500w insurance

[johnthunder]

Insurance Related

Hi I am new to owning an EMTB and decided to buy something a little expensive for what I needed but thought why not it will last and help me get fit.

I bought myself a Specialized Turbo Levo Comp Alloy.
I doubt I will get the full use from it but thought I will get a really good bike with good shocks etc to assist with my spine issues.

The problem I am having is finding insurance for a 500w bike as most are for 250w, does anyone have any ideas on what I should be doing, I want to make sure the bike is well covered and it will probably be ridden mostly off road and hardly left alone, but there's always a chance it may go missing.

Any advice from an owner would be greatly recieved.

Thanks

 

[SquireRides]

You're in the UK, right? You dont need to disclosure the wattage usually. It's just a normal UK/EU road legal e-pedelec.

There's some confusion about regulation. Legal pedelecs (like Turbo Levos) are 'nominally' 250W, but peak wattage can temporarily be much higher. The EU/UK regulations (and presumably insurers) care about the nominal wattage.

Are you on th ephone to insureres and telling them it's 500w? (then I can see the problem - they want to tick a box saying its UK/EU legal, 250w nominal).
Or is this a common question in online forms?

 

[spicker]

The Brose Mag S is a 250W motor. Product

 

[johnthunder]

You're in the UK, right? You dont need to disclosure the wattage usually. It's just a normal UK/EU road legal e-pedelec.

There's some confusion about regulation. Legal pedelecs (like Turbo Levos) are 'nominally' 250W, but peak wattage can temporarily be much higher. The EU/UK regulations (and presumably insurers) care about the nominal wattage.

Are you on th ephone to insureres and telling them it's 500w? (then I can see the problem - they want to tick a box saying its UK/EU legal, 250w nominal).
Or is this a common question in online forms?

Yes UK based

So far I have been looking at online sales so yes its just a notification that pops up so I have not mentioned anything and yes I agree that the bike is probably hitting 250w until i hit that turbo mode and I think the bike is limited to 15mph, I just wanted to be sure so that I was insured, mainly if it got nicked more than anything.

Its a lot of bike to go missing just because I didnt do the right thing if you know what I mean.

I want to use it mainly offroad anyway.

 

[johnthunder]

The Brose Mag S is a 250W motor. Product

Hmm I suppose its just the MasterMind Turbo Control Unit that give it the ooompf then, whatever that is.

 

[Nicho]

Yes UK based

So far I have been looking at online sales so yes its just a notification that pops up so I have not mentioned anything and yes I agree that the bike is probably hitting 250w until i hit that turbo mode and I think the bike is limited to 15mph, I just wanted to be sure so that I was insured, mainly if it got nicked more than anything.

Its a lot of bike to go missing just because I didnt do the right thing if you know what I mean.

I want to use it mainly offroad anyway.

If you follow posts about thefts of EMTBs on this forum you will find that most of them occur at home, from garages and sheds, although some people do get attacked and have their bike stolen when out on rides!

It is well known that criminals hang about at trail centres and either follow people home or put a cheap tracker on their cars to find out where they live, then break in at their convenience with a cordless angle grinder.

Most specialist cycle policies will insist that you secure your bike at home with a "Sold Secure Gold" ground anchor, chain and lock. They also specify how they must be secured in/on your car and when the bike is left unattended, i.e. outside shops/ cafes.

Specialist cycle insurance will protect you and your bike in all these situations, whether on or off road, and will include accidental damage to you, your bike, and accessories, including helmet and clothing.

 

[johnthunder]

If you follow posts about thefts of EMTBs on this forum you will find that most of them occur at home, from garages and sheds, although some people do get attacked and have their bike stolen when out on rides!

It is well known that criminals hang about at trail centres and either follow people home or put a cheap tracker on their cars to find out where they live, then break in at their convenience with a cordless angle grinder.

Most specialist cycle policies will insist that you secure your bike at home with a "Sold Secure Gold" ground anchor, chain and lock. They also specify how they must be secured in/on your car and when the bike is left unattended, i.e. outside shops/ cafes.

Specialist cycle insurance will protect you and your bike in all these situations, whether on or off road, and will include accidental damage to you, your bike, and accessories, including helmet and clothing.

I do plan on keeping the bike in the house locked in a room with a lock securing it to a wall following all the guidlines as close as possible, transport will be via van so it will be away from prying eyes most of the time and I will lock it to the van body too and keep covered with a blanket so it cant be seen.

I will mostly ride it locally which is in a nice area but still has the possibilties of bike bandits, I guess once they see something nice n shiny the creep out from under the rocks where they live.
Kinda wished I bought the black one now, this blue stands out loads

 

[Ark]

The problem I am having is finding insurance for a 500w bike as most are for 250w

It's not the wattage of the battery they are asking for. it's the wattage of the motor!

Giant/Yamaha
Shimano
Specialised/Brose
Bosch
TQ
Fasua
in the UK they are all 250 watt or lower rated. else they would be illegal for use other than on private property and no reputable cycle shops would be selling them.
yea the peak output is a lot higher than 250watt but the continuous output is 250watt or they wouldn't be road legal.
Only the bafang etc motors you add to regular bikes will be over 250watt

 

[johnthunder]

It's not the wattage of the battery they are asking for. it's the wattage of the motor!

Giant/Yamaha
Shimano
Specialised/Brose
Bosch
TQ
Fasua
in the UK they are all 250 watt or lower rated. else they would be illegal for use other than on private property and no reputable cycle shops would be selling them.
yea the peak output is a lot higher than 250watt but the continuous output is 250watt or they wouldn't be road legal.
Only the bafang etc motors you add to regular bikes will be over 250watt

Yeah I know its not the battery as that 700w I was just checking as the site states 500+ watts which like you say is the peak power, I think I feel a bit more happier now buying the insurance when that notification pops up.

 

[Growmac]

As has been said, all legal UK pedal-assist bikes are 250W nominal. That's all your insurer is asking.

 

[SquireRides]

FUN FACT: My first stolen bike was in the OP's home county, when I was at Warwick Uni. Trek 830, with lots of aftermarket blue anodized bits and a Flight Ti saddle (guess the decade). It was 'secured' in the bike racks with a thick cable lock, but yeah just a cable lock. Insurance allowed me to upgrade to a GT LTS3

 

[BIG-DUKE-6]

Here’s something a lot of people might not know about.
Chains are measured in different grades . The grade you find at the hardware store is usually a grade 30. Tie down chains for truckers are around 50. Now for crane rigging, that’s grade 100 ! That grade will eat grinder wheels like it’s popcorn . Match that up with a Abus Granit padlock and your GTG. Your local rigging supply can cut the chain to length +/- $5.00 ft

 

[Ark]

Here’s something a lot of people might not know about.
Chains are measured in different grades . The grade you find at the hardware store is usually a grade 30. Tie down chains for truckers are around 50. Now for crane rigging, that’s grade 100 ! That grade will eat grinder wheels like it’s popcorn . Match that up with a Abus Granit padlock and your GTG. Your local rigging supply can cut the chain to length +/- $5.00 ft

How easy are they to cut with an angle grinder though, cos that's what everyone uses around here.
let's face it too Ebikes are so expensive you could just cut through the frame/wheel and sell it in parts.

stick motor on ebay for 500 etc, battery 600+ probably easy money

probably even worth to just drop the motor and run sell the internals separately and still make a lot of money

 

[BIG-DUKE-6]

True.

 

[Growmac]

How easy are they to cut with an angle grinder though, cos that's what everyone uses around here.
let's face it too Ebikes are so expensive you could just cut through the frame/wheel and sell it in parts.

stick motor on ebay for 500 etc, battery 600+ probably easy money

probably even worth to just drop the motor and run sell the internals separately and still make a lot of money

Yeah, when I was replacing my chains and anchors after a burglary I was advised by the specialists not to go for anything heavier than 13 mm 'gold' chain (here). I've got two lengths tied to these ground anchors. The bigger stuff is harder to cut through, but so heavy it can damage the bikes (the 13 mm is already impressively heavy), and with valuable bikes they'll just cut the frame anyway.

 

[nwood]

Does anyone have any insurance recommendations for the USA?