European electric bicycle sales continue to grow spectacularly. Also, new types, such as speed pedelecs or electric mountain bikes, are conquering the market. These developments crank up discussions on rules and regulations. How should these vehicles be categorized? Which technical regulations apply? What are the terms of use, for instance when it comes to helmets, insurance or their place on the road? How to assess the quality of these new vehicles?

At Eurobike, Bike Europe and AVERE organize a lunch meeting in which all the above questions will be dealt with.

On 31^st December, the transitional period between the old and new type-approval system finishes. As of 1^st January 2017, only the new type-approval system may be applied. AVERE Light Electric Vehicle Policy Manager Annick Roetynck will explain the details of the new type-approval system for electric bicycles, the terms of use that result from it and how the legislation may affect your business.

Bram Rotthier, PhD student at the Belgian university KU Leuven is half way through the research for his PhD. He analyses the technical performance of speed pedelecs, how commuters experience the use of the vehicle, as well as potential safety risks involved in that use. He will present the preliminary findings of his research.

Other researchers at the KU Leuven found that the quality of electric bicycles leaves room for improvement. In the framework of the TGVelo project, they carried out 2 years of research and testing in cooperation with 26 partners from the Flemish bicycle industry, consumer organizations and companies using pedelec fleets. This resulted in the TGVelo quality label for pedelecs, which offers a standardized and objective approach to compare pedelec quality. With TGV Velo, KU Leuven provides both fleet procurers and consumers with a framework to assess the quality of electric bikes, whilst also offering testing services. Jeroen De Maeyer will spell out all the details.

Last point on the agenda is a brief introduction to the European funded REE4EU project. Researchers from various European institutes are looking into the possibilities of recovering Rare Earth Elements, such as neodymium and dysprosium, from a variety of product groups one of which is electric bicycles. At the same time, they are developing a process to recycle and reuse this recovered REE. AVERE is carrying out a market analysis of the potential in the electric bicycle business. Annick Roetynck will tell you more about this project.

Bike Europe Editor-in-Chief Jack Oortwijn will be the moderator of this lunch meeting, which takes place on Thursday 1^st September from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Conference Center East. There will be sandwiches, hot and cold drinks available.

Participants need to register for this meeting at the following website: http://conta.cc/2a0FYDZ.

The participation fee is € 80 (incl. VAT). Participants who have a subscription to Bike Europe pay € 40, whilst participants in the AVERE Light Electric Vehicle Task Force can attend for free.

You can subscribe to Bike Europe here: http://www.bike-eu.com/subscribe Further information on the AVERE Light Electric Vehicle Task Force is here: https://averelev.wordpress.com/join-avere-lev-tf/