11 electric bike brands first to be listed on BA Safety Register include Giant, Genesis and Brompton
Eleven high profile eBike brands, including Brompton, Giant, Madison, Whyte and E-bikes Direct/Evolving Sports are the first to be publicly listed on the Bicycle Association (BA) E-bike Safety Register – after passing a rigorous audit of their quality processes and policies.
The first batch of brands listed are: Basis, Brompton Electric, Dallingridge, Emu, Genesis, Giant, Liv, Momentum, Ridgeback, Saracen and Whyte.
The BA audit checks that a brand’s eBikes are thoroughly safety-tested to appropriate international standards – and that they are road legal as Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPCs) in the UK. It also rigorously checks for good business practice in quality management, battery handling and storage and more.
“Massive congratulations to these brands,” said Peter Eland, Technical & Policy Director at the BA. “They’ve really stepped forward, recognising how important it is for legitimate eBike suppliers to demonstrate that they source and sell eBikes responsibly. I’m delighted to say that the professionalism and standard of operations was exceptionally high in all of the businesses our auditor visited.”
The publication of this first batch of eBike brands marks a key milestone in the industry’s initiative to safeguard the eBike sector in the face of serious safety incidents caused by dangerously substandard and/or non road legal products – which are frequently not distinguished from legitimate eBikes in the mainstream media.
Intense industry lobbying has ensured that in official Government advice, and increasingly in media reports, consumers are advised to buy only reputable eBike brands from trusted retailers.
The BA said it’s a huge opportunity for legitimate eBike suppliers – both brands and retailers – to reassure customers and to put real distance between their safe, fully road legal products and the dangerous eBikes, conversion kits and parts, mostly from online marketplaces, which are overwhelmingly responsible for the incidents driving the negative coverage.
With a credible Register in place, Government, insurers and the media can all point customers to this simple list for assurance that they are buying from a safe, legal eBike brand – while for retailers, the ACT has already (with BA support) listed around 400 “E-bike Positive” retailers committed to best practice in eBike retail and servicing. The two trade organisations plan to work together on a high profile launch, integrating both initiatives, early next year, we’re told.
The BA also revealed that contacts are also ongoing with the insurance sector for their endorsement, and to explore ways to, for example, ease blanket bans on eBikes from employer or residential premises – another significant deterrent to consumers.
“The UK eBike industry simply cannot wait for Government to solve the underlying issues,” says Eland. “We must move now to develop our own message and mechanism to reassure customers that our reputable eBike products are safe and legal. Congratulations again to the companies who have already taken that initiative and met the high standards required by the Audit – we hope you’ll soon be joined by many more.”
