Police seize increasing numbers of illegally converted electric bikes

There has been a sharp rise in police seizures of illegally modified e-bikes in the UK, reveals the PA news agency, which received responses to Freedom of Information requests from 27 out of 46 police forces it contacted.

Figures show 937 illegal e-bikes were seized in the year up to 11 August 2024 - up from 511 in the previous 12 months, representing an 83% increase.

Police forces with the largest year-on-year increases in e-bike seizures were Wiltshire Police (from 24 to 64), Police Scotland (from 60 to 233), Northumbria Police (from 18 to 58) and South Wales Police (from 66 to 137).

E-bikes are defined as electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPC) that have a small electrical motor which helps cyclists to move the pedals. They have a 15.5mph (25 kph) speed limit, and their motors cannot exceed 250 watts of power.

Illegal e-bikes reach higher speeds, which means that under the law they are classified as motorcycles, and should not be used on public roads without a licence or insurance.

Modification kits can be fitted to normal bicycles, enabling them to reach speeds up to 60mph.

Before the General Election, Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith pressed for dangerous cycling to be made a specific offence as part of an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill. But this was not passed before the end of the last Parliament.

Duncan Smith told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s getting [cyclists] within the highway code, so that dangerous cycling, or cycling that causes death or injury, are prosecutable offences. And for cyclists to understand they’re not above the law.”

Tanya Braun, Director of Policy and Communications at walking charity Living Streets, said: “When e-bikes are used on the pavement, they pose the same danger and provoke the same fear as a motorbike coming up alongside a pedestrian.”

The rise in illegal e-bikes being seized by police suggests that the law is being enforced, said Braun. “This needs to happen alongside properly resourcing community policing. We also need to raise awareness amongst the public of the dangers and illegality of modified e-bikes, so they know what it is they are buying.

“Pavements are for people, but more and more people are using e-bikes on them. The speed, acceleration and lack of sound produced by e-bikes can cause alarm, especially when they are used on pavements. They also pose a particular danger to some pedestrians, such as children, disabled people and those living with sight loss.”

Monica Scigliano, senior policy officer at Cycling UK, told LTT: “There’s a lot of confusion when it comes to recognising and purchasing road legal e-cycles. If you buy an e-cycle and then modify it to go, say, 30mph and then get pulled over, you won’t be charged with modifying your e-cycle; you’ll be charged with riding a motorbike without insurance or a licence.”

But e-bikes can make a positive difference to people’s lives, Scigliano added. “They help people save money on travel, boost health and wellbeing and support people with restricted mobility. They also provide communities with an easy and accessible way of living healthier, happier and better-connected lives, but high quality, road legal e-bikes can be expensive. That’s why we need to make them more accessible through measures like government grants and free loans.”