ETRA eesv, Guinardstraat 32, Gent, Belgium
Meeting at Eurobike
Meeting at Eurobike
On 30th September, ETRA has submitted to the European Commission a motivated proposal for changes in the regulations governing pedal assisted cycles, electric bikes and electric mopeds by today.
With a view to reaching an agreement on such a proposal, LEVA had called a meeting of companies in the electric bike industry on Friday 25 September in Las Vegas, whilst ETRA called a meeting in Brussels yesterday. The companies present in Las Vegas voted for an increase in power from 250 to 500 W and an increase in maximum unassisted speed from 25 to 32 km/h. After a lengthy and detailed discussion, the companies at the Brussels meeting voted for the option to focus on an increase of power only. Since the current speed limit for low performance mopeds is 25 km/h, the Commission could be reluctant to allow a higher speed for electric bikes.
However, the companies in Brussels did not only focus on the desired specifications for pedal assisted bicycles to be excluded from the type-approval. The 18 participants, representing 14 companies, also worked on a consensus on the definition of two new categories to be introduced in the type-approval.
For cycles with pedal assistance not excluded from the type-approval, ETRA proposes the following definition: “Cycles with pedal assistance which are equipped with one or more auxiliary electric motors having a combined maximum continuous rated power not exceeding 1 kilowatts, of which the output is cut off as the vehicle reaches a speed of 45 km/h, or sooner, if the cyclist stops pedalling.”
ETRA also proposes a new category for open throttle electric cycles and for low-performance mopeds, defined as follows: “Cycles and mopeds with one or more electrics motor of combined power not exceeding 1 kW and a maximum design speed not exceeding 25 km/h.”
The full text of the motivated proposal is below. ETRA needs as much support from companies in the electric cycle industry as possible. To date, 70 companies from 22 different countries have expressed their support. If you are in agreement with the proposal and you accept to support it, please complete the line below and send it to etra@pandora.be.
Our company ............................ (name of the company), represented by .............................. (name of the representative) ............... (position of the representative) is in agreement with the ETRA proposal for the modification of the rules in Directive 2002/24/EC governing electric cycles and mopeds and therefore supports the proposal.
If you officially confirm your support by E-mail, your company will be added to the list of supportive companies attached to the proposal for the European Commission.
Available downloads
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ETRAproposal.pdf (Adobe PDF-document, 101Kb) ETRA proposal |
Discussion
Congratulation to ETRA, that they push the regulations for Electric Bikes EU and worldwide. Current legislative regulations are cumbersome, against a pollution free world and are lacking any logic. A motor power limit of 500 Watt resp. 1 kW may be wise for technical reasons (power supply etc.), but it is still cumbersome to fix that by law, for a pedal driven bicycle. All arguments to limit Pedelecs by comparing them with Bikes and Mopeds are obviously done, to protect the old, inefficient combustion engine vehicles. There is no logic in a speed limit regulation for a Pedelec at 25, 30 or 40 km/h, as long as standard bicycles can run this speed without regulations. Last but not least, we encourage ETRA to go ahead and fight also against other unnecessary regulations e. g. in Germany the rule, that you need an extra dynamo, to ride a bicycle, in a time where battery power on the cycle exceed several hundred Watts.(By Peter Welchowski, October 6, 2009 16:39 | React to Peter Welchowski)
(By Rob Atkinson, January 26, 2010 19:25 | React to Rob Atkinson)
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