Do bikes and e-bikes need an MOT?

Unlike cars, normal bikes and electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) don’t require an MOT – or registration, tax and a licence, for that matter. But that doesn’t mean you can ride whatever you like, in any state of disrepair. There is legislation that sets out the working equipment and components a pedal cycle must have to be ridden legally on the road. Breach these rules and you may be charged by the police and void any relevant insurance if you have a traffic incident. An illegal e-bike may be impounded and/or destroyed by the police.

Standard bicycles

While it makes sense to ride a bike that fits you and that’s well maintained, the law is concerned only with two specific topics: lighting and braking.

What lights does a bike need by law?

Whenever you ride your cycle between dusk and dawn, it must be fitted with the following: a white front light, lit; a red rear light (ditto); a red rear reflector; and, if manufactured after 1/10/1985, amber pedal reflectors. There’s a bit more to it than that as the regulations cover lighting standards, where the lights are mounted on the bike and whether they flash (and if so, how frequently and how brightly).

The fine detail of UK cycle lighting law is not policed. This is because the regulations are outdated. It’s difficult even to find a light that is marked as conforming to BS6102/3 unless you pick one up secondhand. What’s not negotiable is having clearly visible white front and red rear lights at night. Safety demands them – as do the police.

What brakes does a bike need by law?

The law on cycle brakes is covered by The Pedal Cycles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1983. It’s a typewritten document that you can find a scan of online as a PDF. Today, just as in 1983, the vast majority of bicycles are required to have two independent braking systems operating independently on the front and rear wheels. The type of brake isn’t specified. Rim brakes, disc brakes, drum brakes and coaster brakes are all fine, irrespective of how they’re actuated. A fixed-wheel drivetrain counts as a rear brake, since you can slow the bike with back pressure on the pedals. A fixie must nevertheless be equipped with a front brake.

Exceptions to the two-brake rule

There are some curious exceptions to the ‘two brakes, one on each wheel’ rule. These include the following:

• Tricycles are permitted to have two brakes operating separately on a single front wheel or single rear wheel.
• Cycles that have the pedals directly attached to the drive wheel, without any gearing or drivetrain, are not required to have any other brake. So you can legally commute on a penny farthing.
• A bicycle or tricycle whose seat is less than 635mm from the ground is required to have only one braking system. This would include many recumbent cycles, as well as smaller children’s bikes.

E-bikes

The rules for pedal-only cycles in terms of braking and lighting also apply to e-bikes. The complicating factor with e-bikes is that it’s harder to determine whether the electronics comply. Polling by the UK’s two cycle industry bodies, the Bicycle Association and the Association of Cycle Traders, found that 84% of people could not distinguish between a road-legal e-bike and an illegally modified one.

Why are illegal e-bikes a problem?

There are serious problems with e-bikes that are illegal. They may be too fast, endangering pedestrians, other road users and the rider themselves. The batteries and chargers don’t have to meet the same safety standards, so the lithium-ion batteries are much more likely to burst into flame. And they damage the uptake and use of legal e-bikes. For example, some businesses and rail operators have instituted blanket bans on e-bikes being taken onto their premises or trains.

How can you tell if an e-bike is legal?

The Bicycle Association and Association of Cycle Traders jointly launched the E-Bike Positive initiative to promote and support the use of road-legal e-bikes, and to enable the public to distinguish between safe, legal EAPCs and unsafe, illegal e-bikes – which are more accurately described as electric mopeds or motorbikes. There’s now an E-Bike Positive Trust Mark. If you buy an e-bike or e-bike kit from an E-Bike Positive registered brand or retailer, you can relax in the knowledge that your e-bike is legal. You need read no further.

What does the law say about e-bikes?

If you want to know what the law says about e-bikes, however, read on. Firstly, you must be aged 14 or older to ride an EAPC (that is, a legal e-bike). A legal e-bike must: be fitted with pedals that can propel it; have a motor whose ‘continuous rated power’ is no higher than 250W; not provide electric assistance at speeds beyond 15.5mph. It must also show: the continuous rated power output; the manufacturer; and either the battery’s voltage or the maximum speed that it can propel the bike.

If an e-bike doesn’t meet these criteria, it’s legally a moped or motorbike in the UK. It must be registered, taxed, insured, fitted with a number plate and only ridden by someone with a valid driving licence while wearing a motorcycle helmet.

Are e-bikes with throttles legal?

A legal e-bike will usually only provide electric assistance while the rider is pedalling. So if you’ve seen a food delivery rider twisting a throttle and zooming off without pedalling, they’re almost certainly on an illegal e-bike. It’s only ‘almost certain’ because the legislation around throttles – whether twist-grip or button-push – is nuanced.

It is legal to have a throttle on an e-bike if:

• The throttle activates a ‘walk mode’, to help you push the heavy e-bike at speeds up to 6km/h while you’re walking alongside.
• You still have to pedal while engaging the throttle. In this case, the throttle typically provides a ‘boost’ mode to help you up hills or away from the traffic lights. (This is particularly useful with cadence-sensing motors, which have a delay in power delivery when setting off.)

To muddy the waters further, some e-bikes can be legally powered by a throttle alone. They must meet all other EAPC requirements, such as 250W maximum continuous power and a 15.5mph electric-assistance cutoff. Crucially, they must also have ‘type approval’ – which is to say that they must meet a range of technical requirements. Type approval is sufficiently rare that you can assume any throttle-only-powered e-bike is not road legal unless the seller has documentation that proves otherwise. So if you’re unsure, choose an e-bike that only provides electric assistance while pedalling. And look for that E-Bike Positive Trust Mark, which is destined to become far more widespread.