Restricted Vs. De-restricted E-MTBs | What's The Difference?

Mr Limited plays by the rules, rides a restricted electric mountain bike, and drinks sensible beer. Mr Loose is a maverick, his bike goes twice as fast as Mr Limited's, and he drinks Jagerbombs like they're going out of fashion.

Should you de-restrict your E-Bike (this will void your warranty!)? We find out in this face-off with a series of challenges. Will Mr Loose persuade Mr Limited to let his hair down? Will Mr Limited convince Mr Loose to take his dongle off? Find out now⚡️

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[embn]

Do you de-restrict your ebike? let us know below.

[ccmp]

If the limit was raised to 20mph from 15mph, 70% plus of people who do derestrict their e-bikes wouldn’t feel the need to.

[Roxlimn]

I have both a 25 kph bike and an American 32 kph bike. The 32 kph limit is really much more reasonable. It's not faster than many fit cyclists will be able to do, and it's not mental enough that it'll break your chains or drain your batteries in one climb. It's really quite reasonable, even for bicycle paths.

[AleksandarGospic]

I don't mind restriction, but it should be 32kph like in US and not 25kph, like it is in nonsense bureaucracy driven Europe. I get the point of the video, and it is true for the trails, but it is impossible to ride trails only and many of us are XC riders. In my country where bike trails are almost non existent and are nowhere near me, I ride mostly on fire and asphalt roads and 25 limit is just killer on the asphalt. If I could reprogram my bike to 30kph limit I'd rather do that than completely de-restrict it

[likeher]

If you're going to limit these bikes for Any reason, and rightly or wrongly. The speed should be set at around 20mph. The sweet spot just riding gently along, on fire roads, lanes, or lovely little country XC leisure tracks is 16 - 19 mph. That wall, dragging back, pulling a dead 🐖 feeling is just not conducive to an enjoyable riding experience. Me and My wife have Electric folding ebikes, She does not want to, or even like going fast, We only go from tea rooms to tea rooms in the beautiful countryside, but the riding experience since I de-restricting these bikes is now so liberated, and enjoyable! And that for just being 2-3mph more with no wall. With a 7-15amp speed controller, and 250watt motor. You don't need the wall/limiter, they're pretty much dialed in at around 17-20mph, and near their max capability anyhow.

I might just add, I've built a eMTB that has a top speed of 40mph and 130mile range with regenerative braking. And I also have just purchased a Haibike Xduro Allmtn 2.0 2019. The home build doesn't need to go 40mph, but the Haibike does need to go 20mph to achieve the perfect sweet spot. I mostly agree with you Steve, but you're 2-3 mph short! And it is not about going silly fast, it's about the bike feeling (just about right)!

[neilevans]

To be honest they need to up the speed to 20mph as 15 is too slow

[DjCyaneyed]

most cyclists are way faster than 15mph anyway, think the 15mph rule is pretty wierd

[tomquimby]

hitting the limit wall is a pain, Derestricting makes the bike a joy to ride. it's not about speed but more about making the bike feel natural in a powered way. no wall, just limited by the chainring setup and cadence you can sustain. as for the law it comes down to being sensible - slow down near anybody else - bike or pedestrians on trails. on the road I get smoked by road bikes riding non powered so why the law?

[denleytarplett]

Its a pity your regulations restrict you to 25kph. In New Zealand we're allowed 32kph, which is a real good speed. You notice this on single tracks when you have a short down slope and a climb out the extra few kph makes a big difference allowing to power up and out . On the 25kph it was like riding along towing a concrete block behind you.

[gilbelgrove]

If the Bosch motor just stopped assisting at 15 mph instead of feeling like riding through sand then de restriction wouldn’t be necessary,
The experience without the restriction if used sensibly is so much better

[madmark]

I've Deristricted my cube and it makes riding far more fun, I'm 55 and just don't want the drag after 15.5mph.
When I'm out on my rides I probably only use the Deristriction for about 5% of the ride.
There really is no difference in battery usage.
BEST UPGRADE TO EMTB
Personal has to make 😎

[Paulmac]

This video gives the impression that deristricting an ebike makes it more powerful.
It doesn't, they are still both exactly the same, so one would not be lofting the front wheel over the other.
I can see what the video is trying to say, but come on guys it's bogus.

[marty]

Blevo 50km/h , 36T chainring, ready to go almost no difference on battery draw 100% better ride more power when you need it especialy in downhill sections and flat surface also in windy weather. Slow down in crowded areas and u have no single problem. Common sense over stupid rules 25km/h is just too early for cut off .

[eddiekatz]

derestriction is only good when youre riding on a flat surface with reasonable traction like roads (to and from work maybe), and for those times on the singletrack when youre hitting the 25 km/h limit (again, mostly on flat sections, it doesnt happen that much), but when it does, it makes you feel like everything is harder because you have to pedal a ~23 kg bike on your own, a 30-32 km/h cutoff would of been perfect for these situations because you rarely go faster on the singletrack when no gravity assist is involved, thats why derestricting helps a lot, not so much for the speed, but more for the power you dont loose when hitting that 25 km/h limit in the forest.

[racepnd]

Although I don’t agree with derestricting EMTB I do think 15mph is a bit slow. In North America the limit is 32kph approximately 19.88mph and I don’t think it causes much problem as most normal bikes can go way over that with a fit rider on-board.

[vandazler]

The whole point of this really is that we in the UK do not want our authoritarian big brother wanker rulers to class e bikes as full on powered vehicles and try to squeeze even more money out of us with extra tax and insurance levies, so we must respect the law. The extra power boost isn’t necessary when on the trails but on the road getting there it comes in handy, especially with the Bosch motor which throws out the anchors when you hit the very limited 25 kph limit. The theory goes that if we hit a pedestrian we will do them far more harm because of the added weight of the e bike. . If a heavyweight rider loses control of a non e bike flying down a hill and his puny brakes fail, and he kills a pedestrian it’s ok though, and is classed as an accident. Go figure!
The law needs changing to reflect the advancement of technology, especially the advancement of the braking systems on modern e bikes.

[YorkshireEmtb]

The only motor that needs de restriction is the Bosch, once you hit the limit, it's like riding through mud,

[likeher]

This has nothing to do with safety, or anything else for that matter apart from this. The 15mph is a result ( in Europe) of the motorbike lobby objecting to 30mph Ebikes. Think of it, if these Ebikes legally could go 30mph, with no road tax, licence, and insurance! Then how many mopeds, and small motorbikes would they sell? Remember, a strapping 12 year old can buy a road bike, then immediately do 30mph + on this bike! With no experience, no road sence, no maturity, and no understanding of the rules of the roads. And then there's Me, full motorbike and car license for 40years, tons of experience, maturity - possibly!! And total understanding of the highway code. And I'm only allowed to do 15.5mph assisted. Remember, assisted or unassisted, 30mph is 30mph! Which one of the two examples above would you think should be trusted on our roads doing Give Me a minute here, I nearly had it then!

[rikaustin]

I loved my bike. But after installing blevo it's 10x better

[Dale-sjru]

What I'd like to see is staggered restrictions, for example Eco restricted to 35 km/hr, Trail restricted to 30 km/hr and Boost restricted to 25 km/hr. It would be nice to have no drag when you are on the downhill flow sections that have a bit of up and pedally flat sections. Just trying to maintain your current speed is murder on a big heavy e-bike with the motor drag. Having eco mode or just enough to counter the drag would be really nice.