Electric Bikes Conversion Kits EMTBS eRoad/Commuting What's New?

Bike sales exceed car sales.

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103Alex1

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 29, 2012
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67
Great ... so when do the prices start coming down to half-sensible levels ?
 
John F

John F

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 3, 2013
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Well possibly not exactly bad news BUT it still means a lot of new cars and second hand cars on the roads, nearly all of which will be regularly used. Do all these add to the total on the roads, when you take into account all those that are taken off the roads. I suspect they will. How many of the new bikes are just bought as leisure vehicles rather than than as "essential" vehicles which most car owners feel I suspect applies to them? Isn't it something like 30 million cars in the UK now?

To finish on an upbeat note I went on my first ever cycling event last Saturday on my new Woosh - the Sky Ride in York. It was great. I am surprised how many people are bending my ear over my new bike, though I reckon that indicates a growing interest in ebikes.

Getting bored with hearing the word "cheat" though. Anyone got a withering response to this jibe?!
 
Croxden

Croxden

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2013
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North Staffs
I passed a couple of Lycra Lads and said to them that I was cheating a bit. The reply was "At least you are getting out" so they aren't all bad.
 
M

mike killay

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 17, 2011
3,012
1,629
A real put downer is to look sad and say
'If only I had my health, I would love to ride an ordinary bike'
 
RobF

RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
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"I tried getting to the chemo sessions on an ordinary bike but couldn't manage it."
 
flecc

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,284
30,660
That article exaggerates the trend by using selective examples. Typically over time in the UK, bike and car sales are usually roughly equal at about 2 millions of each per annum. I don't see that as good news at all, since it's blindingly obvious that most of the bikes sold quickly fall out of use, while the cars sold are all used extensively.

One only has to stand by any road to see the reality of the position, do we see one bike for every car seen? No chance, bikes can be anything from a tenth to a hundredth or less of the traffic on most roads.

For bikes to usefully gain status, we need them pedalled, not peddled.
 
T

trex

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 15, 2011
7,703
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the number of vehicles you see is proportional to the number of travelled miles - that explains why you see so much fewer bikes.
 
flecc

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,284
30,660
trex said:
the number of vehicles you see is proportional to the number of travelled miles - that explains why you see so much fewer bikes.
Click to expand...
But that is offset by the much lower speed of bikes, meaning miles take much longer. Even when that's taken into account the fact is that most of the 2 million bikes bought per annum are hardly used. Every summer I see the typical couple out on their new bikes, then wheezing up or walking up the first hill, but then never seen out again, bikes stashed at the back of their garage to slowly rot and eventually get thrown out.

Think about it, bikes easily last at least 10 years, especially if little used, so a decade's 20 million sales equals half the adult population who are fit enough to cycle at all. If they were regularly riding even short distances the roads would be full of bikes and we'd look like the Netherlands where half the population cycle short journeys regularly.
 
billadie

billadie

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 27, 2010
291
48
Tewkesbury
Getting bored with hearing the word "cheat" though. Anyone got a withering response to this jibe

"I think you're confusing me with Lance Armstrong"
 
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