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Activate Cycle Academy delivers five-day bespoke training course to the Metropolitan Police on e-bike ID-ing and safety
Posted on 24 Mar 2025
Six officers from the Metropolitan Police visited Activate Cycle Academy at City of Oxford College and University Centre’s Technology Campus in Blackbird Leys from Monday 17-Friday 21 March for the specialist training course.
The course is a response to concerns over the growth of illegal, unchipped bikes in the UK, which can often travel over 30mph rather than the legal standard of 15.5mph and have a high fire risk due to the use of cheap, imported batteries.
Officers were given training to quickly identify non-compliant e-bikes and to safely handle and store these illegal vehicles. The course is based on the Cycle Maintenance courses by the internationally recognised training accreditation scheme for cycle technicians, Cytech.
Activate Cycle Academy is the leading training organisation authorised by the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT) to deliver its range of Cytech technical training courses.
The six officers received basic cycle maintenance training along with in-depth training about e-bike motors, their batteries and the rules of riding an electric bike, including the difference between a compliant and non-compliant Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle (EAPC).
Health and safety was also a key component of the training, with officers learning the correct way to identify and examine e-motorcycles to help prevent personal injury, and how to safely store confiscated bikes to mitigate potential battery fire risk.
The course delivered both Cytech Technical One and the Technical E-bike Certification, meeting all health and safety and employer liability insurance requirements.
Matthew Grant, Head of Sales at Activate Cycle Academy, said: “Recent news stories have highlighted the many issues surrounding the use of illegally modified e-motorbikes for crimes such as robbery and mobile phone snatching around the streets of our major towns and cities.
“It’s been a pleasure to work with the Metropolitan Police to deliver this training, to help educate them on the many differences between illegal e-motorbikes and regular EAPC compliant e-bikes and to enable them to safely tackle the rising number of these modified bikes being ridden around London.”
Sgt Mike Daly from the Metropolitan Police Cycle Safety Team, said: “This course has provided detailed knowledge and practical experience of legal electrically assisted pedal cycles, as well as those made illegal by adaptations.
“The training will help police safely identify and examine illegal e-bikes so that more of them can be removed from the streets of London, which should in turn help reduce associated crimes such as phone theft, improve road safety, and assist in the investigation of serious and fatal collisions.”
Jonathan Harrison, Director of the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT), said: “E-bikes are a fantastic, healthy, and sustainable mode of transport, and it’s crucial that we continue to educate both consumers and the media about their many benefits.
“At the ACT, we are working hard to ensure clear distinctions are made between legal e-bikes and non-compliant vehicles, helping to protect both riders and the wider public.
“It’s great to see our longest-standing Cytech training provider, Activate Cycle Academy, delivering this training to the Metropolitan Police, equipping officers with the skills needed to identify and safely handle illegal e-bikes.”