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Required equipment for bicycles

This is a summary of the requirements for bicycles taken from the StVO (1997)(paragraph numbers given for reference).As far as I know, there are plans to remove the requirement for dynamos.

§ 64a A bell should be mounted on the bike in a position where it can be used while riding. No other sound devices seem to be allowed.

§ 65 BrakesShould be easy to use while riding and not damage the road.Bicycles should have two independent brakes.

§ 67 Lighting1. Front and back lights should be powered by a dynamo with at least 3W power and potential of 6V. A battery may be used in addition.

2. Lights should be permenantly attached and ready to be used.

3. Front light should be white. The light spot should hit the ground 10 in front of the bike. There should also be at least one front reflector.

4. Back light should be red with the lowest point of the light at least 250mm above the road. There should also be a red rear reflector with its highest point not more than 600mm above the road and another rear reflector labelled with the letter Z (I really don't understand this bit).The rear light and one of the the relectors may be combined.Trailers should have a reflector with "2" on them.

5. Biycles may also have an additional red rear light which works even when the bike is not moving.

6. Pedals should have yellow reflectors relecting to the front and the rear. Reflectors pointing to the side are also allowed.

7. On either side of the bike there should be:- either two yellow sideways reflectors, offset by 180° on the front and back wheels- or ring-shaped reflective white strips on the sidewalls of the tyres.More spoke reflectors are allowed and should be distributed evenly round the wheels.

8. Additional yellow reflectors reflecting sideways are allowed.

9. The front and back lights from point 4. may only be switched on together.

10. Only lightbulbs suitable for the type of light they are in should be used.

11. Racing bikes of less than 11kg may use battery powered lights instead of a dynamo. These lights may be removable, but should always be carried with you when cycling.

12. During a race, racing bikes are exempt from 1 - 11.

Disclaimer: this is a summary which may be open to translation errors or become out of date.Please feel free to update/improve on it.

MunichBicycles