Using an electric bicycle on the road

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

Same rules as any road / mountain bike. Free to use the roads like any other cyclists. Lots of electric bikes around now, thinking of changing to one myself as the old hips are suffering these days.

Paul M wrote:Same rules as any road / mountain bike. Free to use the roads like any other cyclists. Lots of electric bikes around now, thinking of changing to one myself as the old hips are suffering these days.

Thanks P, i am also thinking of getting one myself
They are a lot safer than the scooters and you could do a small shop using one with a basket
I often nip to the supermarket in the car for the odd items and want to reduce my carbon footprint, and save on fuel

Legally in the EU they should be 'pedal assistance' only, with a maximum 250W continuous motor power and limited to 25km per hour. You can ride above that speed, but with muscle power only (or when wind-assisted or downhill!). They can be 'chipped' to go faster under motor power, but that would be illegal on the roads. To the experienced eye it is pretty obvious when someone is riding illegally i.e. electric bikes are generally heavy and have fewer gears, so riding them above 25km per hr normally requires visible effort. I can ride at up to 35km per hr on the flat if I really try, but not for long. It is not compulsory to be insured here.

Paul Uden wrote:Legally in the EU they should be 'pedal assistance' only, with a maximum 250W continuous motor power and limited to 25km per hour. You can ride above that speed, but with muscle power only (or downhill!). They can be 'chipped' to go faster under motor power, but that would be illegal on the roads. It is not compulsory to be insured here. To the experienced eye it is pretty obvious when someone is riding illegally.

Thanks P
I just dont think the Guardia have the time and resources to check every cyclist , they are mainly interested in car owners that speed or are banned and have out of date insurance or ITV etc, besides these are the money spinners from the fines
Unless the bicycle went through a red light or was speeding excessively , but you can do that on a normal bike under the right conditions
As with Evs the manufacturers are slowly improving the bikes, making them faster and able to travel longer distances on a charge, i saw one advertised the other day with a 200 km to 300km plus distance on a single charge
I am not bothered about the speed myself, just to have something to get me around cheaply and tackle those uphill struggles
But i can see insurance being made compulsory on them some time in the future, possibly on ordinary cycles also

telmel wrote:

Paul Uden wrote:Legally in the EU they should be 'pedal assistance' only, with a maximum 250W continuous motor power and limited to 25km per hour. You can ride above that speed, but with muscle power only (or downhill!). They can be 'chipped' to go faster under motor power, but that would be illegal on the roads. It is not compulsory to be insured here. To the experienced eye it is pretty obvious when someone is riding illegally.

Thanks P
I just dont think the Guardia have the time and resources to check every cyclist , they are mainly interested in car owners that speed or are banned and have out of date insurance or ITV etc
Unless the bicycle went through a red light or was speeding excessively , but you can do that on a normal bike under the right conditions
As with Evs the manufacturers are slowly improving the bikes, making them faster and able to travel longer distances on a charge, i saw one advertised the other day with a 200 km to 300km plus distance on a single charge
I am not bothered about the speed myself, just to have something to get me around cheaply and tackle those uphill struggles
But i can see insurance being made compulsory on them some time in the future, possibly on ordinary cycles also

I'm just answering your original question about the law as they are not the same in that regard as ordinary pedal bikes. Enforcement is another issue. Like a lot of things you probably wouldn't find out unless or until you were involved in an incident.

Paul Uden wrote:

telmel wrote:

Paul Uden wrote:Legally in the EU they should be 'pedal assistance' only, with a maximum 250W continuous motor power and limited to 25km per hour. You can ride above that speed, but with muscle power only (or downhill!). They can be 'chipped' to go faster under motor power, but that would be illegal on the roads. It is not compulsory to be insured here. To the experienced eye it is pretty obvious when someone is riding illegally.

Thanks P
I just dont think the Guardia have the time and resources to check every cyclist , they are mainly interested in car owners that speed or are banned and have out of date insurance or ITV etc
Unless the bicycle went through a red light or was speeding excessively , but you can do that on a normal bike under the right conditions
As with Evs the manufacturers are slowly improving the bikes, making them faster and able to travel longer distances on a charge, i saw one advertised the other day with a 200 km to 300km plus distance on a single charge
I am not bothered about the speed myself, just to have something to get me around cheaply and tackle those uphill struggles
But i can see insurance being made compulsory on them some time in the future, possibly on ordinary cycles also

I'm just answering your original question about the law. Enforcement is another issue.

I appreciate that P, thanks, i was just giving my opinion on how that law would be respected, or not , and how the Guardia might or might not choose to prosecute using it
I suppose they have to prioratise crime, and there is so much theft about at the moment , from individuals and homes , looking for illegal cyclists might be way down their list

True. Also I can't see very many people ever needing 200 or 300 km battery range. My longest ride is 120km, from Quesada to Los Alcazares and back, which would take 5 to 6 hours at an easy pace. With a lunch or coffee break en route that's a whole day gone. My battery did that comfortably. Buy from a reputable dealer over here and you'll have no problems with legality.

Paul Uden wrote:True. Also I can't see very many people ever needing 200 or 300 km battery range. My longest ride is 120km, from Quesada to Los Alcazares and back, which would take 5 to 6 hours at an easy pace. With a lunch or coffee break en route that's a whole day gone. My battery did that comfortably.

Good to know P, so it might not be worth shelling out on anything too expensive if they do that distance , cheers