E-BIKE LAW UPDATE 2025 // UK

In Liverpool you get fined for riding on the pavement Ona normal pedal bike

Anyone pedalling an ebike on level ground can reach 18/20mph which equatesto the safe speed limits imposed around most towns… So why not set the max speed to that and most riders will be happy that they don't have to deal with the assistance cutting in and out and potentially causing a hazard in traffic…. instead they could stay with the flow and prevent impatient drivers doing silly overtaking maneuver's

Nobody has to pay road tax on anything; it has not been levied for decades. Keepers of motor vehicles have to pay vehicle excise duty on a scale related to their CO2 emissions. Likewise, the requirement for compulsory third party insurance is specific to motor vehicles
E bikes don't emit any C02

If this was all filmed on the same day, you've done some mileage there. I grew up around those ends. Thanks for the info man 🤟

I suggest everyone who thinks our e-bike laws are inadequate should write/email the DfT to tell why their decision is the wrong one. When they get lots of e-bike users complaining, they may have a re-think and reconsider their stance.

There is a ebike company that sells road legal e-bikes with throttle. But this is so damn stupid. But this coming from from uk company’s who sell well over priced e-bikes. Who them selfs sell so many imports.

I am astonished that you even pose the question whether ebikes should be ridden on the pavement. I have ridden cycles all my life and now ride an ebike exclusively, but am happy to ride it on the road where it should be.

the 250w is legal speak irrelevence, the new Dji motor has a 1000w and is street legal, my ebike is 600w legal, its always been a speed limit.

You already can go over 15.5mph mph on the roads legally….. it's called a motorbike!!

Once you get a vehicle with enough power to comfortably do 30mph then the pedals become pointless.

That's where the name moped came from. They were originally motor-pedal, mo-ped. But because the pedals were pointless they gradually fell out of use.

Ebikes are for people who just need a bit of assistance cycling. It sounds like you need to take your motorbike test and get a proper bike.

Over 15.5mph is way too fast for cycle paths and for something that is legal for kids to whizz round on with no license or insurance.

It would hurt the car sales, so they make it as unappealing as possible.

And the stupid thing with phones stolen…. just a story to scare people 🤭 I think more phones are being lost than stolen .

There are only a few selected cities in the UK that are running the official e-scooter trials, via local authorities working with private companies. They are electronically limited to riding only in defined areas. The trials aren't about making money, but testing how well they fit in with the current infrastructure, on roads, cycle paths, mixing with cars, pedestrian and cyclists etc. All with a view to then making changes in the law. Currently they are classed as motor vehicles, so riders have to have both a licence and insurance. Riders and the scooters are subject to the same rules and regulations as regular motor vehicles. Lights and horns have to be fitted etc. The insurance is provided by the company that runs the scheme. The cost of running these trials, installing and maintaining the equipment, processing payments, regular collection, recharging and maintenance of scooters etc, doesn't leave much left over. Hopefully at some point, a decision will be made on the legal requirements for using privately owned scooters on public roads etc.

The cycling groups again for the umpteenth time have shown their lack of regard for people who want to cycle but find it difficult to ride a non powered bike.

As usual they said no, the only reason we had 200 watts was because of the cycling groups and now they are still against the law changes.

They couldn't stop the extra 50 watts as that was an EU thing but they seem to do anything they can to prevent an upgrade to electric bikes.

Which makes me wonder why the govt would take any notice of them at all as people who ride unasisted bikes don't normally have any interest in electric bikes.

From what I understand the govt stated that due to the concerns of cycling groups blah blah.

So again, thank you cycling groups.

Electric bikes are starting to die in London, unless you are in the center, the one thing that made them more popular was the lack of interest by the law, however if the law is going to take a bigger interest in what people ride then many will just revert back to their gas guzzling cars, or their road hogging hugge electric car.

I swapped my car and motorcycle for the use of an electric bike and it did me well for 4 plus years, then I heard about the clamp down and switched back to my car.

I wonder how many other people have done the same.

Anything other than pedal assist is emotorbike why would anyone think its okay for those on an electric vehicle not to have to pass a test yet those on bikes of other fuels have to and then there registration insurance mot ect. Seeing the way ebikes are being used i feel they should be an outright ban if the users cannot or will not use them as they should be.

I have a car with a 210HP motor and another with a100HP motor, they both drive at exactly the same speed because the speed limit is 5mph.
Horse power, or watts has nothing to do with speed, limiting the speed by the gearing means that the bike will accelerate easier, not run faster.
Saying that, I can make a 250 watt motor run MUCH faster by increasing the battery voltage. ( just not for very long )
If they want cars off the road, why are they making it so hard to use a bike ? If they want to limit their speed, do it by AGE, that would make sense.

Bikes should be banned from pavements