Eleven e-bike brands, from Brompton, Giant, Madison, Whyte, and E-bikes Direct/Evolving Sports, are the first to be publicly listed on the Bicycle Association (BA) E-bike Safety Register after passing a rigorous audit of their quality processes and policies, the BA reports.
The brands listed are: Basis, Brompton Electric, Dallingridge, Emu, Genesis, Giant, Liv, Momentum, Ridgeback, Saracen and Whyte.
According to the BA, the audit checks that a brand’s e-bikes are thoroughly safety-tested to appropriate international standards – and of course that they are road legal as Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPCs) in the UK. It also rigorously checks for good business practice in quality management, battery handling and storage and much more.
Massive congratulations to these brands. They’ve really stepped forward, recognising how important it is for legitimate e-bike suppliers to demonstrate that they source and sell e-bikes responsibly. I’m delighted to say that the professionalism and standard of operations was exceptionally high in all of the businesses our auditor visited – Peter Eland, Technical & Policy Director at the BA.
The BA says the publication of this first batch of e-bike brands marks a key milestone in the industry’s initiative to safeguard the e-bike sector in the face of serious safety incidents caused by dangerously substandard and/or non-road legal products, which are frequently not distinguished from legitimate e-bikes in the mainstream media.
They added that intense industry lobbying has ensured that in official Government advice, and increasingly in media reports, consumers are advised to buy only reputable e-bike brands from trusted retailers.
The BA says it’s a huge opportunity for legitimate e-bike suppliers – both brands and retailers – to reassure customers and to put real distance between their safe, fully road legal products and the dangerous e-bikes, conversion kits and parts, mostly from online marketplaces, which are overwhelmingly responsible for the incidents driving the negative coverage.
With a credible Register in place, Government, insurers, and the media can all point customers to this simple list for assurance that they are buying from a safe, legal e-bike brand – while for retailers, the ACT has already (with BA support) listed around 400 “E-bike Positive” retailers committed to best practice in e-bike retail and servicing. The two trade organisations plan to work together on a high-profile launch, integrating both initiatives, early next year.
Contacts are also ongoing with the insurance sector for their endorsement, and to explore ways to, for example, ease blanket bans on e-bikes from employer or residential premises – another significant deterrent to consumers.
“The UK e-bike industry simply cannot wait for Government to solve the underlying issues,” says Eland. “We must move now to develop our own message and mechanism to reassure customers that our reputable e-bike products are safe and legal. Congratulations again to the companies who have already taken that initiative and met the high standards required by the Audit – we hope you’ll soon be joined by many more.”
The unveiling of this first batch of brands on the Register comes ahead of the Bicycle Association’s Members Meeting on the 23rd September in Loughborough, where BA member companies and guests will discuss the further development of this initiative and other measures to safeguard the e-bike sector. Also on the agenda will be how the industry can support and foster the vital off-road leisure market (MTB/eMTB).
For more details on the Audit & Register, and the Members Meeting, please visit the Bicycle Association website: bicycleassociation.org.uk
