30/03/2026
More illegal vehicles seized by Cornwall Neighbourhood Support team.
Please stop! Here is a gentle reminder they are illegal on the Road, they can and have caused serious injury to riders and pedestrians.
An E-bike is an Electrically Pedal-Assisted Cycle (EPAC):
The Motor should only assist while you’re pedalling.
Assistance should cut out at 15.5 mph (25 km/h). (Motor power ≤ 250 W)
If your bike can propel itself on battery power alone without you pedalling, it’s not an EPAC. That makes it legally treated as a motor vehicle, meaning:
You’d need tax, insurance, registration (V5C) and a driving licence appropriate to the class. You’d have to follow vehicle rules (helmet laws vary by class, road access limits, etc.).
If it only has assist, while pedalling and stops assisting above 15.5 mph, it is fine. Anything that drives you without pedalling is not a legal e-bike.
UK law - isn’t ambiguous — pedal-only assist, not throttle-only propulsion beyond assist, is the whole point of “electrically assisted cycle.”