VIDEO. These speedels go at 45 km/h: can we still call it a bicycle?

Biclu, episode 28 – “If you’re in a hurry or have a long straight ahead, you can drive at 45 km/h all the time without speeding up,” explains Pierre Puyot, director of the Stromer concept store. , showing off her shiny speedlocks.

Neither regular bicycles nor true electric mopeds, speedels, also called speed bikes, are electrically assisted, allowing their users to pedal at speeds of up to 45 km/h, compared to 25 km/h for classic electric-assisted bicycles.

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Helmet and registration required.

But such high speeds, according to Pierre Puyo, lead to “a little bit tougher legislation” than for bicycles. Unlike classic VAEs (power assisted bicycles), they are categorized as “mopeds” such as scooters and motorcycles with a 50cc engine. So no more bike lanes, dual carriageways or other bike-specific facilities: riding on the road is mandatory.

And to use the speedelek you also need to obtain a registration certificate, have insurance, wear an approved helmet and reinforced gloves. As for the car, a brake indicator and a rear view mirror are a must… Finally, from a budget perspective, expect between €4,000 and €10,000.

With around 1,000 cars sold a year in France today, speedels could become problematic if they hit our streets. Even if they are prohibited from riding on bike paths, it is increasingly common to see some flirtation with the law.

“Sometimes I use the bike paths.”

This is the case with Ivan, a bicycle delivery man with over 5 years of experience, who bought a speed bike a few years ago: “I avoid using bike lanes,” he explains, “he’s very serious,” but I’m not going to lie to you: I take them sometimes , especially on the Grands Boulevards.” According to him, there is no risk of coming into conflict with other users of the public road if you are careful and observe basic rules of decency on the road: “This is an attitude that needs to be adopted. Whether you’re riding an electric bike, a scooter, a Ferrari, any motorized vehicle or not, for that matter. »

Ivan rides his speedelk many hours a day to deliver goods, especially to La Défense. For him, Speedelec means huge time savings and, above all, increased safety: “Many motorists don’t even want to overtake me because they see that I’m going very fast. This is really a plus: one of the biggest risks for a cyclist is being overtaken very quickly by someone who scratches you and knocks you down. »

“It’s like combining a Formula 1 car with bicycles.”

According to Stijn Van Oosteren, spokesman for the Velo Ile-de-France collective, speedels are a good way to further decarbonise our city centers, but he believes they have absolutely no business on cycle paths: “It’s like putting a Formula car in.” 1 with bicycles: you immediately understand that at such different speeds there will be accidents. »

Even if he is against their presence on bike paths, Stein Van Oosteren still hopes to develop these machines to redirect motorists to more environmentally friendly modes of transport. And in order to sharply limit the risk of accidents between speedelectrics and cars on the roads, he recommends that everyone reduce the maximum speed in the city center to 30 km/h.

Stricter rules in France

A true niche market, the market and use of speedels in France is only documented in one long survey published in 2019. The co-author of this survey was Adrien Bajol, Research Manager at the 6-t design office.

For this thirty-year-old, there is nothing to indicate that speedels are any more dangerous than classic electric bikes: “Either they travel at about the same speed, which is possible in a city with a lot of traffic, or we don’t have enough data on these machines . »

For his part, he believes that the best way to develop this market is to create limited-speed bike lanes that everyone can ride on, if the speed limit is respected.

Unlike its European neighbors, France lags behind in the number of speeds in circulation. About 20,000 speed bikes are sold annually in Switzerland and 10,000 in Belgium.

The mistake lies in stricter rules, which may need to be harmonized in a few months: the European Commission is considering introducing a more flexible framework for the use of these powerful electric vehicles.