Identify a bike...

Darren Hayward

Pedelecer
Mar 25, 2015
93
47
61
I saw a rather unusual ebike today and I'd love to know the make. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me.

It sort of reminded me of a 1970's chopper. It had a small front wheel and slightly larger (maybe 20"?) rear wheel. It had a bafang motor and frame mount battery. Two things made it truly distinctive. There was a small saddle and footrests for a child behind the handlebars for a child (gentleman was carrying his daughter). Secondly the cross bar was an oblong metal bar that went from above the rear wheel to above the front wheel, all one piece. The adult and child saddles just seemed to stick up off the crossbar. The rear of the crossbar had a plastic mounting for a carrier or panniers. At the front was a shopping basket.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what it was?




Darren
 

vfr400

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 12, 2011
9,822
3,993
Basildon
Search Google images for "recumbent bicycle". There are several similar to what you describe. Without a photo, it's impossible for us to say which one you saw.
 

Darren Hayward

Pedelecer
Mar 25, 2015
93
47
61
I've explained it badly. It's not a recumbent bike and the little saddle is attached to the bike and is not an add on. I've drawn an incredibly bad freehand/mouse picture giving the rough layout of the bike. The adult and child seats simply stick up out of the cross piece which runs the whole length of the bike and is oblong rather than round literally as I've drawn it.
I'll try and get a photo.

Darren




Bike Layout.jpg
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,213
30,613
I saw a rather unusual ebike today and I'd love to know the make. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me.

It sort of reminded me of a 1970's chopper. It had a small front wheel and slightly larger (maybe 20"?) rear wheel. It had a bafang motor and frame mount battery. Two things made it truly distinctive. There was a small saddle and footrests for a child behind the handlebars for a child (gentleman was carrying his daughter). Secondly the cross bar was an oblong metal bar that went from above the rear wheel to above the front wheel, all one piece. The adult and child saddles just seemed to stick up off the crossbar. The rear of the crossbar had a plastic mounting for a carrier or panniers. At the front was a shopping basket.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what it was?




Darren
Hi Darren. I know the design you mean and it was produced in more than one style and form but all had rear suspension.

The one I know had a backrest seat for the child on the rear and they had their own chainwheel and pedals sharing the chain drive to the back wheel, while the adult rider sat recumbent style forward with their chainwheel ahead of the front wheel. That single main beam design could easily have many forms and it seems someone has motorised the one you saw.

It was named bikeE on the main beam, exactly as I've typed it with lower and upper case. The company went out of business in 2002 but there are still photos of their styles. Here's the two seat model:



and below one of the single seaters:


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Darren Hayward

Pedelecer
Mar 25, 2015
93
47
61
It's neither of those bikes. I've spent some time looking at bikes on google and I can't find it. I'll keep an eye out and try to get a photo. It might take a while because I saw this bike just after 3pm when the gentleman that owned it stopped in Morrisons with his daughter on the way home. And of course it's now the school holidays so looking at about that time isn't likely to yield results.


Darren
 

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
53,213
30,613
It's neither of those bikes. I've spent some time looking at bikes on google and I can't find it. I'll keep an eye out and try to get a photo. It might take a while because I saw this bike just after 3pm when the gentleman that owned it stopped in Morrisons with his daughter on the way home. And of course it's now the school holidays so looking at about that time isn't likely to yield results.


Darren
There's also been several German ones with a similar single boom frame, one I remember had provision to carry a case centrally under the main spar. Most of these unusual designs don't stay long on the market.
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