Enschede city council has voted to ban fatbikes from the city centre, despite legal doubts about how such a measure can be enforced.

The national parliament backed action against the wide-tyred electric bikes earlier this year, but efforts have stalled due to legal complications. In particular, it is difficult to draw a legal distinction between fatbikes and standard electric bicycles, legal experts say.

“The fatbike is a sort of scooter and we don’t want them in the town centre,” said Rachel Denneboom, who heads the local branch of the VVD. “Personally I would ban them altogether, but I want to stand up for people who leave a shop and almost get run over by a fatbike.”

Denneboom hopes the council can introduce restrictions through changes to local bylaws, although legal experts say this will be difficult. But mopeds and super fast e-bikes have been banned from the city centre since 2020.

“Councils can agree, for example, to ban mobility scooters from a certain park,” said Leiden University law professor Geerten Boogaard. “But a fatbike is more complicated. A judge will have to decide whether Enschede is right to differentiate between a fatbike and an older woman’s e-bike.”

MPs have called for new rules to cover fatbikes because of their popularity among youngsters and an alarming rise in injuries. However, the government said any new regulations—such as an age limit and compulsory helmets—would have to apply to all e-bikes, and this is something it is unwilling to do.