"A lot of the unit's work centres on illegal e-bikes; they have seized 212 so far this year. News comes over the radio that PCs Harry Rose and David Parker have stopped someone they suspect is on an illegal e-bike, so we find them with a delivery rider in the familiar green livery of Uber Eats. The man, whose name is Mahede Hasan, says his bike has pedals, and the power of the electric motor is 250 watts, which he thought was allowed."
"Ford tilts the bike on its stand and twists the throttle on the right handlebar. That's illegal for a start, he says. You should pedal to make the motor work. The bike doesn't go anywhere, because the spinning back wheel is off the ground, but the speedometer climbs 20, 30, 40, 50, 52km/h. That's about 32mph. What do you think the top speed of this bike should be, with pedal assist? he asks Hasan, who doesn't know, so Ford tells him. 15.5mph [25km/h]."
Sgt Stuart Ford leads a City of London cycle response unit targeting illegal e-bikes. The unit was set up two years ago and operates patrols in central London streets. A lot of the unit's work centres on illegal e-bikes; they have seized 212 so far this year. Legal e-bikes must have pedals, provide assist only when the rider pedals, and have a maximum assisted speed of 25km/h (15.5mph) with motor power typically limited to 250 watts. Officers stop suspected riders and test bikes; some machines use throttles and exceed speed limits, effectively making them motorcycles rather than compliant bicycles.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]