Chinese fatbikes sold with code to remove limits to maximum speed: report

Dutch shops are selling Chinese fatbikes that can easily reach speeds of up to 45 kilometers per hour. The limiters installed to limit the bike’s speed to the legally permitted 25 km/h are easily removed with a code, often provided by the store selling the bikes, RTL Nieuws reports after buying and testing one such bike.

RTL’s research editor purchased V20Pro, a fatbike by the Chinese manufacturer QMWheel. The bicycle is relatively cheap, selling for around 1,000 euros. It comes with a sticker on the bike saying its maximum speed is 25 kilometers per hour.

But removing the limiter proved to be a piece of cake, and the bike easily reached speeds of over 40 kilometers per hour, RTL Nieuws wrote. The salesperson provided the code to remove the limiter and even explained how to do it—by using buttons and a screen on the handlebars. The limiter is just as easy and quick to turn back on if the rider is ever stopped by the police for a check.

Because fatbikes are sold as bicycles, children can buy and ride one without a driver’s license. Riders also don’t have to wear helmets. Earlier this year, doctors in the Netherlands raised concerns about how many people, including many children, get seriously hurt in accidents with fatbikes. They’re particularly worried that injuries often include brain injuries.

According to RTL, at least 40,000 QMwheel fatbikes have already been sold in Europe, and another 18 sea containers with some 3,500 fatbikes are currently on their way from China to the Netherlands. A quote in the broadcaster’s possession shows that the fatbikes are sold under false pretenses. The quote says they have a power of 750 watts and a maximum speed of 45 kilometers per hour, but it will have a sticker showing it has a 250-watt motor and a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour.

Paul Timmer, an independent technical engineer RTL had asked to assess the V20Pro it bought, called the bike dangerous. “I don’t understand why this is in the store and that young children can ride is. It is absurd that you can drive 40 to 45 kilometers per hour when you are 10, 12 years old. It is a life-threatening thing.”

Instead of a ban on performance enhancing kits, like the government is planning, TImmer advocates for certification of motor systems. “You have to inspect the engine system before it comes on the market. If an engine cannot go faster than 25 kilometers per hour, you cannot remove a limiter.”

Safe traffic association Veilig Verkeer Nederland wants to ban fatbikes altogether. “This isn’t even a bicycle,” the interest group told RTL Nieuws. “Parents have no idea what danger they are putting their children in.”