Any ideas how come?

[mike killay]

Living in Swansea which hardly has any flat bits, even as a youngster it was purgatory to cycle anywhere. The old three speed Raleighs and Triumphs that we had were too heavy and too high geared to pedal up many of the hills.
So, when I was sixteen, I got a Cyclemaster. I always thought that it was 32cc, but as it was old and black, going on what Flecc says, it must have been 25cc. Anyway, what a revelation! I could pedal up any of our hills.
I read somewhere that the Cyclemaster was the most successful British Motor Cycle ever made, selling over quarter of a million units!

 

[gray198]

heard today that the post office are trialling electric bikes for deliveries in order to save fuel.Apparantley they have got vans kitted out with racks , and take the bikes and drop them off for the postie to do his rounds, then collect and recharge. don't know if this is true, or even if it is very old news, but it does seem a great idea considering that postmen have used bikes for years. Maybe this type of thing may be a future market

gray

 

[neptune]

I think that if present trends continue, a lot of people will have little choice other than to give up the comfort of the car. The constantly rising fuel prices are one factor, and with emission standards tightening up all the time, it will mean that the day of the cheap old banger is finished. I believe we are seeing an increase in public transport, but as always, the people who make the rules have no concept of life beyond the M25. I know villages where there is one bus a week. These factors may eventually lead to greater Ebike sales.

 

[flecc]

L
I read somewhere that the Cyclemaster was the most successful British Motor Cycle ever made, selling over quarter of a million units!

Yes they were, easily outsold the others. It was the all-in-one neatness that appealed, and they didn't suffer the slipping of the roller-on-tyre drives in the wet. The most powerful and fastest one as the PowerPak, until it rained. Then it's ribbed alloy roller could slip and demolish the rear tyre by tearing off the tread!

 

[flecc]

heard today that the post office are trialling electric bikes for deliveries in order to save fuel.Apparantley they have got vans kitted out with racks , and take the bikes and drop them off for the postie to do his rounds, then collect and recharge. don't know if this is true, or even if it is very old news, but it does seem a great idea considering that postmen have used bikes for years. Maybe this type of thing may be a future market

gray

It is old news Gray. They had a trial but have given up the idea since creating some more efficient methods more suited to the character of today's deliveries. It's a complicated subject, but I think they made the right choice.

 

[cwah]

Danger has also a huge impact on people not going on bikes.

I know many people that are interested in my electric bike but would never ride it because cycling is really dangerous in London.

Just had a small car accident because the driver wasn't looking when he turned left. Broke my brompton bag. Hopefully the batteries are intact.

 

[timidtom]

Yes they were, easily outsold the others. It was the all-in-one neatness that appealed, and they didn't suffer the slipping of the roller-on-tyre drives in the wet. The most powerful and fastest one as the PowerPak, until it rained. Then it's ribbed alloy roller could slip and demolish the rear tyre by tearing off the tread!

I yearned after a Cyclemaster but ended up with a MiniMotor - a gold painted lump which employed a gritted roller to drive the rear wheel round. Ordinary road tyres screamed and died after twenty miles. Tandem tyres lasted longer. I loved it. There followed a love affair (honestly!) with a Honda C90. Next on to BMW's - the real, flat-twin version. Then, the novelty of falling off having faded, a Piaggio Hexagon 125cc two stroke adopted me. From there it was but a short step to a Dutch JuicyBike.
Why aren't more of them about? The fact that a new battery costs more than most folk will spend on a complete bike?

 

[OxygenJames]

I yearned after a Cyclemaster but ended up with a MiniMotor - a gold painted lump which employed a gritted roller to drive the rear wheel round. Ordinary road tyres screamed and died after twenty miles. Tandem tyres lasted longer. I loved it. There followed a love affair (honestly!) with a Honda C90. Next on to BMW's - the real, flat-twin version. Then, the novelty of falling off having faded, a Piaggio Hexagon 125cc two stroke adopted me. From there it was but a short step to a Dutch JuicyBike.
Why aren't more of them about? The fact that a new battery costs more than most folk will spend on a complete bike?

There's even one on ebay! Right here

 

[Cakey]

My goodness that looks quite dangerous, and something out of the 1940's

 

[flecc]

There's even one on ebay! Right here

Wrongly listed, they were nothing to do with BSA. The BSA company produced a more powerful 49 cc wheel motor with the name "Winged Wheel" and the cylinder outside the wheel and carrier tank:

 

[smudger1956]

I am in agreement with you Oxygen James, it is like a 'British Mindset' cycling is a recreation, my bike created some interest amongst friends and work colleagues, they thought the price was very good ( it is a Cyclamatic brought at the £399 price) when I spoke about the high end leading make bike pricing, it did raise some eyebrows.
I really do enjoy my commute to and from work, and I am using my bike even more and more, to a point where I have to have a quick refresher with myself when I do have to use my car
I do have one convert..my Granddaughter, I fitted a child seat, had to do some mods to get it to fit the Cyclamatic, it ended up well over engineered..... she love's it, I am really lucky to have miles of cycle tracks in my borough so we can safe ride, she is the courtesy official bell dinger and electric horn operative....

 

[funkylyn]

Lovely picture..........and what a sweetheart your grandaughter is..... she certainly looks like she is enjoying herself, I bet she loves beeping that horn.........next e-bike generation

Lynda

 

[dianefairhall]

I have never seen even one ebike round here (Yorkshire Dales). Most bikes I see are unassisted mountain bikes ridden by incredibly fit 20-something men who seem to enjoy pedalling like the clappers up a 20% gradient.

 

[funkylyn]

I have never seen even one ebike round here (Yorkshire Dales). Most bikes I see are unassisted mountain bikes ridden by incredibly fit 20-something men who seem to enjoy pedalling like the clappers up a 20% gradient.

Just wait Diane until you are powering past them up that hill........then stop at the top and wave as they puff past.......(they surely must get out of breath sometimes......there has to be some justice in this world )............... sweet revenge

Lynda

 

[dianefairhall]

Lynda, can't wait!

 

[mike killay]

So tempting, takes me back 53 years. I reckon I could still dismantle one of those blind folded!
(I mean the cyclemaster!)

 

[Kudoscycles]

OK then ... that's obvious to you and it's obvious to me, so why is it not obvious to The Trade? Are we both wrong, or is The Trade in fact targetting that section of the market and it's just that I've never seen any evidence of it?

Dan,it is obvious to us at KudosCycles and we would like to target that age group,which we see as 45 years plus,the trouble is it is not easy to find shows that are economic to exhibit. We are looking at the 50 plus shows in London,Manchester and Glasgow. Instead of the NEC Cycle show which whilst we met some good customers,the sports cyclist element is openly against electric bikes,they do consider them cheating yet in Germany and Holland there is not the same hostile attitude.
Dave
KudosCycles

 

[swinnerton]

My wife and I have ridden electric bikes for over four years...we have just upgraded from Pro Connects to Agattu Impulses. We are both retired and would not consider normal bikes as we live in a hilly area and have found with normal bikes we have to do a lot of pushing .We do however enjoy using Boris bikes on our regular trips to London.
We take our pedelecs on holiday to Provence every year and enjoy overtaking the serious cyclists on the roads near the hill villages we camp near.
It is great to ride past the super fit lycra clad Tour de France wanabees with a "Bonjour ..nous avons les velos electrique" .
Frankly I do not care what riders of conventional bikes think about electric bikes ..we ride for our own enjoyment not to seek the approval of others.
Regards
Gerry

 

[Eaglerider]

Frankly I do not care what riders of conventional bikes think about electric bikes ..we ride for our own enjoyment not to seek the approval of others.
Regards
Gerry

Absolutely. Could'nt agree more.

 

[neptune]

View attachment 3477Lohmann Diesel Cyclemotor. When I was into motorcycles, I read a story about a guy who had one of these on loan from a dealer, in order to road test it for a month in order to write a road test report for the motorcycle magazine he worked for . The fuel used was paraffin, with lubricating oil added. As paraffin was not taxed as a road fuel, the official thing to do was to keep a log book of journeys and fuel purchased. Every month, you had to send this to HM Customs and Exise, and they would bill you for the fuel duty. As the duty incurred was only a few pence, Customs sent him a letter telling him not to submit any more records, as it cost them £5 a time to bill him . He framed this letter, and hung it on the office wall. He was proud of the fact that he was the only person who had a government letter begging him not to pay Tax!