The laws and regulations surrounding electric bikes and ebikes in the UK suck, and appear to be much tighter and stringent than in other parts of the world. Since most of the laws and regulations in the UK are decided by the EU in Brussels I assume it is the European Parliament to blame, and I assume that all other EU member states have the same rules and regulations with ebikes too, although I have never looked in to this and I doubt I ever will as I have better things to with my time rather than checking out what the Germans/French/Italians/Dutch/Spanish etc. can and can’t have in the way of an electric bike.
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In the UK an electric bike can only have assistance up to 15mph ( 24.14 kmh), and once this speed is exceeded the electric motor will cut out and the rider has to use leg power only, which is why the speeds  reached in the following clip “How fast is the Wisper 905 electric bike” are so slow.

It is possible to have an electric bike that travels faster than 15mph in the UK but it is then treated as a moped, and as such you will need a licence and valid motor insurance to ride it on the public road. Fortunately, you don’t need a road fund licence for the electric bike because it doesn’t produce any emissions but if the UK Government ever change the rules on electric vehicles and how they are taxed (which could easily happen in the future) electric bikes with an assisted speed greater than 15mph may well have to pay a road fund licence as well.

From what I have read on US and Australian electric bike forums it seems the UK laws and regulations are very tight, and I have read that it is possible to have an electric bike that can travel at assisted speeds up to 20mph (32 kmh) before being classed as a motorized vehicle. Based on this it is easy to see the laws and regulations on electric bikes in the UK suck.

Many electric bikes in the UK are available in the US and Australia as well, which means there are many electric bikes in the UK that have been restricted to comply with UK laws and regulations. If you know where to look it is easy to find someone willing to de-restrict an ebike in the UK, however it is not legal.
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I wouldn’t like to say what the chances are of being caught if you have an electric bike derestricted in the UK and take it on the public roads, however I would never recommend it. If you do get caught riding an over powered electric bike on the UK roads you can be prosecuted for riding with no insurance or MOT, both of which are serious road traffic offences with serious consequences. There is also a chance you could get busted riding without the requisite licence too. The risks of riding a de-restricted ebike in the UK far outweigh the benefits, and because of this I will stick to riding at 15mph and hope that when the UK leaves the European Union the laws and regulations on electric bikes will change to more like what happens in the US and Australia. 
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When I first started getting interested in recreational cycling and biking long distances the first “must have” cycling accessories I was advised to buy, after a decent pair of padded cycling shorts of course, was a pair of cycling specific shoes, cleats and clip in pedals. This set up increases pedaling efficiency and makes cycling longer distances easier.
Being clipped in to a pair of pedals is daunting for the first few rides, especially when you need to put a foot down quickly, but you soon get used to them and after a tumble or two (everyone falls over at some point using cleats and clip in pedals) it all comes together.

I always used cycling shoes, cleats and clip in pedals on all my previous bikes (mountain bike, cyclo-cross and racer) and I had no problems at all, so I naturally thought that this would be the case with my ebike. How wrong I was!
Electric bikes are heavy and keeping them upright at slow speeds (such as when riding in the city, i.e. when there is “stop start”) is very difficult. On a racer, cyclo-cross or mountain bike it is possible to keep it upright whilst stationery (this does take a bit of practice) without putting your foot down. Electric bikes aren’t balanced enough to do this because of the weight distribution. Consequently you need to be able to get your feet on the floor, and pretty quickly, when riding an ebike.

As soon as I tried riding my ebike with cleats and clip in pedals I struggled, and after a few awkward rides I decided to abandon using cleats or clipless pedals. The weight distribution of my ebike isn’t balanced enough for riding at very slow speeds or keeping the bike upright whilst stationery and I need to be able to get a foot on the floor in a split second. This is not possible using cleats and clip in pedals.
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After experimenting with different types of shoes I have found the ideal footwear for riding the ebike, and these are:-

Walking trainers combined with a pair of standard pedals are the perfect combination for an ebike. Walking trainers are very grippy and tick like the proverbial poo to a blanket and do not slip off the pedals, even when the pedals get wet and muddy. Walking trainers are also breathable, comfortable and will keep your feet cool and feeling fresh for several hours.

I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive when someone suggested wearing walking trainers for cycling, but now I have tried it and realized just how good walking trainers are I won’t use any other footwear. 
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If there’s one thing I really hate when cycling it’s the wind.  I don’t mind a tail wind pushing me along but I know that when I am enjoying the ease of riding in a tail wind that I will face a head wind at some point, and that is when it is going to become hard work and I will want to give up.

Letting Mother Nature (and the weather) dictate when I go out for a ride isn’t going to happen and one of the reasons I bought an electric bike was to make riding in windy conditions easier, and hence more enjoyable. I wanted a bike I wouldn’t mind chucking my leg over and riding in any conditions, and I thought an ebike was the way forward – hence I pulled the trigger and bought one.

Having owned an electric bike for several months now I thought I would let everyone know what riding an ebike is like in windy conditions and how easy it is, and you can see this in the following video:-
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​The video footage was captured using a Go Pro Session camera (available from Adorama, Amazon (US), Amazon (UK) or eBay) mounted to a chest strap (also available from Amazon (US), Amazon (UK) or eBay), which I believe leads to some excellent footage. 

​Below are other similar videos that may be of interest:

Many people seem to think that when you ride an ebike all you need to do is sit there and press a button or wind open a twist grip and away you go. This may be the case with ebikes in mainland Europe or other parts of the world, but it isn’t the case in the UK. An ebike is not an electric moped or motorbike, and in order to make an ebike work the rider has to out some effort in to it and the level of this input depends on the type of ebike.

In the UK an ebike’s motor will not run unless the pedals are going around, therefore the rider needs to pedal to make it work. With some electric bikes you can select an easy gear, which will make turning the pedals very easy, and let the electric motor do the work. This method is not much of a workout but it will burn off a few calories.
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Alternatively, a rider may wish to set a harder gear and reduce the power assist, which means the rider will have to put in a lot more effort. This, obviously, means the rider will get a decent workout. The following video explores this further:-
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​The video footage was captured using a Go Pro Session camera (available from Adorama, Amazon (US), Amazon (UK) or eBay) mounted to a chest strap (also available from Amazon (US), Amazon (UK) or eBay), which I believe leads to some excellent footage. 
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​Below are other similar videos that may be of interest:

The majority of cyclists attach their action cameras to their cycle helmets to record their cycle rides, and thinking about it this seems to be the obvious location. I totally get why cyclists mount their action cameras to their bike helmets, what I don’t get is why they attach the action camera to the top of their helmet.

Action and video cameras attached to the top of cycle helmets not only create drag and catch the wind, but they look ridiculous too. Having an action camera mounted to the top of your helmet makes you look like a Teletubby, and no one wants to have the words “Eh oh” yelled at them by passing car drivers. And yes, I have witnessed on more than one occasion and whilst it made me smile and chuckle to myself the poor cyclists subject of the abuse didn’t seem to find it too funny at all.

Rather than mounting an action camera to the top of your cycle helmet there is a much better place, and this is where I attach my Go Pro Session camera to my cycle helmet. Attaching your action to this part of your cycle helmet results in more than one point of view and allows you to capture more interesting, diverse and dynamic video footage.
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“Where is this place on my cycle helmet?” I hear you cry. Well check out the following clip, and all will be revealed. 
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• The Go Pro Session camera is available from Adorama, Amazon (US), Amazon (UK) and eBay
• The Go Pro helmet mount is available from Adorama, Amazon (US), Amazon (UK) and eBay

I wanted a small and user friendly action camera that was good quality, but didn’t break the bank. There are a lot of mid-priced action cameras on the market, and Amazon and eBay is flooded with them. There range is vast, but after reading about several of the action cameras both the build quality and image quality seemed questionable. I suppose the point I am trying to make is that the majority of these action cameras seemed absolute trash (to put it nicely) and not worth buying.

Whilst researching a suitable action camera the same product kept coming up time and time again, and that was the Go Pro Session action camera. Go Pro action cameras are renowned for being top quality, but also expensive. The Go Pro session camera is way cheaper than other Go Pro action cameras, but then given it is not the same high spec this is to be expected.

Long story short, I ended up pulling the trigger on a Go Pro Session action camera and now I have had the action camera for several weeks now I have to admit that I am not overly convinced that it was the right action camera to buy.
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There are times when I think buying the Go Pro Session camera was the best thing I have done, and then there are times when I think buying the Go Pro Session camera was a huge mistake and a total waste of money. Putting my thoughts and opinion down on paper is difficult, so I created the following (short) video clip:
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If you think the Go Pro Session camera is for you it is available from Adorama, Amazon (US), Amazon (UK) and eBay. 
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When I first mentioned about getting an electric pushbike to my peers the first thing many of them said was “an electric bike is cheating”. In fact, most of them said if you’re going to get a bike with a motor you may as well get a motorbike.

My response to this was that I needed to tax, insure and MOT a motorbike, and I didn’t need he hassle of keeping another vehicle on the road. Besides, I wanted to get some exercise and even though the electric pushbike had a motor I still had to put in some effort to get it moving. My peers weren’t convinced about the “still having to put in some effort” argument and carried on saying using an electric bike is cheating.

Despite the attitude of my peers I invested in an electric bike, a Wisper 905 Torque, and I have to say that using an electric bike isn’t cheating, or at least it doesn’t have to be.

Okay, you can choose to let the motor do all the hard work however you still need to turn the pedals for this to happen although you don’t have to expend too much energy to do this. Simply select a low gear that is easy to turn and pedal, and the electric motor will get you to 15mph where it will comfortably sit until the battery dies. Is this cheating? The answer to this depends on a lot of different factors and whilst it is cheating for some people it isn’t cheating for others.

If you want to travel at more than 15mph you have to push the electric bike along under your own steam, and this is no easy feat. An electric bike is heavy, and far heavier than a non-electric push bike. Riding an electric bike at 15.5mph – 16mph (my average speed on my Wisper electric bike) requires a fair amount of effort and I work harder riding the electric bike at this speed than I ever did riding my old Trek racing bike. In fact, I would say that averaging 15.5mph – 16mph on the electric bike requires the same amount of effort to average 18mph – 20mph on the racer. This difference may not seem like much to non-cyclists but all cyclists know that averaging just 1mph more takes an awful lot of effort.

The way I ride my Wisper 905 electric bike isn’t cheating and if anyone thinks otherwise I welcome them to take my Wisper out for a quick spin around the block to see just how much effort it takes.
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To demonstrate that riding an electric bike isn’t cheating I thought I record the following clip:-

The best place to buy a Wisper 905 Torque in the UK is Halfords, and the reason I say this is because:-

• Halfords are located all over the UK - you won't have to travel too far 
• Halfords will not only provide a Wisper 905 but also service one too - this is very important
• Halfords will be able to source any spare parts you may need
• Halfords are a big company and likely to be around for several years to come - i.e. they are highly unlikely to simply disappear off the face of the Earth

If you want to order a Wisper 905 Torque electric bike from Halfords you can do so here. 

​Due to unforeseen circumstances I had to take a break from cycling which ended up being several months, and everything has had to change and I have had to go electric. My current ride is a Wisper 905 Torque electric bike and I have to say it has been a life changing purchase. Below are a few short video clips about my Wisper 905 Torque electric bike you may find useful/interesting:-

Speed is an important factor when choosing any bike, and it was no different when I choosing an electric bike. In the UK the motor of an electric pushbike has to, by law, cut out once the rider reaches 15mph. You can of course travel faster than 15mph but to do this you have to use your own leg power.

Electric bikes are heavier than non-electric bikes, and in some instances a lot heavier. Let’s take a look at my Wisper 905 Torque electric bike for example. At 24kg, including the larger battery, this bike is 13kg heavier than my old Trek racing bike (i.e. more than twice the weight) and 11Kg heavier than my old Giant mountain bike. Pushing along a 24kg bike, plus your own body weight, under your own steam requires quite a bit of effort.

Cycling at 15mph on my electric bike takes very little effort, after all the motor is doing the hard work, although you do have to keep spinning the pedals (easily done in a low gear). I typically cycle around 15.5mph – 16mph and find that this takes quite a bit of effort. To consistently cycle faster than 16mph takes a lot of effort, which given the weight of the bike, the fact it’s based on a mountain bike and the fat tyres is to be expected.

I have managed to reach 27mph on my Wisper 905 however this was down a steep hill with a tail wind, and as soon as the road flattened out the speed rapidly dropped off. Averaging this sort of speed is not going to happen on an electric bike. I would say, that averaging 20mph on an electric bike is not possible either, although I would like to see someone prove me wrong.

If you are happy cycling at 15mph or less an electric bike is going to be perfect for you. If you are happy averaging around 16mph (like I do) and are willing to put in a bit of effort an electric bike is also the ideal bike. If you want to average more than 16mph you are going to have to put in a lot of effort, and you would be better off with a lightweight racing bike. Similarly, if you want to average 20mph or more, you’re not going to do it with an electric bike.
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Several people have asked me “how fast is your electric bike?” and in response I thought I would create a short video to show just how fast my Wisper 905 Torque electric bike is, as below:-

If you live in the UK the best place to get a Wisper 905 Torque bike is Halfords, and the reasons I say this are:

• Halfords are located all over the UK - you won't have to travel far to get a Wisper 905 ebike
• Halfords will also service the Wisper 905 - this is crucial 
• Halfords will be able to source any part you need - once again, this is very important
• Halfords are a big concern and should be around for several years, i.e. there is little chance they will go under

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The Wisper 905 Torque electric is available to order from Halfords here so head on over and check it out. 
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​Due to unforeseen circumstances I had to take a break from cycling which ended up being several months, and everything has had to change and I have had to go electric. My current ride is a Wisper 905 Torque electric bike and I have to say it has been a life changing purchase. Below are a few short video clips about my Wisper 905 Torque electric bike you may find useful/interesting:-

If you are looking for some fun and novelty eBike related apparel eBike_Goodies is going to be right up your street. eBike_Goodies is a Zazzle print on demand store with a number of different “eBike” related designs available on men’s clothing, women’s clothing and various useful cycling related accessories.
 
You can fully customize each and every product in the every range and change the colour, add a logo, add an image and/or add some text (your name or a witty slogan perhaps?) and create unique and individual eBike related apparel to suit your own preferences and tastes.
 
eBike_Goodies is a relatively new Zazzle store however the range of designs is constantly growing, so it is one worth book marking and visiting regularly.
 
If you are interested in what eBike_Goodies has to offer below is some video footage showing the different designs available and the range of products and apparel they are on. Each video is less than a minute long so it won’t take up too much of your time, and a sample of designs includes:-

There are plans to keep expanding the range of eBike related designs so make sure you book mark eBike_Goodies and regularly check it out to see the ranges as they grow.


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 Many people seem to think the area of the UK where I live is totally flat, and there are no hills at all. Okay, a lot of the region is flat but there are some hills and some of them are quite nasty.
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I have never understood those cyclists who claim to “like” cycling up hills and since I have never enjoyed this I struggle to see where they are coming from. In fact, I am totally the opposite and hate hills and inclines with a passion and one of the primary reasons for me buying an electric bike was to make the hills a little easier and more bearable. Does using my Wisper 905 Torque electric bike do what I want it to when it comes to cycling up hills?
I thought the best way to answer this was to film a ride around one of my “hilly” routes, as below:-
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​The Wisper electric bike definitely does what I need it to and exceeds all of my expectations.

If you are thinking about buying an electric bike the Wisper 905 Torque is one I recommend you take a look at. There are a few small Wisper 905 stockists dotted around the UK however these are few and far between.  Halfords supplies (and also services) Wisper 905 Torque electric bikes and with branches all over the UK, as well as online, Halfords is the best bet - get the Wisper 905 here

​Due to unforeseen circumstances I had to take a break from cycling which ended up being several months, and everything has had to change and I have had to go electric. My current ride is a Wisper 905 Torque electric bike and I have to say it has been a life changing purchase. Below are a few short video clips about my Wisper 905 Torque electric bike you may find useful/interesting:-