Is it possible to improve European electric bicycle (pedelec) laws ?

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The development of electric bicycle might be an important step toward sustainable mobility. There are many advantages: no gas emission, energy efficiency, no traffic jams, health benefit (active way of commuting) and low price. In the framework of the European regulation, an electric bicycle is considered as a bicycle if:
-the motor only assists (pedaling is mandatory),
-the motor stops assisting if the bike speed is higher than 25 km/h,
-the motor assisting nominal power does not exceed 250 watts.
It is a good way to regulate electric bicycle. Restrictions are useful to bring safety and simplicity (no driving license, no insurance). However, these rules are not the most appropriate ones for the whole range of applicability of electric bicycle. For instance, in Switzerland, the maximum nominal motor power is 500 watts. Indeed, in this mountainous areas, it is admitted that more power is necessary to make bicycle a popular way of commuting. More power strongly improve riding experience. It makes it faster, less exhausting and safer (more stability and more visibility by reducing speed difference with cars).
Increasing the motor power limit from 250 watts to 500 watts at the European scale is not a good solution. Indeed, 500W is not needed for most of the riders and risks to bring additional restrictive legislations (helmet, insurance...). Still, more power is important for medical applications (cardiovascular risk, physical rehabilitation, disabled sports....) and for commuting in mountainous areas or in moderated slope with cargo bikes. Then, how to allow more power for these important applications and only them with a simple rule ?
Physics tells us the solution. If the motor can handle 500 watts, to be sure that the extra power is only activated if necessary, acceleration of the bicycle has to be restricted. As an example, let consider a new set of rules:
-the motor only assists (pedaling is mandatory),
-the motor stops assisting if the speed is higher than 25 km/h,
-the motor stops assisting if the acceleration is higher than 1.5 m/s^2,
-the motor assisting nominal power does not exceed 500 watts.
On the one hand, in a standard context, the motor power does not exceed 250 watts because of the acceleration limitation. On a flat road, 500 watts motor output produces a large acceleration. It is not allowed in the framework of this set of rule. The controller keeps the motor power around 250 watts as in the previous set of rules. On the other hand, for medical application where the human power is very limited or if there is a large resisting force (e.g. gravity force in a slope), the bicycle acceleration is low and allows the motor power to increase up to 500 watts.
To conclude, we believe that electric bicycle is a promising vehicle for sustainable development. We propose to extend the electric bicycle class of vehicle. We believe that bicycle equipped with a nominal assisting power of 500 watts and with an acceleration limitation (e.g. 1.5 m/s^2) should be considered as bicycle as well. We can expect large benefits of this evolution in several field (medical application, urban cargo bikes, commuting in mountainous areas).
⁃ The bicycle electronic controllers is computing, at a high frequency, the motor electrical speed to drive it. Then, acceleration limit can be implemented without additional complexity, cost or sensor. With an embedded software implementation, there is no simple way to overcome this limitation for the end user. Acceleration limit can be easily tested and validated during homologation.
Help us to spread the proposal !

[@baldieman64]

I've been looking at the various e-bike options and have come to the conclusion that a legal bike is simply not a practical tool for commuting because the 25kph/15mph limit is just too low to be of use.
I've no problem with mandatory helmets (cycling, not motorbike helmets) for e-bike users and I don't even have an issue with mandatory insurance if the industry can come up with a workable and reasonably priced product in conjunction with government.
Strangely enough, I don't think we want 45kph/28mph e-bikes whizzing around the place without a number place but a sensible compromise that would allow pedalecs with no throttle to receive power assist up to 35kph/22mph would suddenly make the e-bike a viable way to get to work. 35kph is about where most people riding a normal commuter bike top out on level ground although it's obviously possible to achieve higher speeds on a road bike with training.
Of course, there will be people who need still more power and range and electric bikes that provide that and deliver it via a throttle while retaining the option of pedalling would be a low emission option for many. Such bikes really should be kept off cycle paths, require licence plates for identification and some serious thought would have to be put into things like helmet regulations.

[@siiix]

the biggest bullshit is the mandatory pedal assist , that has nothing to do with safety , in my experience (most of my life driving ebikes with out pedal assist) it greatly reducing safety as i'm less in control of acceleration then with a simple throttle like they have in north america.. for example i have to have a minimum speed for the power to kick in.. total rubbish, i just moved to the EU and sure i will disable the damn pedal assist , even if its illegal to do so

[@siiix]

***** i drove in Canada 500W and even 1000W ebikes, in fact i drove them probably far over 10000km combined over 6 years in city, with the throttle its much easier to archive fine tuning safe low speed, it does not accelerate all that fast , not even at 1000W, at least not ebikes with lead batteries, they are to heavy, here in Germany i got a cheap ebike originally sold by PLUS for 190euros on ebay, it has both throttle but it only works if i pedal and i archive a minimum speed, its really unsafe compared to the ones in Canada, its hard to syncronise the right acceleration with pedaling, its a little like doing 2 different things with each hand, very hard to do.. i decided to add a pedal emulator from Conrad "precisions interwallschalter" just had to replace the 100 capacitor with a 20 to make it work, now it works like the Canadian ebikes, no pedaling necessary.. the only thing i can consider maybe unsafe is the top speed of the Canadian ebikes, the 1000w could go as fast as 60kmh, the 500W 50kmh (if limiter is removed), its a bit pushing the limits of a cheap Chinese bikes and break systems, its not easy to stop, also the engine will speed out on snow and ice making it a hazard in the winter for the rider, especially rear tire drive

[@siiix]

***** well it depends , i'm not in to ebikes for heath benefits nor the environment, its simply cheap, no need for drivers license, insurance or registration, in the US i would just drive a car, but Canada and the EU that is no longer an option if your poor, driving a car is now a privilege of the wealthy.. the top speed is not even the big issue i have, but the pedelec, of course i support the proposal, but i think its simply weak, there is absolutely no legal reason to pedal, its a safety hazard and just dumb.. but yes more power would be nice to climb hills.. BUT just to let you guys know even 1000w is not enough to climb hills engine only, there are hills in Toronto and my bike was not able to climb them (Canadian ebikes the pedals are only for show for legality reasons, they not really functional), but it does help smaller climbs , here this was one of my ebikes in Toronto this one was 500w, in the EU there is no way i can get away with a ebike like this with out insurance

[@siiix]

siiix Siiix plus.google.com/u/0/photos?pid=5885461333239000514&oid=115515372121877480848

[@siiix]

***** my experience i beg to differ, 500w is not enough to climb a bigger slope, remember i actually used a 500w and 1000w ebike, i'm 85kg and the ebike was around 115kg see example : blueavenue.ca/FuryElectricBike.html just saying i actually have experience in this, if its a lighter bike and you help pedaling it still helps , but 500W wont make it up the hill by it self

[@siiix]

***** corrected it i wrote it in lb not kg :) damn imperial system