Hit a snag

My new e-bike needs to be registered as a Speed Bike in France and has to carry a registration plate on its rear. I sent the necessary paperwork off the day after it was delivered – uploaded it on line actually, it’s a good system – and soon after received an acknowledgement and the news that it was being processed.

Then it went quiet, until two days ago when I received a message saying that my paperwork was incomplete and that a declaration of conformity was required. I thought that I’d sent a copy of the necessary CE certification, as had been provided to me by the seller, but it seemed that this was not enough. So yesterday I began to investigate and my searches initially came across the following web site which gave the clue as to what was required.

levelomad certificats

So I dashed off messages to both the supplier of my bike and Dakeya in China and it soon transpired that neither could supply any such document. This I found to be somewhat surprising, because it means that none of the bikes that they are currently supplying into Europe can be used legally on public roads and anyone doing so would be subject to stiff penalties.

But it’s more complicated than that. The two Dakeya models, the DA06 that I have and the DA03 that has rear suspension, in common with all similar high power bikes with a top speed exceeding 25 kmh, are not subject to the same legislation as standard e-bikes. Instead they are subject to cyclomoteur legislation.

I therefore embarked on a quite lengthy project to delve into the legislative requirements and firstly found that Dakeya, as well as needing to have a ‘Certificat d’Homologation’ for the bikes they are selling in Europe, also need to make certain small changes to the bike kits they are sending out in order to allow them to conform when they do have one. I then went on to review the legislation and the legislative requirements and created a ‘certificat’ for them which I believe will meet the standards set by the authorities.

I’ve sent it to Dakeya in China together with the list of modifications they need to make to their kits in order for them to conform and am now awaiting a reply. This isn’t just about being charitable because I need this paperwork to register my bike and I’ve asked them to stamp and sign the document I’ve sent and email it back to me.

On the other hand, they need it for all the bikes they are selling into Europe to be ridden legally on public roads so it would be worth quite a bit to them and I’ve suggested that if my proposed certificate does meet the requirements of the authorities, they might like to consider compensating me for the time and effort I’ve put into it 😐