The Bicycle Association register of safety-audited e-bike brands

Many users and potential purchasers of e-bikes have been understandably concerned about media reports around lithium battery fires attributed to e-bikes. However there is strong evidence that e-bikes from reputable brands, sold by responsible retailers and not tampered-with or otherwise abused, are very safe products indeed.

Reputable brands conduct extensive safety testing to well proven international standards to ensure that their e-bikes, batteries and chargers are safe and in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations - not only as separate components, but also as a complete, compatible system.  Furthermore, they put quality processes in place to ensure that this evidence-backed level of safety is sustained in manufacture, transport and retail.

To help potential purchasers and users to identify e-bike brands which meet these safety responsibilities, the Bicycle Association has set up this register of safety-audited brands.

As outlined below, the audit checks that the brand's testing, quality processes and other aspects of their operation which might affect e-bike safety are satisfactory - meeting all legal obligations for product safety and also industry expectations. Only brands which meet the audit requirements are listed.

The audit involves a site visit by the Bicycle Association's auditor to the UK manufacturer or importer of the e-bikes, and uses a standard template to evaluate the brand's compliance. This includes checking for:

• Evidence of the brand having procedures in place ensuring each e-bike model is in full and proper compliance with product safety requirements, specifically the conformity assessement required for UKCA or CE marking under Machinery, EMC, RoHS and any other relevant product safety legislation.
• Evidence of standards-based testing being carried out and correctly evidenced, to appropriate and up to date international standards, for the brand's e-bikes and battery systems. Typically this will be to the standard BS EN15194 for e-bikes, and BS EN 50604 for battery packs.
• Evidence that all e-bikes meet the definition of Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (i.e. are road-legal e-bikes for the UK).
• Evidence of safe compatibility between the e-bike, battery pack & charger
• Evidence that appropriate measures to maintain battery performance and safety are taken whilst the e-bikes / batteries are in the organisation’s custody.
• Review of battery safety, charging and maintenance information provided to consumers.
• Verification of the brand's compliance with Producer Responsibility regulations as applicable - for example to ensure that they fulfil their obligations for the safe collection and disposal of end of life battery packs.
• Review of safety-relevant quality processes including supply chain measures, failure/warranty reporting and investigation procedures, recall procedure preparedness.

The audit will be organised in five main modules:

1. Operational controls
2. Quality Management System
3. Technical files
4. Product assessment
5. Site safety

The audit is designed to be pragmatic and flexible, so where an organization already holds relevant and currently valid third party audit reports; accreditations; certificates or test reports which cover one or more aspect of the audit content, we will accept those as sufficient, for the aspects within their scope. So for example, the audit would consider:

• ISO 9001:2015 Quality management systems
• ISO 14001 Environmental management
• ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems
• BRC Consumer Products Standards: Global Standard for Consumer Products – General Merchandise
• Recognised GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) audit
• Third party audit company certification and reports e.g. Intertek Supplier Qualification Program (SQP)
• For e-bike drive systems: evidence of the exclusive use of complete battery and drive systems for which credible third party certification is available.
• A suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment for the premises in compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (or equivalent legislation in Scotland and Northern Ireland)
• Insurance company site report (covering battery safety aspects)
• Other relevant, credible certification or evidence will be considered on a case by case basis.

In the first phase of the audit scheme the Bicycle Association will commission one of its associate contractors, a qualified auditor and highly experienced industry compliance expert, to carry out the audits. This will enable us to implement it swiftly, to provide extra consumer confidence in the brands which are listed on the register as swiftly as possible.

However, we intend that fully external oversight of this auditing scheme will be put in place as soon as possible after the start-up phase. This is likely to take the form of an "audit of the audit" conducted by an officially recognised certification body.

The audit is conducted to a standard template, so that it is as objective as possible.

There is no need for companies to be members of the Bicycle Asssociation to apply to be audited and, if successful, listed on the register.

The audit scheme and register will be open to all brands supplying e-bikes to the UK. There is no requirement to be a BA member company.

Please just contact the Bicycle Association. We will provide you with full information about participation and the audit requirements, and an outline of costs, as soon as possible.

This audit scheme and register provides assurance that when audited, a brand's quality processes were independently examined and judged to be fit for purpose to produce safe e-bikes, according to legal requirements and industry good practice.

This should give potential customers and users of these bikes a high level of confidence that when used in accordance with the instructions, e-bikes from this brand will be very safe.

Please note that this audit examines the safety and quality processes behind the supply of new e-bikes from the listed brands. So it cannot make any statement about the current safety of (any) used e-bikes. While e-bikes from a listed brand which are used and maintained in accordance with the instructions can be expected to have a long and safe service life, the proper use and maintenance of the e-bike when it is in use is beyond the supplier's control, and must primarily be the e-bike owner's responsibility.

In the first phase of this scheme there are no stickers or logos available to identify e-bikes from listed brands. All e-bikes from these brands will have labelling which clearly identifes the brand already on them.

We suggest that if e.g. a landlord wishes to be reassured about a particular e-bike brand, you simply provide the link to this register page on the Bicycle Association website, where they can check the register of safety-audited brands for themselves.

We are already looking into how this scheme may develop in future to, for example, reassure landlords and insurers that e-bikes from responsible brands should not have access to premises restricted. We hope to co-design the next phase of the scheme with the insurance industry, so that real progress can be made to lifting restrictions on reputable e-bikes.

The first phase of this audit and register scheme is intended for brands supplying complete e-bikes. These brands take responsibility for the safety of all aspects of the e-bike, and the checks in the audit process reflect this.

As e-bike conversion kits are components of e-bikes, rather than complete products, their suppliers cannot evidence safety of the final e-bike. For example, a kit could be fitted to a bike which does not have adequate brakes or fork strength. We outline some of the issues around e-bike conversion kits which consumers should be aware of in this BA Guide.

Nonetheless, we recognise that e-bike conversion kits have become established in the UK market, and that when it comes to the specific issue of fire safety, a complete e-bike conversion kit would include the most fire safety relevant components. We are exploring, in dialogue with the UK product safety regulator OPSS, how suppliers of complete e-bike conversion kits might be included in a future phase of this scheme, so that potential customers can be directed towards conversion kit suppliers whose products are as safe as possible.

Please contact us!

Thank you very much for reporting any misuse of this register.

This web page on the BA website is the only definitive copy of this register.

Sorry, no, we cannot enter into any such correspondence.

Please discuss any issues directly with the company concerned, and if that does not result in a satisfactory outcome, we recommend checking this guidance from Citizen's Advice about your rights and options.