RIDE’S month in bikes
THE LAW ON bike kit has changed. From April 21, any gear sold as motorcycle apparel is classed as personal protective equipment (PPE) so has to meet a quality standard and get a CE mark to prove it. Older readers may remember the BSI kitemark, showing a product had passed tests with the British Standards Institute. The CE mark — standing for Conformité Européenne (calm down, Mr Farage) — indicates a garment has been tested to the current standard, common across the European Union countries.
Where it gets complicated is that there are different CE standards for different things. For example, in the past it’s been common for the armour in jackets to be tested to a CE standard while the rest of the jacket is stitched together but not tested in any way.
Now jackets and trousers join gloves and boots in having an overall PPE standard to meet to get a CE mark. A few manufacturers did already test some (or all) of their gear to CE levels — but most didn’t. There are two levels of CE approval for armour (level one the basic standard and level two the higher) but at the moment, there’s only one level for CE gloves, boots and clothing.
Does this mean my kit is illegal if it isn’t CE marked? No. This affects only kit being sold to you as motorcycling equipment from now on, not gear you’ve already bought.
Should I replace my old non-ce kit? Definitely not. If it’s still in good condition and works properly, then there’s no need.
Will it make buying kit more expensive? The cost of the tests needed to earn a CE mark is bound to be passed on to us as consumers, but kit manufacturers have known about this for a while so you shouldn’t suddenly see an extra tenner on the price of every bit of gear. The likelihood is that some prices will go up, some ranges will simplify, some models will run for longer before being updated… and some low-cost lines will probably just quietly disappear.
Will it actually make kit better? It shouldn’t make any difference to
decent kit. Top-end gear from established biking brands should meet or exceed the standard anyway. Well-made budget kit should be fine too. Gear will fail if it’s shoddily made, uses poor materials or simply isn’t designed to be tough enough for use on bikes. And that’s best avoided anyway…
Can we just forget about it after Brexit? That won’t really make any difference: none of the large-scale manufacturers will make one set of kit for Britain and another for the EU. Any Uk-based firm looking to export will still have to meet the standards and get bike gear CE marked.
What if I don’t want to wear CE bike kit? You don’t have to. The law only says that you have to wear a crash helmet (which will have met a CE standard unless it’s an antique). If you want to ride in shorts and a string vest, you still can, as long as you have your lid on. You’d be mad, but you could do it…