Four Dutch manufacturers to tackle illegally boosted fat bikes

A group of four fat bike manufacturers wants to prevent illegally boosted bicycles. Together, Brekr, Phatfour, Doppio, and Knaap will present a package of measures on next Tuesday – the Safe Fatbikes partnership. One of those measures is that all four will boycott a dealer selling illegally tuned bicycles.

Fat bikes, electric bicycles with fat tires, can reach a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour, which aligns with Dutch laws and regulations. However, they are regularly upgraded to make them faster – they can reach a speed of 60 kilometers per hour, sometimes even without pedaling. Unfortunately, this makes the bicycles less safe and increases the chance of injury in accidents.

Illegally upgraded

According to 2022 figures, more than half of all traffic victims in Amsterdam were on bicycles, and at least one of every ten bicycle victims was on an electric bicycle. According to the manufacturers, the government must ensure that sellers of all types of e-bikes stop importing and selling illegally upgraded bicycles.

The four manufacturers have agreed, among other things, that a bicycle dealer may no longer sell their bicycles if he receives a fine from the inspection for illegally marked e-bikes. And even if he is fined, he may no longer be allowed to sell bicycles from the four manufacturers involved.

The Cyclists’ Union believes that the agreements by the four fat bike manufacturers against boosted fat bikes are a good initiative, but it is not convinced that the agreements will make much difference in combating the upgrading of e-bikes.

The government must take action

“It is an agreement between manufacturers already doing the right thing. The crooked manufacturers are the problem.” According to the organization, the government must take action, and parents must say ‘no’ if their child wants an illegally upgraded bicycle. Moreover, tuning kits for e-bikes and fat bikes should be legally banned.

In the meantime, the government may consider possible plans for e-bikes: a minimum age of 16, the introduction of mandatory helmet use, and a ban on hardware and software for boosting bicycles. However, the manufacturers don’t want to hear about a helmet requirement for fat bikes.

Imported from Asia

Monitoring upgraded e-bikes appears to be more difficult than expected. The police have a roadside testing platform to check fat bikes and other electric vehicles, but often, the boosting system is already switched off before the police can catch the bike rider red-handed.

The Safe Fatbikes Netherlands association, therefore, wants the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) and customs to carry out stricter checks on illegal e-bikes. The fat bikes are often imported from Asia and are cheaper and easier to upgrade.

According to the Dutch manufacturers, this illegal import gives the fat bike industry a bad name. Also, the popular fat bikes are stolen so often that they can hardly be insured.

Like the Cyclists’ Union, Veilig Verkeer Nederland (VVN) does not expect the problem with upgraded fat bikes to be “completely solved” with the plans of four major Dutch fat bike manufacturers. “More enforcement is needed,” the organization says. The organization would like to see this group of bicycles form a separate category with its own rules.