In Germany the bike most hire shops mean is a Pedelec. Assist only while the rider pedals, motor up to 250 watts, assist ends at 25 km/h. The federal mobility forum describes that machine as legally a bicycle, from the road traffic act. No plate, no driving licence. You can use the bike path. I read that page, and the ADAC's explanation of the same split, on 22 September 2026. I am not your lawyer. German pages will always be ahead of this one. The other bike, the S-Pedelec Assist up to 45 km/h. That one is not a bicycle. It is a small motorcycle, a Kleinkraftrad. The federal page says the rider needs a class AM licence, which in Germany can be acquired from 15, a helmet, and an insurance plate. Bike paths are not allowed, in town or out of town. The rider uses the road. ADAC notes that individual states can open some bike paths to S-Pedelecs, and names Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia as places where that has been possible. "Possible" is not "every path in that state." If you hire these, you need the local rule for the path on your tour, not a national blog post. ADAC's brochures have not always agreed with each other about the minimum age. I am following the federal description of the AM licence rather than a PDF. Confirm the age with the current text before you print a sign. A bike that does not need pedalling at all, and can do 45 km/h on the motor, is also a small motorcycle in their account, with a plate and a licence. People will call all of these an E-Bike. The word is useless at the counter. Ask for the assisted speed. What a hire shop should refuse to mix Do not put an S-Pedelec on the same QR code tour as the 25 km/h fleet, with a note that says "follow the bike path." One of those fleets is not allowed on that path. Two fleets, two briefings, two sets of terms. The insurance is different as well. A personal liability policy that covers a bicycle often excludes the fast one, and hire use is its own argument with an insurer. Ask the insurer with the word S-Pedelec, not the word e-bike. The 25 km/h bike is the one that fits a self-guided day for a visitor. The guest already does not know the town. Adding a plate, a helmet standard and a ban on the bike path is a different product, closer to renting a scooter. If that is what you sell, sell it honestly. If it is not, do not let a supplier's "upgrade" put one in the lineup. EN 15194 is the sticker conversation for the 25 km/h bike. The plate is the conversation for the other one.