In principle, the German product safety law is applicable when the products are made available, displayed or used for the first time on the market in the context of a business activity (pursuant to section 1 (1), ProdSG). (...)
According to the repeated statement of Dirk Zedler from Zedler – Institut für Fahrradtechnik und -Sicherheit GmbH, "it is forbidden to sell a pedelec without CE-marking". In addition, it is stipulated to supply the product together with the user manual, as it is regarded as part of the product, a fact which is unfortunately often neglected by some bicycle dealers. (...)
CE-marking applies to the entire vehicle
The situation not only turns out to be problematic, when there is no CE-marking on the product. It becomes complicated when a loss occurs in spite of the CE-marking due to a component which was mounted later. That’s exactly the reason why ergonomic modifications of handlebars and stems on pedelecs must be carried out with utmost caution and by observing certain rules. "I advise in general against modifications and tinkering on pedelecs", warns Zedler. Handlebar or stem failure as a result of wrongly mounted parts is in this case a problem for the dealer. (...)
Lists should be made available by the manufacturers
There are, however, only a few dealers who are actually aware of the severe consequences arising from the modification of a pedelec. For this reason the dealers request from the manufacturers to make available more information on this issue. (...)
Dirk Zedler therefore speaks out in favour of a rethinking in the bicycle sector: He recommends that prior to every handlebar or stem modification the dealers should ask the manufacturer by writing whether these are suitable and have them approved by them. According to the expert another option would be that the manufacturers, just like in the automotive industry, offer original spare parts which are obligatory for dealers. "To date the world of bicycle could do whatever they wanted. But from now on that will not work any longer", says the expert. (…)
Author: Thomas Geisler
