In the UK you are are able to ride an electric bike if you are 14 years old or over without the need to register it, tax it or insure it as long as it meets the EAPC requirements.
A bike can be classed as an Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle (EAPC) if it meets the following:
- Must have pedals that can be used to propel it.
- The electric motor must have a maximum power output of 250 watts.
- The electric motor should not propel the bike when it’s travelling more than 15.5mph / 25 km/h. (Once the uper speed limit is met the motor assistance cuts off)
- It must show either:
- the power output
- the manufacturer of the motor
- It must also show either:
- the battery’s voltage
- the maximum speed of the bike
If your electric bike meets the above requirements then it can be ridden as a normal bike on cycle paths, roads and anywhere else that pedal bikes are allowed. An EAPC can have more than 2 wheels so they include tandems and tricycles.
EAPC Are also known as Pedal Assist or Pedelec.
What if my electric bike breaks the EAPC rules?
If your e-bike has a motor that produces more than 250w or if the electric motor propels the bike beyond the 15.5mph / 25 km/h limit without cutting off, then it needs to be registered and taxed. You as a rider will also need a driving licence and must also wear a crash helmet. The bike must also be Type Approved by the DVLA.
Type approval should have been done by the bike manufacturer or importer before you bought it. So make sure when buying a bike it has been typed approved by locating a plate on it showing its type approval number.
There is a category of E-bikes sold that are known as Speed Pedelec or S-Pedelec. These will assist you up to 28mph and have motors above 250w. These bikes are classed as mopeds so they obey to the same laws that a motorcycle or moped would and can’t use cycle paths or cycle lanes.
There are also electric bikes with a throttle better known as ‘twist and go’. The throttle in these bikes can propel the bike to full speed without the need of any pedalling.
These bikes used to be legal in the UK until 2016. In January of that year, The law was updated and brought the UK in line with the rest of the EU’s legislation. This meant that only throttles that assisted the rider without pedalling up to a max speed of 3.7 mph / kmh were now legal.
This little throttle speed is ideal to aid the rider with starting assistance or can also be used to assist a rider as they are pushing the bike along next to them when not riding.
So what if you bought a twist and go bike before the 1st January 2016?
Twist and go bikes bought/imported before 1st January 2016 are still considered as EAPC so they do not require to be registered, insured or taxed. Effectively you can still buy a Twist and go bike and use is it as an EPAC without getting fined as long as it was produced and imported before January 2016