I disagree motherfucker should have plates. Got assholes here in my town riding these things doing 40 mph in neighborhood. All of them all guys who lose their license due to DUI. They still drink and drive and just as dangerous. Also got one whose bike is gas powered.
this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2026
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There's also the privacy angle. There should be legal ways to get around without being tracked by license plate readers.
Been Peak had a persuasive video about how fucked up the situation with ebike registration is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_M3gMfK5B4
I dunno man.
A small vehicle, that can rip along streets at similar speeds to mopeds and motor bikes?
I’m very in favour of wider adoption. But carte blanche for any kid or fuckhead to lobotomise themselves or others needs a second look.
At least you started your comment by making it clear that you don't know.
There are already clearly defined laws and definitions for ebike classes, which are distinct from mopeds and motorcycles.
Its not carte blanche or wild west or any other silly idiom.
The problem isn't ebikes. The problem is unlicensed electric motorcycles.
Ebikes are a good thing. They blow cars out of the water with how much much more environmentally friendly and cost effective they are. Requiring license plates and possibly insurance is a huge disincentive. Also pointed out by another user in this thread is that it enables the tracking of your location by all of these horrible flock cameras.
If kids are ripping along the streets on illegal electric motorcycles, what we need is law enforcement, not new laws targeted at those who already are following the existing law.
You can get fucked up on a bicycle or skateboard too: Should they be forced to get plates?
Because the weight and speed are so comparable...?
Yes
Are you trolling or being serious?
I'd take being hit by a kid on a skateboard over one on an e-bike any day... but you do you
Should we come up with stealth ebikes and make regular bikes look a bit like ebikes, they can't tell the difference.
Do you mean an ebike that is as slow as a pedal bike, and you have to move your feet round and round whilst it goes?
It feels like there might be a way to do this and save some expensive parts, and a whole letter of the alphabet.
UK requires bikes to be pedal assist anyway, pedal at 1w and the motor does the effort. Yes I am training for the tour de France sprints, that is why I am going so fast.
Don't be silly. We'll engineer en expensive solution to hide it all in the downtube.
There are plenty of bikes like that already.
Not this expensive there aren't
Not sure about that but Ride1up makes an affordable one. There are definitely multiple expensive ones out there too though I don't remember their names.
This is about registration for 20mph limited ebikes and 28mph limited pedal-assist bikes, with only 20mph pedal-assist staying free.
I don't actually get why ebike vs. pedelec should make a huge difference. But the speed limits to require registration don't actually look unreasonable high. At least I don't know many people casually biking at 28mph (or even 20mph...).
Have you never heard of hills? Even with gears anyone can hit those speeds on a flat.
Ohh mph, that puts it at moped speeds then which makes more sense
They do have bike motors you can install on a standard bike. It's not going to be as powerful as a moped or anything, and you risk having it stolen off your bike, but they exist.
Some can be pretty powerful. Not sure what you could get stealthily though. Backpack with the battery pack and run a cable down your leg to the motor?
Now I wonder how much thrust efficiency you get from a high powered electric turbine fan...
Battery in a frame bag or under pannier bags on the rack.