Electric Bike Magazines?

[Sarge]

Whenever I am interested in a subject (cameras/stamps/coins/family history/die cast models/railways etc) there will be a magazine in WHSmiths which will be specifically dedicated to this subject.

Try as I might I cannot find a magazine dedicated to electric bikes. I have seen A to B online and have downloaded articles that interest me, but it would be nice to see a shiny magazine showing all these sparkling new bikes with reviews from experts.

Cannot the manufacturers get together and produce one - this may also persuade the browsers in Smiths to think about getting one.

 

[Fecn]

A2B is delivered to my door. There is a paper based magazine you can subscribe to, and it's really rather good.

 

[flecc]

The market is too small for a commercial magazine. Roughly 13,000 e-bikes of a reasonable quality sell in the UK each year currently, and only a very small proportion of the owners are in any way really enthusiasts.

For example, A to B covers folding bikes, utility bikes and rail transport matters as well as e-bikes, but they only have a less than 3000 circulation worldwide, half of their readers often asking for less emphasis on e-bikes.

Equally, of the perhaps 60,000 or so current e-bikers in the UK, only a little over 2000 have ever joined this, the only UK e-bike forum, and although we show about 1700 active members, in truth we only get less than a couple of hundred really actively participating, and that includes overseas members.

Your manufacturer/importer idea is possibly the only chance of a magazine, but I doubt they would be willing to accept the high cost involved in it's ongoing support.
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[rog_london]

Equally, of the perhaps 60,000 or so current e-bikers in the UK, only a little over 2000 have ever joined this, the only UK e-bike forum, and although we show about 1700 active members, in truth we only get less than a couple of hundred really actively participating, and that includes overseas members.

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And those of us who do participate actively should probably get out more!

Rog

 

[flecc]

And those of us who do participate actively should probably get out more!

Rog

How true!
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[rsscott]

Over the last four weeks we've received almost 40,000 visits with 17,500 of those being unique (as far as can be determined anyway).

The number of lurkers is huge compared to members and many users visit the site for a year or more before registering!

A graph showing number of visits since the first post has climbed steadily peaking in the early summer last year, dropping to late 2007 levels over the winter of 2008 and climbing steadily again, now at the highest point.

I believe the reason for this was the enormous rise in fuel prices prompting people to seek alternative transport. Since the economic crash and resulting drop in oil prices, people have once again reverted back to their former means of transport although there are of course many other things to consider.
Electric bikes
Electric bikes for sale
Electric bike legislation
Second hand and used electric bikes

 

[flecc]

I look at the viewing numbers every time I enter the site Russ, and notice from the numbers viewing and the lack of variation over time that they seem to stay for quite a while, so there seems to be a depth of interest.

It's always baffled me that more don't register, though as you say, many who register eventually do admit to having been lurking for some while.
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[Annex]

I belong to the not active, already registered members. The reasons for that are:
- I do not have a pedelec
- I want to learn the writing style on this forum, the subject and the active members

Once I get one, I no longer hang around here

-Annex

 

[flecc]

Once I get one, I no longer hang around here

-Annex

That's probably true of many Annex, using the forum to choose an e-bike but them no longer having a need for it. We can only expect a few to be enthusiasts.
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[Danny-K]

Every spring in WHSsmiths there is usually a one-off cycling publication (not to be confused with the long-standing monthlies and sport orientated weekly), for those new to cycling, usually called 'Buying a Bike' or somesuch; some years there are two or three issues (summer and autumn) but most years it's just the one. As this has been happening for a number of years I assume it must be profitable rather than an altruistic publication. It's usually edited by well known cycle trade editor, Carlton Reid.

- I think there's just enough interest to make it a going proposition for one of the more entreprenial publications to offer WHSmiths a spring issue one-off magazine on e-biking. Which e-bike supplier could bring themselves to refuse to cough up and advertise, let alone provide a demonstrator for an article evaluation write-up? In fact, why haven't AtoB acted already, before someone else steals their thunder?

 

[rog_london]

I look at the viewing numbers every time I enter the site Russ, and notice from the numbers viewing and the lack of variation over time that they seem to stay for quite a while, so there seems to be a depth of interest.

It's always baffled me that more don't register, though as you say, many who register eventually do admit to having been lurking for some while.
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I think it's true of many forums. There are several (unconnected) I follow regularly but either never join or seldom contribute to, although they're useful in many ways. If you want general information on a subject there's no need to join - lurking does the trick. I suppose it's selfish in one respect, but of course many more people read books than would ever write one.

This particular forum I've contributed to more because I can offer engineering knowledge which is often not specific to e-bikes. One of the side effects is that it's possible to make e-friends too of the other contributors (and hopefully not TOO many enemies). If I hadn't thought I could make myself useful I'd have probably been as quiet as a mouse.....

If you ride an e-bike, and it doesn't go wrong, and you have nothing else to say, you would probably just lurk.

Rog.

 

[poppy]

Poppy goes to London!

I know, I know, some of you will think So what...Big deal! We are going to celebrate our wedding´s fifth anniversary. I´ve been there twice -last time 10 years ago- but she is really thrilled. This time our base is what I´ve read is one of the most practical areas to sightsee-Kensington. It´ll be just 4 days, so I don´t dare suggesting to my dear wife a visit to The Electric Transport Shop.....

 

[flecc]

In fact, why haven't AtoB acted already, before someone else steals their thunder?

Probably through experience. After well over a decade of publication they have worldwide circulation of about 2700, not a good indicator.

It looks even worse when you consider it doesn't only cover e-bikes. Over a decade ago it was originally called "The Folder" and covers folding bikes, utility bikes, train travel, other environmentally friendly travel matters and environmental technologies like solar as well. With only 2700 worldwide with enough interest for any those subjects, how many would there be for e-bikes only?

Remember the e-bike to normal bike sales ratio in the UK is a lot less than 1 to 100, so while that cycling only one-off magazine might pay, would less than one hundredth of it's sales pay? I very much doubt it.

It could be worth a try, but it could also be a very costly experiment, possibly beyond A to B's limited resources.
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[flecc]

I know, I know, some of you will think So what...Big deal! We are going to celebrate our wedding´s fifth anniversary. I´ve been there twice -last time 10 years ago- but she is really thrilled. This time our base is what I´ve read is one of the most practical areas to sightsee-Kensington. It´ll be just 4 days, so I don´t dare suggesting to my dear wife a visit to The Electric Transport Shop.....

Congratulations Poppy, and I hope you thoroughly enjoy the trip. Luckily the weather this year has been rather better so hopefully you'll enjoy that as well.

Next week is forecast very hot, is that when you are visiting?
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[poppy]

Congratulations Poppy, and I hope you thoroughly enjoy the trip. Luckily the weather this year has been rather better so hopefully you'll enjoy that as well.

Next week is forecast very hot, is that when you are visiting?
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Thank you for your wellcome. I´ll be arriving there on July, 9. I hope it won´t be too hot. I´ve heard it´s to be there under such circunstances.
But I´m more worried about my smoking possiblilties. I´ve booked a smoking allowed room. I´ll bet I´m going to spend a lot of time there!

 

[flecc]

But I´m more worried about my smoking possiblilties. I´ve booked a smoking allowed room. I´ll bet I´m going to spend a lot of time there!

We're not too strict as yet. It's no smoking in the public access areas of buildings and enclosed spaces, but almost anywhere outside it's ok.
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[Danny-K]

Every spring in WHSsmiths there is usually a one-off cycling publication (not to be confused with the long-standing monthlies and sport orientated weekly), for those new to cycling, usually called 'Buying a Bike' or somesuch . . .

By coincidence I was in WHSmiths this lunchtime and happened to spot this -

- A newly published one-off magazine called 'Ride To Work' with the strap-line: 'Ride to Work - The Essential Guide to Commuting' . It features regular bikes, folders and a tiny, tiny, reference almost as an afterthought, to e-bikes.

If anyone who read my post back in mid June and was unsure what I was yabbering on about, then this is the kind of one-off magazine I was referring to.

On this occasion there is reference made to e-biking, but it's a short column or two - and (my point) - not a single advert from the e-bike companies; yet this magazine, (if it's like the others), will stay on the shelves for a couple of months as it's a one-off.

Had to laugh a bit though. They clearly advise to buy e-bikes in the mid to high range as anything under £700 will be inadequate and come with Lead Acid batteries - and then show only one photo of a suitable e-bike - The sub £700 lithium powered Salisbury!!! LOL! Tee hee. (They don't tell you it's Salisbury, it's just there as an illustration of an e-bike).

So, slowly, ever so slowly, e-bikes are making headway into the mainstream cycling magazines as a viable transport to commute on, as until today, I'd never seen them mention e-bikes in these kind of one-off mags before. Over the years, if there's been a feature on e-bikes it's usually been as a novelty item in the motorbike mags.

 

[flecc]

That one-off issue is a good sign Danny, though the brevity of that mention does highlight the tiny proportion of bikes that are e-bikes.

I'd be very interested to know how many of that issue are actually sold though, and we may get an indication in due course if it fails to reappear next year.

One trouble for potential advertisers is that the circulation of a first issue one-off isn't known by it's very nature, and few will spend money advertising without at least that very basic information.
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[frank9755]

That's not a stand-alone commercial publication! It's produced by Cyclescheme, the people who operate cycles-for-work schemes on behalf of employers, so you could say it is a kind of marketing literature for them, rather than something which needs to make a profit from.

I read recently that the only utility cycling publication in the UK recently folded.

The fact is that there probably isn't the market for anything more than there currently is. Given the size of the market, AtoB is probably a better publication than we could reasonably expect, along with VeloVision, which also gives a bit of coverage to electrics.

 

[Danny-K]

That's not a stand-alone commercial publication! It's produced by Cyclescheme, the people who operate cycles-for-work schemes on behalf of employers, so you could say it is a kind of marketing literature for them, rather than something which needs to make a profit from. . .

???

It's published by the Cycling Plus people, Frank. Or do you mean the Cyclescheme people hired Cycling Plus to print it for them?

I looked inside and you can see the famous Cycling Plus mag logo there, (Britian's premier cycling monthly) proudly taking credit as the publisher - here it is on the Cycling Plus web-site, (scroll to bottom when it opens), alongside all the other titles they publish, where they show the above mag as their own with the header: Cycling Plus Guide to Commuting - Ride to Work

Cycling Plus Magazine Subscriptions | Official Site from Future