Electric Bike Reviews, News, & Testing

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Richard Peace

Product Reviewer, Content Writer

Richard Peace is an experienced cycle journalist whose work and range of cycle publications can be found at richardpeacecycling.com Richard has written a book on eBikes called “Electric Bicycles” and it is a great way to immerse yourself in the world of electric bikes. Richard has also written and published over 20 cycling titles, including the best-selling Ultimate C2C Guide (Sea to Sea by Bike) plus many of the UK’s most popular Sustrans routes. Richard lives in Huddersfield, England.

Get to Know Richard Peace

Certifications

  • B.A. Modern History History

Favorite Style of E-Bike

Touring

Favorite E-Bikes Reviewed

Tenways CGO800S

Current Bikes You Ride/Own

Tenways CGO800S

Some links may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these.

Richard Peace

E-Bike News: E-Cargo Bike Racing, New eBikes & Kits, Off Grid Charging, & More! [VIDEOS]

Focus Project Y (1) copyBy Richard Peace

Welcome to more e-bike news from around the world.

German e-bike maker Focus launched in the US last year and intriguing info is surfacing about a new lightweight motor system they may to be gearing up to launch. News from the French alpine resort of Morzine has revealed a ‘Project Y e-bike’ with an amazingly sleek battery and motor design all in the downtube. Focus say its potentially a sub-28pound (13kg) e-MTB. [Read more…] about E-Bike News: E-Cargo Bike Racing, New eBikes & Kits, Off Grid Charging, & More! [VIDEOS]

E-Bike News: Bloomberg, AAA eBike Patrol, Zehus, SRAM Drivetrain & More! [VIDEOS]

zehus electric bike kit beltBy Richard Peace

Welcome to the latest e-bike news roundup.

You know a business is starting to get taken seriously when financial news group Bloomberg starts to hype it. They recently did just that, revealing some interesting stats and quotes about the US electric bike market.

The article showed projected data for 2016 US e-bike sales to be around 152,000; small beer compared to the 1.6 million projected sales for Western Europe.

Whilst it will clearly take a while for the US to catch up, the idea may not be as fanciful as you think according to Claus Fleischer, who heads Bosch’s eBike division. The US market could develop ‘way faster’ than [Read more…] about E-Bike News: Bloomberg, AAA eBike Patrol, Zehus, SRAM Drivetrain & More! [VIDEOS]

1/3 of UK Public Transport Users ‘Would’ Switch to Electric Bikes

felt-sporte-5By Richard Peace.

34% of British people would choose an electric bike over public transport says a recent survey of a thousand people conducted by One Poll for Shimano.

Of course, ‘would’ implies a the change from public transport to e-bikes if something else happens.

In this case the survey results implied high e-bike cost and the perception of cycling safety were barriers to a switch from public transport to e-bikes.

Government subsidy of e-bikes was cited as a factor that would persuade public transport users to consider two wheels instead, as was the provision of more safe cycling infrastructure. [Read more…] about 1/3 of UK Public Transport Users ‘Would’ Switch to Electric Bikes

Electric Concepts look to Revolutionize Commuting with Lightweight TSR2+

TSR2+_Orange_4 WEBBy Richard Peace

Electric Concepts is about to launch their take on the ultimate commuter e-bike.

It marries a Moulton spaceframe bike from the UK with the Italian ‘all-in-one’ hub motor Zehus system and Electric Concept’s own design and assembly process.

Meet Electric Concepts’ TSR2+.

The Moulton may be known to the cycle historians amongst you as a classic design from 1960s UK, identified by its relatively small 20” wheels and elastomer suspension. [Read more…] about Electric Concepts look to Revolutionize Commuting with Lightweight TSR2+

Dutch Nano Solar Technology Targets a ‘Chargeless’ Electric Bike

Dutch Solar Cycle, prototype zonnefiets, Solar Application Lab, TU Eindhoven

Dutch Solar Cycle, prototype zonnefiets, Solar Application Lab, TU Eindhoven

By Richard Peace

Dutch company Solar Application Lab (SAL) is pursuing the dream of bringing to market the electric Solar-bike that never needs to be plugged in to recharge it.

The design uses small solar panel architecture incorporated into the bike’s wheels.

SAL say ‘It is a new type of mobility that is smart, healthy and sustainable. It’s easy to use, low cost and provides benefits for individuals and society. Commuters traveling small distances are often stuck in traffic jams but can easily switch to the solar bike to experience the freedom and advantages of this technology.’ [Read more…] about Dutch Nano Solar Technology Targets a ‘Chargeless’ Electric Bike

The Quick-Install Bimoz E-Bike Mid Drive Kit [VIDEO]

bimoz-on-bike-1By Richard Peace

European firm bimoz say they are nearing a rollout of the ‘lightest and easiest e-bike retrofit system’ that will fit ‘almost any conventional bicycle within twenty minutes.’

bimoz has been designed to replace the non-driveside crank arm with a crank incorporating a gearless (direct drive) motor, powered by a fame-mounted battery.

So fitting is a matter of swapping out the crank and frame-mounting a connector and battery. Here’s a video that shows the installation: [Read more…] about The Quick-Install Bimoz E-Bike Mid Drive Kit [VIDEO]

No More Flat Tires: Gecko Cellular Rubber Punctureless Tires

Gecko tires 1By Richard Peace

Solid and cellular tyres are one of those bicycle design ideas that potentially hold huge practical advantages; no punctures and none of the extra time and delay that entails and the need to carry round a spare tube, tools and pump with you.

But product launches of solid tyres over the years have come and gone and reviews of them in the cycling press have been almost universally deeply critical.

Attempts were lambasted as extremely harsh to ride and at worst dangerous, with the danger of tyres coming off the rim or skidding on the road surface. At best they were hard to ride with huge rolling resistance and a jarring, uncomfortable ride.

In 2015 South Korean company Tannus launched their ‘solid’ tyre, actually made of foamed polymer which was the first bicycle non-pneumatic tyre to be generally well-received, though [Read more…] about No More Flat Tires: Gecko Cellular Rubber Punctureless Tires

UK Electric Bike Hire Schemes Begin Roll Out [VIDEO]

Professor Debra Humphris Eastbourne E-Bike Launch-441

University of Brighton launches it’s bike hire scheme for staff and students

By Richard Peace

Back in September 2015 the UK’s Department for Transport announced the results of competitive bidding for a share of £700,000 that would fund electric bike hire schemes across the country.

The application process was administered by UK NGO Carplus which also now has a sister organisation Bikeplus, the new representative body for the sixteen towns and cities chosen to trial electric bike hire.

ElectricBikeReport will look at what each of the sixteen schemes is doing in turn as they begin to roll out across the country, starting with the University of Brighton’s scheme to link two of its campuses. After being chosen by organisation Carplus, the university was awarded £36,000 from the Department for Transport for the project. [Read more…] about UK Electric Bike Hire Schemes Begin Roll Out [VIDEO]

Crunch Time for Madrid’s BiciMad Electric Bike Hire Scheme

BiciMad electric bike share 1

Courtesy of Flickr users Microsiervos and Cesar

By Richard Peace

The financial state of Madrid’s public hire electric bike scheme appear to be reaching a crisis point and has become a political battleground as plans for the scheme’s expansion appear to be stalled.

In late 2015 the Bonopark, the company running the scheme on behalf of Madrid City Hall, issued a request for 3.6 million Euros in order to avoid bankruptcy.

It certainly appears that Bonopark has been struggling to meet its contractual obligations to City Hall. [Read more…] about Crunch Time for Madrid’s BiciMad Electric Bike Hire Scheme

UK E-Cargo Bike Companies Show the Future of Urban Transport [VIDEO]

23/12/2015 - Pic by Lucy Davies Business development manager at Bikespace Brett Nicolle who is delivering vegetables for Plymouth residents on an electric bike. Reporter Sarah Contact Brett on 396737

Picture by Lucy Davies

By Richard Peace

Outside of flatter cities and towns with a strong cycling tradition – such as Cambridge – cargo bikes (let alone electric cargo bikes) are very rarely seen.

But legal changes from April this year lifted the previous 40kg weight limit that had hampered the deployment of e-cargo bikes for commercial use.

With the UK’s electric bike law now harmonised with Europe, Electric Bike Report interviews two firms that have recently introduced electric cargo bikes and are making inroads into the ‘last mile’ delivery market and [Read more…] about UK E-Cargo Bike Companies Show the Future of Urban Transport [VIDEO]

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