Guide to e-bikes

Update 5th March 2025

Government Update on E-Bike and E-Scooter Fire Safety

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has issued a letter to the ACT, addressing the increasing number of fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters. With nearly 200 such incidents in 2023 alone, leading to serious injuries and multiple fatalities, the government is prioritising action to tackle the risks associated with lithium-ion batteries used in these vehicles.

Key Points from the OPSS Letter:

Government Action & Research: The OPSS is leading a wide-ranging programme to understand and address product safety risks. A summary of their regulatory activity can be found here, including recently published independent research on e-bike battery safety, available here.
Fire Risks & New Safety Guidelines: The primary risk stems from poorly designed or manufactured lithium-ion batteries, which can cause thermal runaway, leading to fires or explosions. In December 2024, the Secretary of State published statutory guidelines outlining the safety mechanisms required for lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes to reduce these risks. The full guidelines can be accessed here.
Concerns Around Repair & Modification: Research suggests that repairs, modifications, and conversion activities are linked to fire incidents. OPSS has been collaborating with Local Authority Trading Standards to engage with businesses providing these services and ensure they understand their legal responsibilities and risk management obligations.
Guidance for Businesses: To support businesses involved in the supply, repair, or modification of e-bikes and e-scooters, OPSS has published a guidance document outlining best practices for preventing fires. This guidance is available here.

The OPSS urges industry stakeholders to share this information with relevant businesses and organisations to enhance safety across the sector.

The full letter from OPSS can be viewed here

Update 9th August 2024

Stand out as an E-Bike Positive Retailer - pledge your commitment now

Recent reports of fires linked to unsafe e-bikes and chargers have raised public concerns, potentially harming the reputation of all e-bikes. This misconception could jeopardise the growth of e-bikes as a sustainable transport solution and create challenges in an already tough market.

As an industry, we must act now to distinguish our safe, reputable products from the high-risk ones causing these incidents.

Join the E-Bike Retailer Safety Pledge to showcase your dedication to best practices in safety, ensuring that customers can confidently choose retailers who prioritise safe e-bike products and practices.

By pledging, you’ll be recognised as an E-Bike Positive Retailer, a trusted retailer prioritising customer safety.

FIND OUT MORE

Update 13th March 2024

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) have provided us with updated safety guidance to raise consumer awareness around the safe purchasing, use and charging of e-bikes and e-scooters.

Please share this information with your customers.

My safety: e-bikes and e-scooters battery charging

This includes a selection of posters and other assets for social media.

This follows previous guidance shared in December 2023.

Government Safety Message on e-bikes and e-scooters

Update 2nd November 2023

The ACT have teamed up with the Bicycle Association to release industry guidance on lithium battery fires and road legal e-bikes.

Everyone in the cycle industry will be aware of recent reports and headlines about e-bikes fires, some of which have, sadly, had tragic and even fatal consequences.

Additionally, in recent months a number of fatal collisions have occurred on electric motorcycles which were generally referred to in the media as “e-bikes”.

These reports risk giving the impression to the public, incorrectly in our view, that all such vehicles are unsafe. This could have serious repercussions, potentially putting at risk the growth potential of e-bikes as a transport and climate solution, and deterring e-bike customers at a time when market conditions are already challenging.

Now the ACT along with the Bicycle Association have issued guidance sheets for the industry, aiming to counter the often misleading media headlines.

E-bikes and fire safety: what you need to know

The first guidance note summarises statements from fire services and industry experts to clarify the distinction between e-bikes from the reputable industry (which are generally very safe) as opposed to e-bikes, conversion kits, batteries and chargers which may pose significant fire hazard if certain risk factors are present, for example being sourced from overseas via online marketplaces.

E-bikes and e-scooters: What is road legal

The second guidance note clarifies exactly what is road legal as an e-bike – and makes clear the actual legal status of vehicles which are often incorrectly reported as e-bikes but which are in fact unregistered motorbikes.

VIEW GUIDE

Guidance for selling and servicing e-bikes

Note: E-bikes which are excluded from European type approval are often referred to as either EAPCs or EPACs:

Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle (EAPC): this is the term taken from UK legislation.
Electrically Power Assisted Cycle (EPAC): this is the term used in European standards.

Essentially they are the same thing, where in this guide we have decided to use term EAPC in line with legislation used in the UK.


Introduction to e-bikes An introduction to different types of e-bikes around and the technical aspects.	Regulations, legislation and standards A guide through the minefield of regulations and legislation surrounding the use of e-bikes in the UK.	EU Exit updates for e-bikes All relevant EU Exit updates, advice and resources relevant to e-bikes.

Selling e-bikes A guide to how you can make the most of the biggest opportunity within the cycle trade.	Servicing e-bikes Regardless of whether you do or don't sell e-bikes, you don't want to be turning away customers who need the services of your workshop. Here's a guide for the best practices.	Waste Battery Disposal Where to find information about your obligations when it comes to an e-bike battery's end of life.


Introduction to e-bikes An introduction to different types of e-bikes around and the technical aspects.	Regulations, legislation and standards A guide through the minefield of regulations and legislation surrounding the use of e-bikes in the UK.

EU Exit updates for e-bikes All relevant EU Exit updates, advice and resources relevant to e-bikes.	Selling e-bikes A guide to how you can make the most of the biggest opportunity within the cycle trade.

Servicing e-bikes Regardless of whether you do or don't sell e-bikes, you don't want to be turning away customers who need the services of your workshop. Here's a guide for the best practices.	Waste Battery Disposal Where to find information about your obligations when it comes to an e-bike battery's end of life.

We have also developed a 'Buyer's Guide' for e-bikes over on our consumer facing site The Cycling Experts, that you can link to and use as a tool when selling to your customers.