BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
This piece first appeared in the March edition of BikeBiz magazine – not subscribed? Get a free subscription.
By Mark Sutton
The electric bike market in the UK, as with the cycling market before, has in the context of Europe a personality all of its own. So, heading into 2025, what are the need to knows for trading in pedal assist bikes?
Electric bikes: The narrative and market education
2025 began with a now widely complained about prime time television segment from the BBC’s Panorama show, purporting to be about e-bikes as we know them, but instead spending the vast majority of the 30 minutes on air showing and conflating electrically assisted pedal cycles with electric motorbikes, plus other DIY modifications that alter the classification of said two-wheeler. It was an entirely unhelpful portrayal for the bona fide e-bike retailer, who will now no doubt further report as part of the sales process, having to educate customers on matters of speed, fire risk, and a handful of other subjects that the media at large have misinformed the public on.
That’s where we are and this is more than a moan; unfortunately, there are real-world consequences that are further eroding business prospects. It is already the case that Landlords nationally are looking closer at bike storage policies, in many cases outright banning anything electric without offering any outdoor storage solutions as a compromise. We’re aware too that major buildings in London, ranging from the PWC properties, More London portfolio, and Canary Wharf are among those major employers prohibiting people from riding electric bikes into their building’s bike storage. Needless to say, this has a two-fold effect of stopping employees who work for these major employers buying, but also returning to market-bought electric bikes from workers affected by the policy. Ben Jaconelli of Fully Charged told us in January that “over 40 of my customers who bought electric bikes rode to work at PWC. They have now been told they can no longer ride to work and are looking to sell the e-bikes they bought from us not so long ago.”
So, what can you do to redress the situation? Experts on misinformation suggest that the best cure is to pre-bunk falsehoods at the first opportunity, so frustrating as it is, that’s now part of the sales process. Any good sales trainer will tell your staff to be ready for all common hurdles to profitable sales, such as countering the showroomer and discount hunter with the value of buying from a physical store. Now it’s time to be ready to educate, from the ground up, in a jargon-free manner, why your friendly local bike shop will never sell anything illegal, dangerous or derestricted. Explain the perils of such things, because there’s no doubt that (men in particular) will ask the speed question at some stage.
To assist you with this, Bosch, The Bicycle Association and the ACT, among others, have coined the ‘eBike Positive’ education campaign to help inform both your staff and the consumer about what is safe, legal, well-tested, and thus fit for the market within the legal frameworks of the land. Alongside this, the Bicycle Association has now launched a database for manufacturers to certify themselves committed to upholding the legal framework of the electric bike as a bicycle, thus only supplying goods that meet the 15.5mph assist cut-off, with a continuous power of no more than 250W and operating without a throttle unless type-approved. Pointing consumers to this database should steer them only toward long-term, reputable brands that care for the market’s image.
Insurance for your shop or workshop
We’re reliably informed by a handful of retailers who have successfully navigated what has become a minefield that insurers do remain who will not take advantage of the situation surrounding the misinformed public dialogue on e-bikes. Long-standing partners to the bike industry and preferred suppliers such as Butterworth Spengler and Bikmo seem to grasp the nuanced details surrounding electric bikes and other e-mobility. Each has come recommended by retailers we have spoken to over the past few months.
Of course, when it comes to renewal season, it is advisable to speak to your provider and understand their costings, plus whether their contracts have adjusted on account of new risk assessments. Going by the available OPSS data, there’s no reason for price hikes if you’re only servicing manufactured EAPCs. Members of the Association of Cycle Traders may be able to tap into specialist insight and partner deals to circumvent difficulty.
Is there anything you can do to make life easier? Generally speaking, it is advisable to have a battery storage cabinet on-site if you are working on electric bikes. Manufacturers like Asecos, which has partnered up with Madison, supply varying shapes and sizes of cabinets to protect against thermal runaway, all the while enabling charging indoors. VarTools is another supplier operating in this space and specifically pitching fire-resistant product at e-bike retailers.
What not to do
We will wager that your insurance covers you for working on bicycles and electric bikes, but not on anything that legally falls outside of that bracket. So, don’t. Don’t even think about it and be sure as heck not to work on a customer’s vehicle if you suspect that it is overpowered beyond 15.5mph, or in any other way tampered with. If you do, then you take on the liability as the manufacturer should you facilitate the ‘upgrade’ and quite simply you’re probably not covered for that, not to mention that data from the Office for Product Safety and Standards has less than 5% of fires attributable to what is ambiguously dubbed a ’manufactured e-bike’. The rest, aka the vast majority, come from conversion kit errors or mismatched charging equipment. As a reputable e-bike retailer selling only road-legal, bike industry-manufactured goods, you’ll have no such worries, so shows the data.
Speed pedelecs
There’s little doubt that you will still get customers come in that obsess over speed and while for a long time it seemed impossible to legally operate a speed pedelec in the UK down to the simple fact that insurance was impossible to find, it seems the Stromer ST1X, ST2, ST2S and ST5 are now listed in the insurance ABI database, so very likely findable by insurers inclined to take the business. One reader informs us that they were successful using the MCNcompare tool, more commonly used by motorcyclists.
Of course, this is no longer classified as a bicycle, rather it’s now akin legally to a low-powered moped. So, with that said, your customer will take on the liability of fitting a numberplate, obtaining the aforementioned insurance, getting an MOT and of course a driving license valid with this vehicle class (CBT required), and registering for VED taxes, though the cost is likely to be £0 on account of the EV status. A higher standard helmet will also be required, something along the lines of the Lazer Anverz or Cratoni C-loom, both of which are certified for use on speed Pedelecs.
Beware, thieves are getting smarter
A final point that we would be remiss to mention is our understanding that electric bike thieves are getting smart to the digital features found in an electric bike, namely, GPS trackers. As these trickle down into lower price points, customers are getting an incredible tool to track their bikes, even set alarms to deter thieves. Sometimes, having this feature can lower an insurance premium too.
Be aware that thieves know about these features and very often use them to their advantage. We have heard from London retailers about one gang that was planting their own trackers on a stolen bike, selling, stealing again, and repeat. So, if an electric bike of unknown origin lands with suspicious circumstances or characters, be sure to inspect it thoroughly and of course, check it against any existing databases you can find.
Though you’d think GPS will eventually lower crime rates, quite often it’s the case that thieves steal a bike, leave it out in public for a few days and see if anyone comes for it. If your customer is quick, this can be used to their advantage, but the more risk-averse among us may wish to call on the services of BackPedal, a new private security business that works in conjunction with the police and hired heavies to trace, track and recover stolen bikes as part of a subscription service that now includes an insurance component.
