Historic Court Ruling: It Decided How Much You Must Pedal with an E-Bike for It to Be Considered Assisted Cycling

We all know the phenomenon of e-bikes (often fat-tire types) that are modified in Europe, or even purchased already out of compliance with regulations, to exceed the maximum allowed speed or even accelerate without pedaling.

E-bikes in Europe should indeed be only for "assisted cycling," meaning the electric motor is used as support only when the rider is actually pedaling, and any assistance must be disabled once a speed of 25 km/h is reached. This is precisely the regulation that Dutch officers wanted to enforce when they saw a cyclist making "strange" pedaling movements on an e-bike, a model from the brand Pathfour.

Essentially, the owner was performing only half movements in a vertical sense, without executing a complete circular pedal stroke, and thus the e-bike was seized. However, the competent court wanted to clarify the matter and called in a technical expert, one Rutger Oldenhuis, to conduct an assessment and a complete evaluation of the vehicle.

After his analyses, the consultant determined that the e-bike in question adheres to the European speed limit and is not equipped with a throttle. To activate the assistance of the electric motor, it simply uses a cadence sensor, not a torque sensor. The latter measures the force applied to the pedals by the rider and thus activates the motor only if there is indeed prolonged effort. The cadence sensor, often used as a more economical solution, detects the movement of the pedals, even if this is exerted with limited force and not in a complete manner.

The expert concluded that the law (Dutch but roughly equivalent to European law) does not specify what can be defined as pedaling, whether a complete circular motion on the pedals or even just brief segments without completing a full 360° turn, and thus the seized e-bike actually complies with the regulation. As explained, even a muscle bike can advance by performing partial pedal movements; we have all experienced this. The court then ruled that the police should return the e-bike to the owner.

A ruling that will certainly generate discussion but clarifies how often the law has shortcomings and can be interpreted, even in good faith. For anyone interested in legal e-bikes with excellent performance, we refer you to our articles where we present discounts (sometimes huge) on carbon city e-bikes, fat bikes, and women’s e-bikes with remarkable autonomy:

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