The Rise of Illegal Electric Bicycles in Kabukicho

Electric bicycles are all the rage now in the nightlife district of Kabukicho, Shinjuku. At night, a large number of large electric bicycles are parked on the street, and more than 100 bicycles can be seen in a few hours.

While ordinary electric bicycles are fine, the problem with these bicycles is that they are as fast as mopeds.

Fashionable electric bicycles are more expensive than bicycles that are commonly sold, and the most mainstream bicycles cost about 330,000 yen, depending on the manufacturer.

These electric bicycles are also called e-bikes and are sold separately from electric scooters.

They are different from other manufacturers in that they can be customized with special seats, lights, and other custom parts, making it possible to create an original bicycle.

However, there is a problem with this bicycle. That is speed.

We spoke with Yusuke Yamano (X-account @yamanoyy), an expert on electric bicycles.

“In Japan, electric bicycles are required to have limiters installed, as they are not allowed to provide electric assistance at speeds exceeding 24 km/h, according to the standards of the Road Traffic Law. However, some electric bicycles produced overseas, designed for private road use, may not originally come with limiters, or they can easily have limiters removed through app integration or the introduction of external components.

Japanese-made electric bicycles typically have models with a motor rated output of 240W. Even if a motor with higher power is installed, it would be essentially futile due to the standards of the Road Traffic Law. In contrast, electric bicycles from overseas often have models with a rated output of 500W or 750W, comparable to motorcycles.

In a state without a limiter, operating a high-power motor at full capacity can easily achieve speeds of 50-60 km/h. While this is a violation of road traffic laws, these bicycles, with their appearance resembling regular bicycles, are challenging to detect, and many such bicycles can be seen even in Tokyo.” 

In Japan, the assist power must be 1:2 in relation to the ratio of pedaling by a person. The Road Traffic Law also stipulates that bicycles cannot be ridden without pedaling, and that the power of the assist decreases after 10 km/h, and the ratio of assist to pedal power reaches zero at 24 km/h.

However, in Kabukicho, there are bicycles with illegal assist ratios that can reach speeds of 20 to 30 km/h with just a light foot on the pedals.

Most of the people riding such dangerous bicycles are catchers.