motorized bicycles

[justinmark66]

with the cost of running a car now days i have decided to get a push bike. there are all types of motorized kits you can by now on the inter net. as i am 52 now and not very fit i do need a helping hand when I'm going up hills. so if i was to fit one of these kits to my bicycle were do i stand with the law IE tax insurance mot dvla driving licence cycle lanes roads walk way. i did phone the local police they didn't have a clue. would be grateful if someone out there could help before i spend �350 to power my bicycle thank you

[Postdog]

so what sort of power are you talking about - electric, petrol, and what sort of speeds are we talking about?

[justinmark66]

elc and petrol speed up to 25 mph

[Abdulmajid]

Telephone the local TRAFFIC police and ask their advice.

The actual law and what the local fuzz do are often very different thing. It will only be them who stop you.

[Postdog]

It's a bit tricky. I'm no expert by any means, but I know that an ordinary assisted electric bike which does away with the need for pedalling and doesn't go very fast is quite legal. However some forms of powered transport are not legal for use on anything other than private land, like segways (shame, cos I'd love one!) , motorized foot scooters, and I know the speed can make a difference. That is actually going to be the biggest hurdle - whether something is legal to use on the road or not. Maybe checking out the DVLA website might help.

As you have obviously looked into this, might it not also be an idea to ask the sellers if they know of the exact legalities required for UK use. Providing you ask, at least you are then covered legally to get your money back if you can't use it for any reason.

[gilburton]

any vehicle in the UK fitted with an internal combustion engine(petrol or diesel) must be registered and the user must have a licence,tax,insurance etc. and wear an approved helmet.This includes motorised(motorized) bicycles. Basically anything with an engine is legally a moped.These engines you see advertised conveniently forget to mention they are only legal offroad in the UK. Electric bicycles are ok but must be restricted to 14mph and have a power restriction and can only be ridden by 14 year olds up.You can get electric kits that are more powerful, so technically are illegal, but I can't see you getting pulled up with an electric bicycle.

[gilburton]

do a search for index to the moped archive and look at article 246 golden eagle cyclemotor where you will find one mans battle with the dvla to register such a device

[buzzingboy]

The archive is at www.buzzing.org or www.thebuzzingclub.co.uk

[buzzingboy]

The Golden Eagle Cyclemotor is a fine machine. Take a look at the NACC archives (links above) for a detailed view...