Speed-Pedelec, untapped potential

In recent years, two trends have emerged that have changed the way people move. The first is the invasion of bicycles and electric scooters for urban commuting, no more only for sport and have fun. The second is, of course, the pandemic. The need to maintain physical distancing between people is driving many designers to reassess the personal and individual vehicle as a scenario for the future. In this post let's see what the market of e-bikes offers.

Bicycle is probably the vehicle in which the equipment of an electric engine makes the most sense. It has three major advantages: lightness, low operating cost and the little space it takes up.

European standard splits electric bicyles into three categories based on engine power and speed limit: Pedelec or EPAC, considered like bicycles, Speed Pedelec L1e-A and Speed Pedelec L1e-B, which instead are assimilated to 50cc moped.

In table you can see that S-Pedelec has an excellent compromise between speed and lightness. In particular, the L1e-B allows you to proceed, in the city, at the same speed as cars, thus reducing the risk deriving from different speed vehicle in the same traffic flow.

So why are there few S-Pedelec on the street? The low diffusion in the market, compared to the boom in sales of Pedelec, is mainly caused by legislation. In fact, L1e-A and L1e-B categories are equated to mopeds, so the owner is required, among other things, to register and insure the vehicle.

For this reason, the products offered by companies are not many, but at least you can see varied interpretations. There are models similar to bicycles, models that look like moped, ideal for the city, others designed only for fun. Apparently this sector stimulates the creativity of designers and it is likely that this proposals will increase in the future despite the burocratic limitations.