City has to watch

Czech provider lets e-bikes race illegally

There are more and more e-mopeds on Vienna's roads and cycle paths.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Christoph Engelmaier, zVg)

Pimped-up e-bikes have become a danger on Vienna's cycle paths. They are also a thorn in the side of the city. But it has no means of dealing with them.

Vienna's cycle paths are getting crowded. An increasing number of unmarked e-mopeds, which often travel far too fast, are also contributing to this. The city therefore wants to prohibit their use on cycle paths. However, only the federal government can change this - as we reported. But there is another problem: the ever-increasing average speeds of e-bikes. This is because a large number of "tuning modules" or "tuning kits" are now available to allow e-vehicles to (temporarily) speed up.

The supplier openly advertises in bike stores that the speed limit of 25 km/h can be lifted.(Bild: zVg)

A Czech provider offers tuning chips to bike stores (see excerpt). Brazen: the model was even offered to the city's mobility agency! However, the use of accelerators is illegal on the roads. Theoretically, you are only allowed to ride them on private property.

In response to an inquiry from Krone, the provider SpeedBox said: "Customers are informed with every tuning product that the operation of such modified eBikes on the road may be contrary to the laws applicable in some countries." No responsibility is accepted for damage, it says. 

The office of Transport Councillor Ulli Sima (SPÖ) is now calling on the federal government to quickly introduce new testing standards in order to be able to check and identify pimped-up vehicles. There are currently no suitable methods for checking the actual engine power of an e-vehicle.