After bit of age related wear and tear on my left knee I decided to go for a Swytch conversion on my Brompton theorising it'll be much cooler than a wheelchair if I ever needed one. At the time of ordering they'd run out of throttles so I had to wait a month for new stock. Imagine my disappointment when I fitted it to find out it's street legal and it cuts out when it gets up to walking pace! I would have been happy with a constant walking pace without the cut out as I'd have found that useful on the various Antique Fairs held in the open air. I assume its a software issue and there's no easy way around it?
Swytch and my Brompton - throttle issue!
- Thread starter robrinay
- Start date
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- Location
- The TerrorVortex
I suspect Swytch are the best people to ask here.
Regular.Cyclist
Über Member
- Location
- South West Scotland 🏴
You’re asking here for advice to turn your otherwise legal e-Brompton into an illegal one? Sorry, but I can’t see the this thread ending well.
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Actually I’m not, as they’re legal for off road use eg on the disused airfields at the Newark Runway Monday Antique Fair or Lincoln Antique Fair. I assume that unplugging or if necessary removing it the throttle would make it street legal.
Apologies- I thought I’d explained the Antique Fair use in the above question.
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Regular.Cyclist
Über Member
- Location
- South West Scotland 🏴
It may be the case that the throttle needs to unplugged and removed from the bike when used on public roads.Personally I suggest, if you are successful in achieving your goal, you look into the street legal part further.
Good advice I’ll take it as I wouldn’t want my bike confiscated.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
You're making a rookie error.
It is not ownership of land that determines whether or not it is "private" for the purposes of the Road Traffic Act. It is who has access to it at the material time that determines its status as public or private.
A pub car park may be privately owned but still open to the public and thus part of then highway during opening hours. Ditto a supermarket car park.
This concept extends to antique fairs - if its open to the public then irrespective of the ownership status of the land it is a "public place" for the purposes of the RTA. You run someone over there you'll still get knocked off for all the document offences (licence, MOT, insurance) and quite likely for careless or dangerous driving. It only becomes "private" in this context when the public have all gone home and the access is closed.
If the device is "readily" adapted or switchable then it is illegal, regardless of what mode it might be in it the time. As Regular Cyclists advises, removing the throttle and not having it on your person means it isn't readily adaptable and is nominally legal.
If you want an electric moped or speed pedelec then go any buy one and be sure to get the licence, insurance to go along with it. We have a hard enough time as a user group already without this sort of thing.
Love, Drago (retired Roads Policing plod)
Brilliant advice I’ll take it thank you I knew there’d be someone here who knew. Blinkin’ irony is the law changed in 2016 and models purchased before then are allowed throttles that function up to the eBike speed limit. Of course you’d still be liable for an accident.
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rogerzilla
Legendary Member
The real irony is that the majority of e-bikes I see here in scummy Swindon are illegal, fast, twist 'n' go bikes. As there is no law against selling them, they're easy to get hold of. The chances of the police catching their riders is next to zero unless they are involved in an accident that incapacitates them or the bike. They are the drug dealers' vehicle of choice but you see ordinary people on them too, especially the fat-tyred ones. I can't actually remember the last time I saw an e-bike being pedalled.
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
indeed, facefluff market place is awash with them listed as fast food delivery bikes
I’ve had a couple of near misses where delivery riders have shot past me from behind while riding on the pavement. If I’d wobbled sideways on my dodgy left knee on either occasion I’d certainly have been hospitalized.
T4tomo
Legendary Member
The throttle is there for when you are pushing it, i.e.up a hill etc, hence walking pace. When you peddle it the motor cuts in.
Not too tricky to get your head around.
Yes I knew that when writing this post ie I was reporting my disappointment in the past tense, but thank you for the clarification as I hadn’t considered using it when pushing the bike uphill. I’d also read that full speed throttles are legal on private land and that early Swytch throttles didn’t cut out and that e-bikes purchased prior to 2016 which were fitted with full speed throttles were and still are street legal up to the permitted speed without tax and insurance.
Now thanks to members here I understand a deal more about the intricacies of what defines a Public Highway and also what a hornets nest this area is which was the main point of my post 😉.
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