Flatbat,I sympathise with your comments and agree. Unfortunately the further you go away from London or Birmingham your choice of dealer becomes rarer. It is for exactly this reason we are taking our bikes out on our roadshows but we do need the support of a local dealer.
This lack of availability is really a bit of a 'chicken and egg' situation. Quite frankly dealers cannot afford to stock a wide range of e-bikes based upon the small volumes that can be achieved in the UK,the sales of e-bikes in the north is very low volume,some of my customers up there have never seen another electric bike.
Some of the dealers won't look at Kudos bikes because I cannot offer them minimum £500 profit in a bike,that profit is not possible with trying to maintain a reasonable rrp. That is the reason why dealers tend to stock £1500 plus bikes,then a £500 profit is possible. but our feedback is that customers want a nice bike at £1000.
The situation is patchy,we are doing a good job in South East England. Others are doing a good job in their own local areas but I must agree that the South West beyond Bristol,East Anglia beyond Cambridge and the north beyond Manchester are e-bike deserts.
The nearest Kudos will get to you is our Peak district event in April but I respect you will want to test bikes other than Kudos.
Perhaps BEBA can offer a solution to you guys up north?
If you are prepared to buy internet direct our Kudos King bike is available in our sale at £895.00,free delivery-over 150 of these bikes have been sold in the UK,many to Pedelec members so you can get some reports off this forum.
Dave
Kudoscycles