“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 excitement’s building…
The Tour de France Femmes is kicking off in Switzerland tomorrow, and Callum’s got you covered with our essential race preview:
Racing round-up: Wout van Aert makes it three from three at Tour of Denmark as Anna Morris sets new Commonwealth Games record in individual pursuit
There’s no stopping Wout van Aert in Denmark, is there?
After yesterday’s VAR call, the Belgian made sure of things today, powering clear on the final ramp to line in Vejle to secure his hat-trick after an impressive attacking ride in the final 20km.
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Fair play to Unibet’s Lukáš Kubiš, who looked like he was closing the gap for a moment, only for Van Aert to ease away at the end.
Meanwhile, over at the Empire, sorry Commonwealth Games, Wales’ Anna Morris showed why she’s the world champion in the individual pursuit, putting in a blistering ride to easily beat England’s Josie Knight and set a new games record for the IP in the process (breaking the one Knight had set in qualifying by 1.5 seconds).
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In the bronze medal match, Scotland’s 19-year-old hope Erin Boothman was roared to victory over New Zealand’s Bryony Botha. Remember the name.
Ouch
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Visma-Lease a Bike’s Ashlin Barry had no chance there, sliding out in treacherous conditions at the Tour of Denmark this afternoon. Like an ice rink, indeed.
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.
Who rides an aero bike under the sea?
What sort of nautical nonsense is this?
In maybe the most bizarre pro cycling-pop culture crossover we’ve ever seen – and that’s including the EF skateboarding duck – two teams at this year’s Tour de France Femmes will be riding bikes adorned with Bikini Bottom’s most famous exports.
No, you aren’t hallucinating.
The goofy goobers over at Human Powered Health will be spending the next 10 days riding a special SpongeBob SquarePants-themed blue and yellow version of their Factor One aero bike, complete with an appearance by everyone’s suit-wearing sponge on the front fork (the socks on the Factor logo on the frame are a nice touch, too).
Meanwhile, French ProTeam Ma Petite Enterprise will pay homage to SpongeBob’s rock-dwelling mate Patrick Star with a pink and purple colour scheme. The graphics on both bikes are the work of Jason Freeny, who designs the XXRAY pop culture collection.
So, you may ask, why is Factor paying tribute to a kid’s cartoon that was at its peak a quarter of a century ago at this year’s Tour Femmes?
“The reason for doing it was to create an unexpected meeting of two worlds,” says David Millar, now working as Factor’s chief brand officer (and who made his Tour debut a year after SpongeBob’s initial release).
“The One is Factor’s most advanced aero race platform, developed for performance at the highest level, while SpongeBob, Patrick, and the XXRAY concept bring optimism, personality, and playfulness.
“Putting them together shows that a cutting-edge race bike can be technically serious without being visually predictable, and that elite cycling still has room for creativity, culture, and fun.”
Millar continued: “Super bikes don’t have to be monochrome to be fast. This project is about bringing joy and personality into elite racing without compromising performance. We hope it helps introduce even more people to the excitement of women’s cycling.”
To be honest, as someone who loved SpongeBob as a child (and who can still recite a scary amount of the jokes), this is right down my street. Do you reckon Factor will send me one in the post?
Let’s just hope the team mechanics don’t get the frame sizes mixed up between M for Mini and W for Wumbo. Now there’s a reference for the diehard fans…
So, Liam had an idea
A new contender for the world’s worst cycle lane? Edinburgh, creating terrible cycling infrastructure since the 15th century
Scotland’s capital certainly hasn’t got the best reputation for safe, well-designed cycling infrastructure (Leith Walk, anyone?).
But even by Edinburgh standards, this abrupt intermission to the painted bike lane on George IV Bridge, located right beside the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, is something to behold:
Rejoice! Edinburgh’s got a new contender for the world’s worst cycle lane!
Imagine a dark stormy night 😱 – needs a “cyclist dismount”, “road narrows on left”, “cycle lane closed” or whatever sign. Or maybe make the “keep right”permanent?
— Dave McCraw (@davemccraw.bsky.social) July 31, 2026 at 9:56 AM
I have no words. Best to practice your bike handling skills if you’re off to the Fringe in the next few weeks, then…
while the kerb in the cycle lane is a big edge, at least there’s no kerb to bump up on the left, if you have a bus or bin-lorry related emergency.
— Dave McCraw (@davemccraw.bsky.social) July 31, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Alright, that’s a bit too much SpongeBob (even for me)
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Speaking of dodgy illegal e-bike tests…
Home nations bag 10 medals on first day of track action at the Commonwealth Games (despite an English team pursuiter throwing up over his teammate’s bike)
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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comparable blue-sky lunacy, apparently a small keychain pendant is going to save lives. i was going to reply on fb with images of stationary police vehicles that other motorists collided with despite being festooned in hiviz markings, but y'know .. jail time for hurt feelings. https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/be-bright-be-seen-inverness-schools-to-receive-7500-keyrin-448570/
I could wear a giant Las Vegas neon sign on my back and a driver looking at their phone still wouldn't see me.
@kingleo He also drives. I've heard him talking about his car. His family has also been deeply affected by bad drivers. He seems extremely well qualified for the position he's in and I think we're lucky to have him. I'd like to see The Spectator employ better journalists but there's Bob Hope of that.
A cautionary tale for anyone relying on public consultations as an indication of public opinion, given that BH12 apparently had a population of 36,169 at the 2021 census, and only 31 bothered to respond.
I wonder what would happen if some random pleb decided to suplex Sheriff Fergus Thomson randomly for no reason on his way home from work. I have a sneaking suspicion it wouldn't involve them "avoiding jail by the narrowest of margins", no matter how many crocodile tears they might shed in court.
It would also be nicer if it dropped you out more parallel, so that you don't have to make a turn into the path of any oncoming bus - something like this (there are other versions that have a tapered merge after the drop).
Maybe they should make the bike lane a different colour to the road to make it clear that it's not part of the road. Oh, wait, they already did. There is no hope!
@Rendel Harris Yeah, I can see the logic, just seems a bit over-engineered for that purpose! The surfacing in particular seems unnecessary - you can have the dropped kerb and painted markings without the little patch of red asphalt.
I'm not generally a fan of emulating American approaches, but I do think local authorities need to be much more willing to tow and impound illegally parked vehicles, with all costs involved recovered from the owner before they get their vehicle back. (Maybe it's just a TV trope, but in American films and TV shows, improperly parked cars always seem to get towed away pretty quickly, especially when inconvenient for the protagonist!) Most of the time illegally parked cars just get a PCN, which a) is regressive (impacts poor people most; for rich people it's a minor annoyance at most) and b) does nothing to alleviate the harm done by the illegal parking - i.e. the parking restriction exists for a reason; leaving the car there means that reason continues to be undermined.
I'm in no way whatsoever justifying the car being parked in the scooter bay, but as it is a 'classic car' from 1972 it doesn't actually need an MOT. It does need to have current VED, although again due to the age, this is a cost of £0 per year, so there's no excuse for not keeping the VED records up to date.
8 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.
@mdavidford Surely this warrants more attention? Are they saying the police spun the cranks, and then saw on the display it had done 47 kmh? And that was what they thought made it illegal?
Brilliant, eviscerating vid? Nah, boring.
And about 3 eons too late to be relevant in social media terms.
A goat has a carbon fibre fuselage, Pratt and Witney jet engines, hydraulic retractable undercarriage and in flight movie screens, but that doesn’t make it a Boeing Dreamliner.
@Mr Blackbird Hmm my goat is clad in carbon-based polymer and has the noted undercarriage certainly, but seems to be missing the jets and screens?
Would the Old Billy still seize it do you think?
If they find it among a herd of sheep how can I prove it’s not being concealed but is a legal Electively Assorted Pally Caprid?
It was already embarrassing for the police that they made such a mess of their attempt to determine whether a bike was legal or not, but I had assumed it was a group of well intentioned, but under-trained officers acting on their own initiative, having spotted something they thought looked not quite right.
I’m now discovering this was a planned activity, something sufficiently organised to have been given a name – Operation FRISLEN, designed specifically to identify and remove illegal e-bikes and scooters.
It’s apparent that the officers were sent out without adequate training, never mind the kind of equipment that should be used for this sort of work. I’m not saying they always need specialist equipment to spot all illegal bikes, but at least if they’d been given a demonstration with that equipment, they’d have realised why their approach was not going to end well.
@FionaJJ These officers deployed next-level stupidity, and it must be difficult for the police to find people this dim. It doesn’t even need rolling-roads or whatever, just a reputable bike computer on a quickly changed mount for the difficult cases where a proper EAPC has been modded, although you would need to look hard in Lancashire to find a police officer who knows how to make a pedal cycle go. Most illegal electric motorbikes are immediately obvious, not least because the crim is wearing a face mask. I saw an obvious one tonight coming out of Garstang Sainsbury’s, not pedalling but without a face mask because everybody knows that the police only come into the town to hide away in the police station 200 yards away.