What are the laws and speed limits for e-bikes in the UK?
Seizures of illegally modified e-bikes are surging, but what is the law in the UK?
A man has been caught riding an illegally modified e-bike that was capable of speeds of 73mph.
Darius Dovidas was ordered to pay more than £1,000 after he was caught riding a modified e-bike twice in the space of six months.
In February, the 41-year-old from Ilford was stopped by officers on Queen Victoria Street in the City of London on an electric bike that had a 1900-watt motor and was capable of speeds of up to 73mph without a person on board.
Dovidas was caught again on a similar illegally modified e-bike in August, again in the City of London, and was summoned to court for driving without a licence or insurance.
City of London Police said last Friday that Dovidas appeared at City of London Magistrates' Court, where he was fined £660, ordered to pay a surcharge of £352 and had six points added to his driving licence.
Sergeant Stu Ford, cycle team lead at the City of London Police, said: "Since the formation of the cycle team last summer, almost 400 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters have been seized, that’s more than any other police force in the country."
Are e-bikes legal in the UK?
According to the government, you are allowed to ride an e-bike – or electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) – if you're 14 or over.
You do not need a licence to ride an e-bike and it doesn't have to be insured or taxed, but an EAPC must show either the power output or the motor's manufacturer, and either the battery's voltage or the e-bike's maximum speed.
If an e-bike meets the requirements, it is classed as a normal pedal bike and can be ridden on cycle paths and anywhere else they are allowed.
What is the speed limit on e-bikes in the UK?
The electric motor on an e-bike must have a maximum power output of 250 watts and should cut out when a speed of more than 15.5mph is reached.
How common are illegally modified e-bikes?
Police say that an increasing number of people, such as commuters, food delivery workers and phone-snatching criminals, are riding illegally modified e-bikes, often altered to go faster than permitted under the law.
In September, it emerged that 27 out of 46 police forces across the UK had confiscated 937 e-bikes in the year to 11 August, compared to 511 in the previous 12 months.
Police say they are finding increasing numbers of e-bikes that have been modified to reach much faster speeds than 15.5mph.
Forces say it is also common for officers to find e-bikes that can be powered without the pedals being turned, effectively making them electric mopeds or motorbikes which must be registered and taxed.
Conversion kits for e-bikes are available online for as little as £300.
City of London Police seized 295 e-bikes in the past year, and recently confiscated an e-bike capable of reaching 70mph, which featured an electronic display indicating it had covered more than 6,000 miles.
The force said the "vast majority" of the e-bikes seized belonged to food delivery workers.
Among the forces with the largest year-on-year increases in e-bike seizures were Wiltshire Police (from 24 to 64), Police Scotland (from 60 to 233), Derbyshire Police (from four to 23), Northumbria Police (from 18 to 58) and South Wales Police (from 66 to 137).
Some forces said their figures related to all e-bike seizures, while others specified their statistics were for illegal e-bikes.
What are the dangers of modified e-bikes?
There are concerns that the speed and weight of modified e-bikes present a lethal threat to pedestrians.
In October, consumers were also urged to avoid buying e-bikes and parts from rogue online sellers because of the risk of deadly fires.
The government's Department for Business and Trade warned that faulty parts have resulted in hundreds of incidents where e-bikes and e-scooters have caught fire, some resulting in deaths.
The London Fire Brigade said it attended 143 e-bike fires and 36 e-scooter blazes last year, which led to three deaths and about 60 people injured.
It said fires involving the lithium batteries used for e-bikes can spread rapidly and produce a toxic vapour.
The government said many fires are caused by parts being fitted to e-bikes which are incompatible, as well as by defective components.
It urged the public to only buy safe products from reputable sellers and only replace parts with those recommended by the manufacturer, and to seek professional help when converting or repairing e-bikes.
Online marketplace eBay restricted the sale of e-bikes and e-bike batteries on its UK platform from the end of October, limiting them to only "eligible business sellers".
A spokesperson for the Electric Bike Alliance, a collective that promotes the safe use of e-bikes, told Yahoo News UK: "If a rider buys an e-cycle and modifies it to exceed 15.5mph or convert to run without pedalling it’s no longer a road legal e-bike, and must be classed as an electric motorbike.
"It's critical that legitimate e-bikes are not conflated with illegally ridden electric motorbikes. Additionally, illegal modified e-bikes can pose a significant battery safety risk. These products, often bought from overseas sellers or via an online marketplace, may not meet UK safety standards. Unknown to the buyer, the battery may also have been damaged, abused by previous owners or have been supplied with an incompatible charger."
How do conversion kits work and what are the dangers?
The spokesperson said: "E-bike conversion kits allow buyers to turn a pedal bike into an e-bike, which must be limited to 250 watts and 15.5mph. Should you fit a conversion kit to your bike you become the “manufacturer” in the eyes of the law and any warranty on the original bike would therefore be void.
"Bikes that were designed as electric bikes are specifically created to have stronger brakes and reinforced to carry the additional weight and force of a motor, whereas a bike that’s been converted has not."
A spokesperson for the charity Electrical Safety First told Yahoo News UK: “Modified pedal cycles flouting speed and power limits are no longer road-legal e-bikes.
"Instead, these heavily altered vehicles often utilise conversion kits, installed by individuals with little to no knowledge of doing so safely.
"Well-manufactured conversion kits, when installed safely by a competent individual, can be a great way of converting a conventional bike into an e-bike. However, some kits sold online offer the rider the ability to break legal speed and power limitations, effectively turning the device into a moped, and may also be sold with substandard components.
"Tampering with such devices as well as their batteries not only risks the owner's safety but also those around them. Ad-hoc conversion kits are also often not supplied with a battery or charger, relying on the buyer selecting a compatible pair. Fire becomes a very real risk if the charger voltage is too high for the battery.”
Read more
E-bike seizures surge as police take ‘death trap’ contraptions off the streets (PA Media)
eBay to ban private e-bike sales (The Telegraph)
Electric bikes, cars and scooters could be 'removed' from UK roads over growing fire fears (Birmingham Live)
Cyclist caught speeding at 30kph on e-bike with 'power restrictions removed' (Glasgow Live)
