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Swytch and Cyrusher criticised for misleading advertising

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Richard Peace's picture

Richard Peace

Richard Peace took to full-time outdoor writing/photojournalism after stints in an office and as an English teacher abroad. His cycling route guide books include the best-selling Ultimate C2C Guide and the Ultimate UK Cycle Route Planner plus Electric Bicycles. He has written for various media about many aspects of cycling

4 comments

8 months 2 weeks ago

Motor power is just a sales tool.  Best ignored.  Power at the wheel (and more importantly Torque) is whats important.

8 months 2 weeks ago

Motor power is just a sales tool.  Best ignored.  Power at the wheel (and more importantly Torque) is whats important.

8 months 2 weeks ago

Back in the day, the actual power of the motor was really the only way to limit the speed of the vehicle. The early electric bicycles had no fancy pedal assist or electronics monitoring crank torque and vehicle speed. Nowadays, the speed of the vehicle can be accurately controlled with the electronic system, so the actual instantaneous power of the motor is far less important.

It's also far easier to test the max speed vs. max continuous power:
Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 defines “maximum continuous rated power” as the maximum thirty minutes power at the output shaft of an electric engine as set out in United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) regulation No 85.

8 months 2 weeks ago

Why are the Cryusher bikes with 750w illegal but bikes with Shimano, Brose motors of 500-600w ok? 

The legal ones generally state that they have a "nominal" power of 250w, and "peak" power of 500-600w, but there's very little definition of what this means in practive. I have a Shimano one and it seems to put out 500w continuously until the battery runs. I.e on Boost the 504wh battery last around an 1hr - 1hr15, and some of that time the bike is coasting.