Do they not allow e-bikes in those? That seems surprising, given how important e-bikes and pedal-assists have been (or have been represented as being) for broadening the accessibility of cycling.
A quick googling led me to this statement about Germany and e-bikes:
"Insurance and license plates are required. The maximum motor output is 500 watts for e-bikes. Also, e-bike drivers must use bike lanes unless there are none, in which case they are allowed to ride on the roads."
Of course e bikes are allowed, but as you said you need an insurance + they must be capped to 25kmh and only provide power when the user is actively pedalling.
in NL we have 3 kinds rly. 1) electrical assist that is limited to matching the riders output and limited in speed. They are cosidered bicycles. 2) e-bikes that are considered mopeds and 3) electric motorcycles.
In France, pedelecs (pedal-assist, assist is capped to 25km/h) are allowed on bike lanes, but speed bikes (not limited to 25km/h, they can reach the same speed as cars in cities, often 50km/h, and do not require pedaling) are not allowed on bike lanes.
For all intent and purpose, a speed bike (or however you call it) is an electric moped.
Electric scooters are already allowed (unfortunately for cyclists...), why would adding a charge-crank change that?
I'd be more concerned about how a drive system like that would subtly fail to tickle the endorphine feedback loops the way a bike does. I don't think you'd notice on a conscious level, chances are you might even think you enjoy getting button-press acceleration from the battery buffer, but riding a bike has an immediacy that is close to the walking/running evolution has wired us for. I doubt that an e-scooter fueled by an ergometer generator would come anywhere close. I'm somewhat involved with a cycling vacation business and the way a day of being exposed to those feedback loops makes everybody involved happy that business feels almost like cheating. I really doubt that "ergometer driven e-scooter" could ever come anywhere close to that. But, well, Schaeffler isn't aiming at recreational cycling at all, just at the last mile delivery industry. I could not even guess wether it would make those jobs even more miserable or not.
The EU Commission’s statement ends an almost 5-year problem that has unsettled and set back manufacturers investing in the development of series hybrid bicycles. Undoubtedly, this technology is still a niche product but manufacturers such as automotive supplier Schaeffler are increasingly investing in this technology.
Ignoring that they're not too different from an e-scooter, these could trivially only power the cycle when the user is actively pedalling, which would be the main issue with respect to pedelec classification.
Though interestingly it could also put a hard limit on upper speed, since "motor assistance" has to cutoff at 25km/h. A series hybrid bike might be considered to only work off of motor assistance (ignoring downhill).
A quick googling led me to this statement about Germany and e-bikes:
"Insurance and license plates are required. The maximum motor output is 500 watts for e-bikes. Also, e-bike drivers must use bike lanes unless there are none, in which case they are allowed to ride on the roads."
From: https://adoebike.it/en/an-ultimate-guide-to-e-bike-laws-in-e...