Specialist electric bike content publisher and demo events business Cycling Electric has taken a clear position on e-bikes with the publication announcing “a tighter commitment to those brands wholly committed to preserving the legal status of the electric bike.”
The move, we’re told, comes in response to a belief that the electric bike industry must turn a corner and regain control of the narrative around what does and doesn’t pass as an e-bike in the marketplace.
An industry call to action
With recent press not exactly benefitting the consumer in education terms, the publisher has laid down the gauntlet in the hope of spurring the industry to fully turn away from the kinds of vehicles now often seen on the back of recovery trucks, thus spurring unwarranted headlines and the adverse economic effects that follow.
Cycling Electric editor Mark Sutton took to LinkedIn this week to outline the media platform’s stance and make the call to action for others to follow suit, whether they be other cycling media or even bike shops that currently accept overpowered or tampered e-bikes in their shops or workshops.
Making a statement. Taking a stand.
Sutton wrote: “Because of the sustained damage that the bonafide electric bike industry has endured on account of the conflation of e-bikes with electric motorcycles and other kit modifications that move a model beyond the EAPC’s legal boundaries, Cycling Electric will, from 2025*, actively avoid working with any brand deemed to be selling products that do not strictly meet Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle regulations, inclusive of those brands that offer both road-legal e-bikes and overpowered models side by side. This applies to all press coverage and to our now national Demo Day events series, where naturally we will only ever permit road-legal e-bikes to be ridden.
“We feel that this is a necessary step required to protect the reputable electric bike industry, encourage brands to cease selling a product that is, unfortunately, damaging the e-bike community’s reputation, and finally, in order to maintain the current legal classification that e-bikes enjoy, which is equivalent status as the bicycle on the roads and cycle paths.
“For background, we would like to draw your attention to the adverse effects of overpowered vehicles and modified kits that take e-bikes into motorbike classification. These include landlords blocking tenants from having e-bikes on site for misplaced fear of fire risk, buildings managers and employers also blocking e-bike riders from cycling to work, and plenty more adverse issues that have caused the press to demonise e-bike users. Therefore, our e-bike reviews will never promote vehicles that are the root cause of driving press misconceptions and thus reputation damage to brands that are in it for the long haul.
“Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to call upon other press in the electric bike space to consider our pledge and similarly take a long view on the market, only reviewing and working commercially with brands that are wholly committed to preserving the status of the e-bike as a bicycle.”
*To be clear, Cycling Electric has never previously reviewed non-bike products, and its commitment now extends to turning away any brand listing for sale into the UK overpowered products alongside those that may be road legal under EAPC rules. The market does not need ambiguity or any suggestion of a grey area when there simply is none and we cannot expect the onus to be on the consumer to know the difference if the two options are displayed together.
Our collective responsibility
Sutton hopes taking this public position could be a catalyst for the press and the wider industry, from shops to distributors, importers to manufacturers – anyone with an interest in the UK marketplace.
This step aims to build customer confidence, remove confusion surrounding what is and isn’t legal for use in the UK, and highlight a clear industry responsibility in regulating the marketplace.
All risk, no reward
Of course, it may be that bike shops handling modified or overpowered vehicles are already playing with fire in respect of invalidating any insurance they may have.
Typically, bike shops are not covered to handle motor vehicles on policies, but standard electric bikes, classified as bicycles, are permitted.
That said, there exist reports that shop insurers are raising policy prices or even denying renewals for shops that do work on e-bikes, itself arguably a symptom of the press misrepresenting the true picture of what an electric bike is and what risks come associated.
Consumer education and market growth
Sutton concludes on this point “The consumer comes to our product either looking for our guidance, or potentially misinformed. It is our duty as long-term market investors to make sure our collective house is in order and that we are in no way contributing to leading consumers down a path toward something potentially illegal for road use, thus adding to the strain on the market’s reputation.
“For this reason, though a brand may sell road legal models alongside overpowered units, we have chosen to stress the damage the latter is doing, in particular in the UK market and to turn the page. No longer can we encourage or participate in promoting this product’s arrival in our market given the net effects we are suffering.
Control the narrative
“The bike industry must regain control of the narrative and start to present to the masses just how life-changing a tool an e-bike can be for health, congestion, the cost of living strains we all feel and a multitude of other benefits.”
