

How will the regulation be enforced?

"Papers please!" :shock:

Can you imagine spot checks by the uniformed branch at Trail Centres up and down the country? It would cause chaos. But first they would have to enforce the road based e-bikes which is where I guess most of the e-bikes are located.

And as previously noted; why e-bikes? Road bikes are already much faster than any unmodified e-bike. The "e" runs out at 15.5 mph and most bikes (of any type) already go faster than that right now.

So what is the real concern? What has generated this need for legislation in this issue?

doomanic

steve_sordy wrote:

What has generated this need for legislation in this issue?

Bureaucrats with nothing better to do sticking their noses in, helped by lobbyists from the insurance industry looking to increase the size of the trough.

It's only advisory from the EU Commission and would have to be passed as a law in each member state.

The Rookie

steve_sordy wrote:

The "e" runs out at 15.5 mph and most bikes (of any type) already go faster than that right now.

Exactly, I recently did a road ride while overseas on a rented MTB with a group of roadies, with the psychological boost that provided I averaged 16.4mph over the 60km ride (Strava logged).

As above, this should be seen as a potential 'thin end of the wedge' to third arty liability for all bikes, as e-bikes over the 250w/25kph limits need insurance now to be ridden in a place to which the public have access (so includes trail centres) I think this is a pointless exercise and should be challenged by all cyclists.

cougie

danlightbulb wrote:

Can kinda understand it tbh. What if, in a couple of years time, e bikes can do 50 mph. Where is the line drawn between a bike and a motorbike.

Someone has not done their research..

I'd not be surprised if the car lobby is behind this. E bikes must be a decent rival to cars for a lot of commuting journeys.

The Rookie

cougie wrote:

I'd not be surprised if the car lobby is behind this.

I'd be very surprised if they had anything to do with it at all.