# 80 cc bicycle convertion kits are they legal in the uk and stockists



## not bradley (19 Oct 2013)

hello all
I have been considering getting an electric bike but are mainly put off by the weight of these bikes, cost of replacement batteries, lighter bikes are very expensive.

whilst looking on ebay there are convertion kits that use 80cc or 48cc 2 stroke motorcycle type engines that fit two 26" wheel size mountain bikes fuel tank on crossbar ,engine mounted above front chainring.

modest price about £120 +pp

however I cannot find a uk stockist and wonder if this convertion is legal in the uk, or liable to road fund licence etc

thank you all for any info


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## Rickshaw Phil (19 Oct 2013)

From my understanding it's unlikely that these would be legal in the UK. The law only makes provision for assisted bicycles to be powered by _electric_ motors of 200 watts or less and limited to 15mph. (Rules here)

To make it legal you would have to register it as a moped and pass an SVA test, get number plates, vehicle tax, and insurance. The Single Vehicle Approval test would probably be the killer as a bicycle is not made to meet the same requirements as a motor vehicle so you'd likely have to make plenty of modifications.

Edit: Oh, and as it would be a moped, you'd not be able to use it on cyclepaths.


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## Mr Haematocrit (19 Oct 2013)

As stated to be legal you would need to get type approval first (Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval Scheme) and an MOT test certificate.
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-approval/single-vehicle-approval

Next insure it, then register it, then get vehicle excise duty.

If you don't have a full licence, you will need 'L' plates.
You will also have to wear a crash helmet conforming to EU regulations, how silly would that look on a bicycle?

Consider an electric bicycle.... no type approval, no MOT, no tax, no insurance, no helmet, no minimum age, all perfectly legal.


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## Rickshaw Phil (19 Oct 2013)

Mr Haematocrit said:


> Consider an electric bicycle.... no type approval, no MOT, no tax, no insurance, no helmet, *no minimum age*, all perfectly legal.


Minimum age is 14 for an electric bike.


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## gavintc (19 Oct 2013)

I followed an e-bike up a hill the other day and was very impressed at its turn of speed.


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## Mr Haematocrit (19 Oct 2013)

Rickshaw Phil said:


> Minimum age is 14 for an electric bike.



I stand corrected....... you are correct sir.
In my defence I'm stupid and have had an off today  pity for my stupidity and sympathy for my off both gladly accepted


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## Mr Haematocrit (19 Oct 2013)

2719867 said:


> Not damaged I hope.



I'm doing better than the bike.. lol
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/ho...een-knocked-off-your-bike.141884/post-2719451

Sometimes you just have to count your blessings


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## Rickshaw Phil (19 Oct 2013)

Mr Haematocrit said:


> I stand corrected, you are correct sir.
> In my defence I'm stupid and have had an off today  pity for my stupidity and sympathy for my off both gladly accepted


 I'm a bit slow too.... managed not to catch up with your post about the off 'til just now. Hope you are okay. From your description it doesn't sound like the bike is.


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## Mr Haematocrit (19 Oct 2013)

The bikes scrap, can't face looking at it at the moment  my minds not in a great place


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## Rickshaw Phil (19 Oct 2013)

Mr Haematocrit said:


> The bikes scrap, can't face looking at it at the moment  my minds not in a great place


 I'm not at all surprised. I wish I could offer some easy way to make it feel better.


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## Mr Haematocrit (19 Oct 2013)

As long as I'm still around to buy another bike, its never that bad IMHO
There are others with far greater loss than I.

Just sucks a little.


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## Sara_H (19 Oct 2013)

Rickshaw Phil said:


> Edit: Oh, and as it would be a moped, you'd not be able to use it on cyclepaths.



Thats one of the main reasons I chose ebike over moped when I was too ill to ride, cos I could still use the cycle paths and dodge the traffic that I would have been stuck in on a moped.


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## RecordAceFromNew (19 Oct 2013)

Mr Haematocrit said:


> As long as I'm still around to buy another bike, its never that bad IMHO
> There are others with far greater loss than I.
> 
> Just sucks a little.



GWS! I presume there is no chance that the experience puts you off carbon rims henceforth?


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## Mr Haematocrit (19 Oct 2013)

RecordAceFromNew said:


> GWS! I presume there is no chance that the experience puts you off carbon rims henceforth?



Nahh but its most certainly put me off crashing


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## sreten (20 Oct 2013)

gavintc said:


> I followed an e-bike up a hill the other day and was very impressed at its turn of speed.



Hi,

That is what they are good at, going up hills, and into strong headwinds.
But given they shut off at 15mph I've had no problems going past them
on the flat, though downhill the extra weight should help for more speed,
but not really, as hardly any have proper gears for going downhill.

TBH if they could do 20mph before shutting off (pedal assisted or
not) they would be lot more interesting to committed cyclists.

There is a world of difference between 15mph and 20mph.

In their favour though is whilst you can't go fast easily,
they are great at preventing you going slowly, and
take all the effort out of setting off from a stop.

Conversely one could argue you can go faster overall
on a normal bike and generally an electric bike prevents
the development of the fitness needed for a normal bike.

Personally, whilst its still possible I'll struggle up the hills.

rgds, sreten.


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## TheDoctor (20 Oct 2013)

There's not a cat in hell's chance of getting them road legal. Brakes, lighting, tyres - they'd all need sorting out.
Shame, really - I recently rode one and it was fun, but I wouldn't touch one with a bargepole.


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## sreten (20 Oct 2013)

Hi,

I remember the Cyclemaster :







All of a limp 25cc two stroke but still had to be registered and tested as a moped in the UK.

Which killed it as a going option in the UK, given at one point in the UK, at 16 you could 
buy and just ride on L-plates ride a Yamaha FS1E that could be tuned to do 60 mph +.

rgds, sreten.


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## gbb (20 Oct 2013)

One of these motorised cycles overtook me earlier this year, Christ, I didnt hear him coming and it came as quite a shock to be overtaken by a MTB when I was probably doing 20mph on a roadbike  A very impressive turn of speed.


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## gbb (20 Oct 2013)

Hmm, well perhaps 20 is an guesstimate, nevertheless, his turn of speed was impressive. We'll never know what sort of engine this fella had of course.


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## jazzkat (20 Oct 2013)

sreten said:


> Hi,
> 
> I remember the Cyclemaster :
> 
> ...


My first thoughts were the bsa winged wheel!


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## jazzkat (20 Oct 2013)

[QUOTE 2720859, member: 45"]You don't want to be faffing about with those. This is what you want....

[/quote]
Want!
Where do I sign up?


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## jazzkat (20 Oct 2013)

[QUOTE 2720939, member: 45"]Dunno, but look at the bloke's other clips. He's nuts.[/quote]
I assumed that by the upturned bottle of propane fastened just behind him lol!


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## not bradley (21 Oct 2013)

thanks you all
so basically its classed as a moped and needs tax etc, I have only seen one of these on the road but had no chance to talk to the person riding it.

I have looked online re ebikes but most seem to be abiout 45-50 lbs in weight .

some of the kits to add electric assistance to your cycle seem to be very pricy.

looks like I will carry on dismounting my bike and pushing it uphill as usual,

thanks again


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## Rickshaw Phil (21 Oct 2013)

not bradley said:


> looks like I will carry on dismounting my bike and pushing it uphill as usual,
> 
> thanks again


What's the bike and what's the hill? With the right gearing and a bit of stubbornness you'd be surprised at what it's possible to wind your way up:


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## Linford (21 Oct 2013)

sreten said:


> Hi,
> 
> That is what they are good at, going up hills, and into strong headwinds.
> But given they shut off at 15mph I've had no problems going past them
> ...




I clocked my colleagues Wisper905 at 20mph when I came past him on my PTW...this was also on a slight uphill gradient.


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## Bodhbh (21 Oct 2013)

gavintc said:


> I followed an e-bike up a hill the other day and was very impressed at its turn of speed.



I got scalped by one a few weeks ago. At first I can't say I was overjoyed to be overtaken by a fairly portly lady on a shopping bike who was hardly breaking sweat. The giveaway was the huge front hub and it didn't get any faster going down the otherside.


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## sreten (22 Oct 2013)

gbb said:


> One of these motorised cycles overtook me earlier this year, Christ, I didnt hear him coming and it came as quite
> a shock to be overtaken by a MTB when I was probably doing 20mph on a roadbike  A very impressive turn of speed.



Hi, 

Sounds a thoroughly illegal electric bike. Instead of them conking out at 15mph like they are 
supposed to, various shenanigans are available. Regearing indirect drive or setting the 
controller to a much smaller direct wheel size than the real wheel size. Ignoring the 
law and going from 200W max to 500W max makes for a very quick electric bike.

However the legal bikes are good uphill and into headwinds, anything else you can stuff
them on a normal bike.They don't go fast on the flat and most riders won't go fast downhill.

Legally the guy on the MTB who overtook you doing ~ 20mph would have to be 
doing it by pedal power alone, I doubt you think that is what actually happened.

rgds, sreten.


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## sreten (22 Oct 2013)

Linford said:


> I clocked my colleagues Wisper905 at 20mph when I came past him on my PTW...this was also on a slight uphill gradient.



Hi, 

Fair enough, but all assist is legally required to cut off at 15mph.
So what are you saying ? 

rgds, sreten.


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## Linford (22 Oct 2013)

sreten said:


> Hi,
> 
> Fair enough, but all assist is legally required to cut off at 15mph.
> So what are you saying ?
> ...



That these older bikes are not compliant with the law. It has a twist grip throttle and he rarely pedals it. It also has a 250watt motor. It is like a gutless moped.....you'd never keep up with it on the hills though on a regular bike


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## markharry66 (22 Oct 2013)

Alien bikes are great its my next bu60y off road about 25 miles an hour. Just cost puts me off 1,600. 
I had electric bike a few years back weighed about 80 or 90 with sla battery. Got me to work everyday cant really complain


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## FLYSPLAT (18 Nov 2017)

Rickshaw Phil said:


> What's the bike and what's the hill? With the right gearing and a bit of stubbornness you'd be surprised at what it's possible to wind your way up:
> View attachment 31171



Looks like Hard Knott Pass, just after the steep bit.


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## Rickshaw Phil (18 Nov 2017)

FLYSPLAT said:


> Looks like Hard Knott Pass, just after the steep bit.


It is.  Well spotted.

That is still the only time I've ridden it. I must go back and have another go.


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## NickNick (18 Nov 2017)

[QUOTE 2720859, member: 45"]You don't want to be faffing about with those. This is what you want....

[/QUOTE]

That really does look like a whole lot of fun! Really do wish I had a bit of land with my own workshop on with my days free to tinker about!!!!


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## Drago (18 Nov 2017)




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