The government’s recent e-bike proposals to double the legal wattage of motors to 500W and allow ‘twist and go’ e-bikes with throttle control up to 15.5mph are ‘unnecessary’, ‘risky’, and the ‘wrong approach’, the Bicycle Association (BA) and Association of Cycle Traders (ACT) have said. The Department for Transport (DfT) announced the proposed changes in February, with the rationale that they will make electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs), “a more attractive and viable travel option for more people”.
The bicycle company lobby being luddites is entirely unsurprising.
The current 250w is less than a human cyclist can produce. We allow horses on our roads that can produce over 10,000w, without a MOT or licence, but only rich people ride those so I suppose that’s okay.