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by jacquesm 1021 days ago
Depending on where you live this may not be a legal option. It shouldn't be like that but there are plenty of places where e-bicycles need to go through a certification track that costs a large multiple of a single e-bike. This to ensure that you match the maximum assist and top speed factors and that the bike is safe from an electrical point of view (which is an important enough factor).
2 comments
aidenn0 1021 days ago
Probably because I live in a detached home, but I kind of don't care if somebody else's bike catches on fire, but I strongly care if they are going to be going to be going over 50kph on a MUP. Even so, I think certification is a poor way of addressing the issue, since people modify the firmware of mass-manufactured ebikes all the time.
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jacquesm 1021 days ago
> since people modify the firmware of mass-manufactured ebikes all the time

They certainly try. Some bikes are better protected than others and part of the certification process is to verify it isn't trivial to hack the bikes. And if this is found to be the case after the fact certification can be withdrawn, retroactively so manufacturers have a lot riding on getting this right.

Note that in plenty of places nobody cares, but in some countries authorities are strict (and getting ever stricter).

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gpvos 1020 days ago
MUP = multi-use path (shared between pedestrians and cyclists)
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hedora 1021 days ago
Does the certification requirement apply to bikes people build for personal use?

If so, I’d guess the requirement is highly unusual. Normally, the requirements you mention would be enforced by certifying the components.

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jacquesm 1021 days ago
It's a problem and a grey area. I've yet to have problems with my homebrew stuff but I've already had some conversations with LE that stopped me (fortunately not while exceeding the limit) because my bike looks more than a little weird.

And no, it's not just the components. The reason for that is that the bike motor, controller and rear wheel + sensor all have to be 'just so' for the speed limiter to work properly. There are some defeat tricks, usually stuff that fools the sensor by doing a neat little bit of Bresenham on the input signal but the smarter bike motors realize this is happening and will happily brick themselves. The latest generation Bosch is afaik not yet hacked and this is not for lack of people trying.

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