Simon Cowell's £15k electric bike 'is banned from open roads in the UK'
Simon Cowell was trying out 'the world's fastest electric bike' when he lost control and broke his back in several places after falling from the machine
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The electric bike that Simon Cowell fell from to break his back is reportedly 'banned from open roads' in the UK.
The 60-year-old Britain's Got Talent judge was testing out a powerful $20,000 (£15,000) electric bike when he lost control and fell to the ground at his Malibu home.
The machine has been billed as "the world’s most powerful” and Page Six has reported that you cannot ride it on the open roads in the UK.
The bike, the Swind EB-01, is advertised as being the "most advanced electric bicycle in the market” and it has been reported that Simon did a “giant wheelie” before flying into the air and landing on the concrete floor.
The bike has a hybrid aluminum frame covered in a carbon shell and is designed to look similar to a dirtbike.
Simon would not be able to ride the bike on the open road in the UK as is exceeds the legal speed limit due to the motor having more than 250W of power.
It is allowed on private, closed areas and on designated routes but protective clothing is a must, something that Simon was not wearing.
The ebike would also need to be registered as the motor assists the rider when going more than 15.5mph, which means it would need to be taxed and insured as a motor vehicle, with the rider legally having to wear a motorcycle helmet.
Simon underwent six hours of surgery on Saturday night, with surgeons inserting a metal rod into his back after he broke it in three places.
It has been reported that he narrowly missed severing his spinal cord which would have left the BGT supremo paralysed.
A source told Page Six: "He did a turn in his courtyard, changed gear, and then the bike went into a wheelie and threw him off the back.
"Simon was in complete agony and was stretchered out of his home and taken in an ambulance to hospital.
“He was in shock and in massive amounts of pain... he’s doing okay in the circumstances.”
Simon addressed the accident from his hospital bed, tweeting after the operation: "Some good advice... If you buy an electric trail bike, read the manual before you ride it for the first time.
"I have broken part of my back. Thank you to everyone for your kind messages.”
MirrorCeleb