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A comment on A Tour of a Whole Country That Has 'Transformed Itself for Cycling'. Parent comment

Re:A Tour of a Whole Country That Has 'Transformed Itself fo... by thomasnno on Saturday October 26, 2013 @10:55AM (#6617575)
Please note that if you add a small electric motor to your bike and use that as a help getting up hills, you can bike mostly anywhere, flat or not.
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Re:A Tour of a Whole Country That Has 'Transformed Itself fo... by rwmj on Saturday October 26, 2013 @11:37AM (#6617710)
I'm someone else who would love to cycle, but live in a very hilly area ...

Some problems with this: Electric bikes are expensive (like £2000 vs £200). UK Government regulations make the status of electric bikes dubious, particularly the more powerful ones needed to ride up hills. If no one else can afford to cycle or is allowed to cycle, this prevents a mass of cyclists which would make the road a bit safer.

I'd really love for there to be both government will and a solution to the price problem here.

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Re:A Tour of a Whole Country That Has 'Transformed Itself fo... by ronaldx on Saturday October 26, 2013 @11:42AM (#6617728)
A mayor-supported electric bike hire scheme for Muswell Hill in London suggests that they're legally ok: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24651760
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Re:A Tour of a Whole Country That Has 'Transformed Itself fo... by rwmj on Saturday October 26, 2013 @12:57PM (#6618083)
No, the laws on higher powered electric bicycles are not clear:

http://www.atob.org.uk/electric-bikes/electric-bike-legislat...

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/electric-bikes-and-the...

(Edit, better link)

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