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Under EU law, an electric bicycle is a bicycle equipped with an electric motor with a power of up to 250W and a maximum speed up to which the electric motor will provide support limited to 25km/h - such bicycles are treated as conventional bicycles and may be used on footpaths and in general traffic, subject to the rules for the use of conventional bicycles.
If a bicycle's power and top speed exceed the above parameters, it is legally considered to be a motorcycle or moped with an electric motor and subject to different rules of use.
The power of the motor is controlled by pedals and sensors - the more force you apply to the pedals, the more support the motor will give you. On some bike models, the motor power control is manual and the bike works like a motorbike or scooter.
The most popular electric bicycle designs are those with the motor integrated into the rear wheel hub (hereafter "Hub-motor") and those with the motor integrated into the crank-pedal mechanism (hereafter "Mid-motor")
Advantages of Hub-motor bikes: relatively simple construction, few moving parts, quiet operation
Disadvantages of Hub-motor bikes: Unbalanced centre of gravity affecting handling, increased load on the rear wheel and spokes, slightly "jittery" sensors, limited gear shifting solutions, more suitable for urban environments than for forest trails or mountain rides
Mid-motor bike advantages: Intuitive operation, wide gear shift range, balanced centre of gravity and good handling, suitable for all road surfaces and uses
Disadvantages of mid-motor bikes: more expensive than hub-motor bikes, slightly heavier than hub-motor bikes.
Despite the rather significant price and cost differences, the world's leading brands Bosch and Shimano, which account for around 90% of the electric bicycle market, prefer the Mid-motor design.