Using an electric bicycle on the road

We have a holiday home in quesada and have had ebikes for 18 months now and most of the time use cycle paths so very little on road riding, they are the best purchase we have made and now hardly use hire car at all and dispute them being electric get a bit of exercise, go for it

Spot on Bee! Yes there are numerous rules for cyclists, car drivers, e-scooters, dog owners etc; etc;
Spain seems to be very keen on introducing rules for everything but there is little or no enforcement. This then leads to people ignoring any such rules as there is no fear of any sanction or prosecution.

Just one example, you only have to look at the standard of driving we all witness daily to see this feeling of total impunity. Speed limits completely ignored, cars parked dangerously on junctions and zebra crossings. If you drive at the posted 80kph limit from Quesada towards Torrevieja, most cars will fly past you as though you are stationary! And when it drops to 50kph, you are regularly tailgated.

Traceyanne wrote:We have a holiday home in quesada and have had ebikes for 18 months now and most of the time use cycle paths so very little on road riding, they are the best purchase we have made and now hardly use hire car at all and dispute them being electric get a bit of exercise, go for it

We got ours just over four years ago and haven't looked back. Totally agree!

Traceyanne wrote:We have a holiday home in quesada and have had ebikes for 18 months now and most of the time use cycle paths so very little on road riding, they are the best purchase we have made and now hardly use hire car at all and dispute them being electric get a bit of exercise, go for it

I suspect car hire has suffered a lot since the e scooters came about
But despite not liking them because they are dangerous and there are so many idiots using them i do understand why people do
If the car hire companies were not so greedy and dishonest squeezing every last penny out of people with high excesses and sometimes charging for non existent damage when returned , then they would not be losing so much business

telmel wrote:What is the law in Spain regarding using electric bicycles on the roads ?
I know you cannot use electric scooters unless they are hired through a company and if private only are supposed to be used on private land, at least thats the case in the UK , not sure about here in Spain
And if you did use an electric bicycle and it was not legal, how would the Guardia know it was electric without scrutinising it ?
Some are very similar to mountain bikes with their thicker frames and the batteries are not that obvious
If they are legal do you need insurance ?
Hope someone can enlighten me TIA

Basic info on Electric bike laws and E Scooters

Hi, in case you need it here is some info on the laws, a bicycle with a throttle
is totally illegal in Spain, if it has one it is classed as a moped.
Same for an E Scooter if it has a seat and throttle it is classed as a moped.

N332 Information over 25kmph or with throttle need license
etc please see screen shots. Click on them to see more clearly
Also in case anyone needs it info on what is not classed as a Personal Mobility
Device.


Hi apologies if this info has already been covered.

Thanks for that I, very informative and clear
So two things that make an electric powered bike in need of documents, insurance and a licence, being over 25kw/h/ and/or having a throttle

jpeg wrote:https://www.himobikes.com/blogs/news/spanish-e-bike-law

Thisc article is NOT accurate as regard to Spanish ebike laws

Yes that article appears more relevant to e-scooters rather than bicycles. I ride a standard road bike but meet up with several e-bike users and other than the max battery power rules, there are NO specific laws to differentiate e-bikes from regular bikes.