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news
police_car_in_sweden_licensed_cc_by_2.5_dk_by_sigurour_olafsson_norden.org.jpgPolice in Sweden stop e-bike rider - after clocking him at 98 kilometres an hour
Police in Sweden have stopped a man after clocking him riding an electric bicycle at a speed of just under 100 kilometres an hour (62mph).
Thelocal.se reports that officers hit a speed of 98 kilometres an hour in their car to catch up with the man who was riding the bike in Linköping, which lies 200 kilometres south west of Stockholm.
The unnamed man had adapted the bike himself, with its motor 16 times more powerful than the maximum permitted under the law.
Police spokesman Björn Goding told Linköping News. “It was life-threatening. The bicycle probably didn’t have a frame built for such speed, and the brakes didn’t work either.”
The bike was said to have two power modes, with outputs of 1 Kilowatt and 4 Kilowatts.
In line with European Union regulations, the maximum permitted power output for an electric bike in Sweden is 250 watts.
Above that threshold, in Sweden as in other member states such as the UK, the two-wheeler would be classified as a moped and subject to registration and insurance.
Some retailers – such as the Blocket website, where the man was said to have bought his bike – sell ‘electric bicycles’ that exceed permitted limits but make it clear that they are intended for off-road use – although as this Bike Biz article states, the legal validity of such a distinction has been called into question by trade bodies.
According to thelocal.se, the speeding cyclist may be charged with offences including “serious illegal driving” and “careless driving.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- Cyclecynic 18 min 7 sec ago
will the person who has bought 2 be wearing one front and back? I would pay to see that.
- the little onion 30 min 38 sec ago
Do floating bus stops work?...
- GMBasix 32 min 34 sec ago
Right, well that could be handy: I'm going round with my baseball bat to have a quiet chat about ownership. You can use their names to see if they...
- hawkinspeter 32 min 39 sec ago
Yeah, at this point, I can't see much hope for the U.S. people. Trump loves stupid people and it seems like stupid people love him.
- Steve K 35 min 9 sec ago
Years ago, friends and I drove in two cars to a church for a wedding rehearsal. As we drove down the drive, we passed a "CHILDREN - DRIVE SLOWLY"...
- Nagai74 43 min 17 sec ago
I can only speak about my frame.
- OldRidgeback 50 min 7 sec ago
That's a terrible outcome. RIP for the victim. The length of driving ban plus the need for a retest at least is something.
- Bungle_52 1 hour 44 min ago
I was wondering why the prosecutor used the word ordinary rather than competent. The two seem completely different to me.
- the little onion 5 hours 16 min ago
The bus should have been bigger and brighter coloured. How are drivers expected to spot a bright yellow double decker bus on our roads?...
- HoarseMann 6 hours 8 min ago
BBC news article on this implies anyone cycling on the road, rather than using the cycle area, is riding incorrectly! ...
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27 comments
The H52 looks fun but at $9000+ it's not exactly bargain transport. You could get a Honda CRF250 for that and it would take infinitely more abuse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Vv0uMhWA4
"officers hit a speed of 98 kilometres an hour in their car to catch up with the man who was riding the bike"
Which means the man-on-the-bike was doing less than 98. Perhaps much less.
I call fake news.
Meh.
We'll probably see lots of e-bikes and electric motor bikes come to market as the move away from petrol & diesel continues, all for different uses.
Fair play to the guy for his skill in adapting the bike but it should be done within the law of course. I was passed yesterday going up a hill by a guy on an e-bike and he was on the pavement. I didn't have a problem with this at all as I travelled at 3 miles an hour in my automobile with my friend walking in front with a red flag ( which as everyone knows is the correct and safe way to use the petrol propelled 'car' ). I was just jealous.
Anyone for Drag bike racing
Yeah. I love it. Dressing up in women's clothes and riding bikes really fast....
Hang on....
That is what you meant, right?
“It was life-threatening..." - they'll be busy stopping all those cars then ...
I actually agree with the statement and it has no relation to a car. The bike wasn't fit for what it was being used for, threatening for the rider and others...
Even more remarkable that they stopped him using what looks like a 1980s Volvo.
If this thing had pedals and a gas motor, it would be a moped, and would not be reported here. But because road.cc is under the spell of the bike industry to promote whatever the bike industry says we must have, they will parrot this "e-bike" crap forever. This type of conveyance has absolutely no business being on this website.
As I have said ,and will continue to say, "e-bikes" are NOT bikes, and they suck.
E-bikes are obviously bikes. The clue' s in the name.
It sounds like they are not the thing for you, but are for a good number of people, and if it means they cycle on an electric bike rather than drive a car that can only be a good thing. Plus it makes cycling available to those who otherwise would not be physically able to.
Nobody is 'cycling' at 100kph (other than down a very steep hill). It's a motorised vehicle and twice as fast a moped.
Sure they look awesome fun in MTB form, like an ultra lightweight MX bike but this sort of high-power version isn't for granny to cycle to the shops on.
Yep, with a motor this powerful it's a motorcycle. There's a lot of good in electric motorbikes, but they have to be registered as such and riders have to stick to traffic laws. As for more conventional e-bikes, they're great for older riders for commuting, so what's wrong with that?
old.jpg
Ebikes are great, they will enable those less fit to experience the joy of riding a bike, even to places they would never attempt before.
I saw quite a few being used to climb Mont Ventoux by older folk. When im unable to go as far or unable to climb a steep hill, I will probably get one
Me too, I thought they should have had to balance a book on their head or had a flag though as they make you feel a little horrible about yourself!
You realise a hundred years ago, self-appointed "purists "said much the same about bikes with gears, right?
Careful! You've opened yourself up for so much there, unless you've checked your facts, of course...
A predjudiced luddite with a very blinkered view and who has clearly never tried one, or ridden with someone who needs the assistance to keep up.
Open your mind, sir, and until then keep you daft comments to yourself.
That said, a home converted e-bike capable of 100kmh is just nuts and is quite rightly outlawed.
Yes, but if you'd listened to the luddites we wouldn't have to have this conversation http://road.cc/content/news/239833-global-study-calls-20mph-speed-limit-... nor the one about semi automatic weapons, nor the one about the number of deaths as a result of electrical appliances, etc...
I sure hope bike frames are rated for 60mph because I get mine close (just no electric power here just legs+gravity)
And the chances of this person hurting someone would still be a hundred times less than some prick in a [choose your motor vehicle brand of choice]
I like the fact the police use absolutes like "probably" as another reason why they were in the wrong.
I bet he was gutted to be 2 kph short....
The two settings should have been labelled 'Insane' and 'Insanier'
.
Love the two power modes, 1Kw and 4Kw, brilliant...
mine goes up to 11.
"and the brakes didn’t work either"
Brilliant!