“A horse has horsepower, but that doesn’t make it a car”: Bike brand tells cyclists to “know your rights” after police’s legal e-bike seizure fiasco; Closest photo finish ever?; Commie Games pursuit debacle; Tour de France Femmes + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“A horse has horsepower, but that doesn’t make it a car”: Bike brand tells cyclists to “know your rights” after police’s legal e-bike seizure fiasco in video poking fun at uninformed officers
It was only a matter of time before the brand at the centre of the biggest e-bike story of the summer broke their silence. And they’ve finally done so in brilliant, eviscerating fashion.
Last week, you may remember, we reported that West Midlands Police was facing an appeal from cycling campaigners after its officers wrongly seized, and then destroyed, a delivery rider’s Tern HSD S00 e-cargo bike, erroneously believing it to be an illegal electric motorbike.
In case you need a quick refresher, the cyclist had been riding the e-cargo bike for a few months after renting it as part of Birmingham Bike Foundry’s Gear Shift scheme, funded by the city council, before he was stopped by police on 24 April 2026 at 8.15pm on New Street, Birmingham.
The Tern e-cargo bike was seized as part of the force’s Operation FRISLEN, a “targeted initiative” aimed at “addressing the growing concerns surround the misuse of e-bikes and electric scooters in Birmingham city centre”.
The bike, though clearly legal, was deemed by the officers to be outside the law governing electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) after they simply spun the cracks around a few times and spotted that the speed has reached 47kph (I know, I still don’t have a clue what they were thinking either).
After the bike’s seizure, radio silence followed before the police confirmed, around a month later, that the Tern had been destroyed, leaving the Birmingham Bike Foundry (and the council) £6,000 out of pocket.
However, after we published our in-depth story on the whole debacle, some good news swiftly followed, as West Midlands Police apologised for their officers’ actions and announced that is exploring alternative methods of spotting illegal e-motorbike use.
The charges against the cyclist, which West Midlands Police initially claimed related to him riding without insurance, were also dropped, with the force agreeing to reimburse the Birmingham Bike Foundry for the loss of the bike.
In an email sent to the Birmingham Bike Foundry, West Midlands Police said it would stop using the test carried out by its officers when the bike was seized – described by cycling campaigners as “bogus” – admitting that, while there was “no malice” in the officer’s actions, it was inaccurate.
And now, in the spirit of pointing out inaccuracies, bike brand Tern have this morning posted a tongue-in-cheek, but still pointed, video skewering the officers’ faulty understanding of EPACs, while attempting to alert cyclists to what is legal and what is not in the world of e-bikes and “clear up misconceptions” – by emphasising that the distinction between an e-bike and an “illegal electric motorbike”.
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Styled as a cross between a nature programme and a crime documentary, Tern’s “field guide to urban cycles” kicks off with a pile of headlines (including from ebiketips) related to last week’s story.
“Every naturalist learns this rule early. Just because a creature can do something does not mean it is something,” the very American narrator says.
“For example, a horse has horsepower, but that doesn’t make it a car. A hamster may power a wheel, but that doesn’t make it an engine.”
Turning to the Tern HSD, or ‘The Legal e-Bike’, as the video identifies it as, the narrator continues: “This is the Tern HSD, native to city centres, pedal-assisted, fully road legal, frequently misidentified as an illegal species, alarming if you don’t know the rules.”
In a caption, or “field note”, deliberately aimed at the plod in Birmingham, Tern pointed out that the HSD “when provoked, say, hand-cranked by an eager observer, this species has been recorded reaching 60kph”.
“It can hit 60kph, pedalling hard or coasting downhill, with the motor doing nothing at all,” the narrator continues.
“That doesn’t make it an e-moto, just like the hamster isn’t an engine. Some things just need a better field guide. Know your species. Know your rights.”
I’m not sure how much this video will improve the general public’s understanding of legal e-bikes, but hey, it’s a bit of fun for a Friday morning…
Paralympic champion Fin Graham hits out at UCI for scrapping Commonwealth Games individual pursuit and replacing it with 3km time trial two days before event “without any consultation”
The track cycling programme at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow – the only cycling at this year’s event – has only just got underway, but it’s already attracting some controversy.
Last night, Paralympic gold medallist Fin Graham took to Instagram to complain that the UCI has decided to scrap the C3 Individual Pursuit, just two days out from the event, and replace it with a 3km time trial.
As Graham, a double world champion in the individual pursuit, pointed out in his post, the distance of the event will remain the same, but will lose the pursuit component, with each rider taking to the track on their own. Which isn’t quite the same for either the riders or the crowd, if we’re honest.
According to Graham, the change was made without any attempt to consult the riders scheduled to take part in the IP.
“On Sunday I was due to race the Individual Pursuit at the Commonwealth Games. An event that I have dedicated so much towards!” Graham posted.
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“Unfortunately, now this is no longer the case! Today, for reasons unknown, and without any consultation the UCI commissaries have decided to pull the event. They have replaced it with a 3km Time Trial which has never been done before.
“The distance is the same, but the dynamics and excitement will be totally different, also removing a lot of enjoyment for the spectators!
“Anyway at least I have two days to mentally adjust, and I will trust the process. It really is a dream come true getting to race in front of a home crowd, I will still GIE IT LALDY.”
We’ll have more on this story when we get it.
The closest photo finish in cycling history? Wout van Aert admits he’s “never experienced anything quite like it” after dramatic post-stage review at Tour of Denmark saw the “coin land in my favour”
When Callum signed off on yesterday’s live blog, Alpecin’s Australian sprinter Jensen Plowright was the winner of stage two of the Tour of Denmark in Skive. That didn’t last long, however.
Threading the needle 🪡
Jensen Plowright found the gaps before surging past Wout van Aert in the closing metres to win Stage 2 of the Tour of Denmark. 💪 pic.twitter.com/MQ7FTielEo
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 30, 2026
After Plowright – who appeared to have narrowly pipped Wout van Aert at the line – had conducted his post-stage winner’s interviews, the race jury gathered around for a closer look at the finish photo, which had already been generating some controversy on social media.
Some extra lines were drawn on, VAR offside-style, and the original decision was soon overturned, the stage win awarded to Van Aert instead, who strengthened his grip on GC with his second consecutive victory in Denmark.
So, so close. Poor Jensen.
“It was a chaotic finale,” a baffled Van Aert said after being finally awarded the win. “I had to launch my sprint quite early. Plowright suddenly came alongside me in the final metres, and as we crossed the line I genuinely had no idea who had won.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this before. Because of Plowright’s reaction, I was convinced he had taken the victory. It wasn’t until we saw the photo finish that everyone realised just how close it really was. I’m incredibly happy the win went my way.
As close as it gets 👀
The closest of calls saw the initial result overturned, with Wout van Aert ultimately awarded victory on Stage 2 of the Tour of Denmark. 🫣 pic.twitter.com/D7NUdXVmXJ
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) July 30, 2026
”This is a first for me. I had the feeling that Jensen had passed me, but he was so sure of himself that I thought it had already been checked. Only when I saw the photo did I start to have doubts. In the end, the coin landed in my favour. A very special experience.”
Next time, could cycling’s VAR guys sort out the result before the live blog closes for the day? Thanks.
Home nations bag 10 medals on first day of track action at the Commonwealth Games
Away from the latest UCI shenanigans, the home nations secured a medal-laden start to the Commie Games on the track, with England bagging one gold, three silver, and one bronze, Wales securing one gold, one silver, and one bronze, and Scotland netting a gold and a bronze on home boards.
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In the men’s team pursuit, England pulled off a shock victory over Australia, the quartet of Will Tidball, Henry Hobbs, Charlie Tanfield, and Ethan Vernon edging clear of the Aussies at the end of a ding-dong battle.
The win marked the end of a tumultuous day for England, with Tidball drafted in to replace Josh Charlton after he vomited all over a teammate’s bike during a not-so-perfect qualifying run. All’s well that ends well.
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Neil Fachie became Team Scotland’s most decorated Commonwealth Games athlete ever with another historic gold in the men’s tandem kilo alongside pilot Aaron Pope.
Meanwhile, the Welsh sprint trio of Emma Finucane, Rhian Edmunds, and Lowri Thomas beat England for gold. And in the bronze medal match, Scotland’s Lauren Bell, Iona Moir, and Maddy Silcock outpowered Australia, watched on by their country’s greatest sprint legend:
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TNT Sports hails “record” Tour de France audience in the UK – but can first paywalled Tour be viewed a success?
Viewers forking out £31 a month to watch bike racing on the telly in July are up by over half, TNT Sports says. But is that actually a good thing for British cycling?
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A rare instance of the MET doing something right.
@genesis The team is no longer able to manage demand. Obvious solution : put more people on it to ensure that more drivers are made aware of their poor driving/law breaking and hence improve road safety for all. Chosen solution : throw away the evidence that well intended members of the public are willing to take time, trouble and expense to provide for you and allow the drivers to carry on thinking they've done nothing wrong. That should do it.
And about 3 eons too late to be relevant in social media terms.
Don't think it is AI, actually - it turns out Wolt (on the rider's jacket) is a company that runs scooter schemes in some cities, so I think this is an employee collecting/redistributing the scooters in a very H&S-non-approved manner. They're unlikely to be contributing to Irish injury stats, though, because it looks like they're in Israel.
Brilliant, eviscerating vid? Nah, boring.
There are more total head injuries suffered by those in cars than those riding e-scooters in Ireland; same in the UK. If, for some reason, you are concerned about one particular body part being injured whilst using transportation in Ireland, and really wanted to get those numbers down, would you also advocate mandating helmets for drivers and their passengers too?
Maybe they actually took the bike and destroyed it because they recognised it was structurally unsound and wanted to prevent the rider being endangered by it.
What's going on with the scooter photo in the article? - that person appears to be attempting to ride two scooters at once. No wonder there are lots of accidents if that's how people are using them.
3 thoughts on ““A horse has horsepower, but that doesn’t make it a car”: Bike brand tells cyclists to “know your rights” after police’s legal e-bike seizure fiasco; Closest photo finish ever?; Commie Games pursuit debacle; Tour de France Femmes + more on the live blog”
Maybe they actually took the bike and destroyed it because they recognised it was structurally unsound and wanted to prevent the rider being endangered by it.
Brilliant, eviscerating vid? Nah, boring.
And about 3 eons too late to be relevant in social media terms.