MP proposes law to ban sale of illegal e-bikes
PA MediaAn MP has forward a proposed law to ban the sale of illegal e-bikes and conversion kits.
Carlisle's Julie Minns said "nowhere is free" from those which can be adapted to exceed the legal UK speed limit of 15.5mph (24.9km/h).
"It is about stopping the sale of illegal e-bikes and the kits that turn ordinary, everyday pedal bikes into illegal monster bikes," she told the House of Commons.
The government has been approached for comment.
Speaking on Tuesday, the Labour MP said people felt unsafe in parks, residential streets and the city centre due to the "menace" of speeding e-bikes.
She has put forward a proposed law to ban the sale of illegal e-bikes and conversion kits "to stop the problem at source".
Last year, Cumbria Police warned riders that the illegal use of e-bikes and scooters would lead to them being confiscated and crushed.
'Dangerously high speeds'
Minns said e-bikes that were legal were "a force for good" making journeys cleaner, better for public health and congestion.
But she said it was a "sad reality" that illegal e-bikes were reaching "dangerously high speeds" on the streets.
She said a bike seized and tested in recent weeks in her constituency was capable of doing 37mph (60km/h).
"These are not minor issues," she said. "These are illegal vehicles that can, and do, kill."
She added the bikes had become a "menace" not only to the streets of Carlisle but in communities across the UK.
Last year, a woman from Carlisle told how her life had been changed forever after she was hit by an e-bike in 2023.
If approved, Minns said the law would be "targeted and proportionate" allowing the sale and enjoyment of legal e-bikes, but shutting down the sale and marketing of illegal "monster bikes" and the kits used to create them.