The risk of tuned e-MTBs is high, because if you illegally exceed the 25 km/h limit for pedelecs, you leave the bicycle category and end up in the motor vehicle category with all the rules and consequences. We invited Siegfried Neuberger, Managing Director of ZIV (Zweirad-Industrie-Verband), to talk about this topic:
EMTB: For some e-bikers, tuning kits for the pedelec drive are the most normal thing in the world. What's the problem with that?
SIEGFRIED NEUBERGER: Anyone who raises the 25 km/h limit on their pedelec leaves the bicycle category. A tuned E-MTB is considered a motor vehicle. This can mean: Riding without a driving licence, riding without an operating permit - under certain circumstances, this can even lead to an entry in your criminal record. In the event of an accident, this may not only mean health problems, but also financial ones. This is because private liability does not apply to a tuned pedelec. This can be really expensive.
Some even see the future of e-MTBs as being jeopardised. Reality or pessimism?
Politicians are definitely keeping an eye on the issue of tuning. If we, as the bicycle industry and retail trade, do not get to grips with this, it could have fatal consequences. Right up to compulsory insurance with compulsory licence plates. Using a pedelec in the forest would then certainly become difficult, perhaps even impossible.
What can you do about it?
The end consumer does not yet seem to be aware of the problem, and we need to work on this. Engine manufacturers are already obliged to protect their drives against tuning. The question remains as to how secure such measures are against manipulation in the long term. We can only appeal to dealers to strictly reject tuning and make customers aware of the problem. Some dealers and manufacturers are already refusing to accept tuned pedelecs in the event of a service or warranty claim.
Florentin Vesenbeckh
Editor CvD
