yes, it seems that way.or are the proposed measures aimed at restricting Chinese made bikes with Shimano motors.
The Chinese are going to set themselves up as EU producers, like the Japanese have done with their cars.
yes, it seems that way.or are the proposed measures aimed at restricting Chinese made bikes with Shimano motors.
Britain was first with mid motor pedelecs in the early 1980s, and one, the TGA Electrobike continued on the market through to the late 2000s.Interesting read. Not the same historical information that I have read - didn't the Japanese (Yamaha, Panasonic) invent mid motor pedelecs before Bosch?
That one looks pretty good, even by modern standards. I wonder why it hasn't been copied.Just an aside -Earliest patent that I can find that looks like an electric mid motor kit and is directed to pedal assist (rather than a full motor cycle) is by Ettore Bugatti of Paris, and claims a first filing date of 1942.
It appears to be a kit that clamps onto the frame and transmits power via a tube through the bottom bracket to a three arm spider that bolts onto the chain ring.
The crank shaft runs through the tube and also connects to the spider via a freewheel type mechanism.
Anyone know of anything earlier?
It's about numbers in Britain.these new emtbs are amazing bits of kit but after investing thousands of pounds in one i would like a bit more piece of mind.
What are your fears? I don't think there would be any problem repairing your bike out of warranty, I would be more concerned about how much it will cost.my fears about out of warranty repairs.
spot on Flecc,So there just isn't enough e-bike business or enough money in it to have a national network of good repair facilities. Move to the Netherlands where every sixth bike sold is an e-bike and you've got good service facilities everywhere.
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i agree with you mike,For me, Chinese bikes win hands down over the over protected European models..
If the bike had been a hub motor Chinese one the repair would have been even simpler.
Seeing how expensive European bikes are compared to Chinese, I cannot see much of a future for these over complicated machines.
I am convinced the e-cycling is going to take off and Joe Public will want cheap, easily repaired bikes, not the precious offerings of the European manufacturers.
thanks for your reply Pete,What are your fears? I don't think there would be any problem repairing your bike out of warranty, I would be more concerned about how much it will cost.
In fairness to the European manufacturers, it was Panasonic Japan who started this. When they introduced their crank drive unit for other bicycle makers in 2001 they recognised that cycle shops would have no appropriate repair experience. So they made the unit very strong and sealed for life with no spares availability. The internal gears were so overengineered they looked like they'd been borrowed from a 125 cc motobike and it only had moderate power, so it was quite successful. However it inevitably had three possible bugs but fortunately they only affect a very few and many of those early motors are still running now.if the crank drive european manufacturers don,t get something in place soon then these kind of bikes will only be for the folks who can afford to buy a new motor if anything goes wrong inside .
I can't say that I have ever found riding rough terrain to be in an issue, in fact my hardtail copes very well with it, and certainly don't miss the extra maintenance costs. Each to their own though.Thanks for the replies
I certainly hope things will get better as time goes on as folks have suggested
As for hardtack emtbs
I stand by my comments as far as the type of off road riding I do
For non electric hard tails I am a big fan especially the new breed of plus bikes
There is a big difference between an emtb and a non electric as far as weight is concerned
If used for light trail work then a hard tail emtb is ok and maybe even better than a full sus for efficiency , but trying to take a hard tail emtb down a fairly rough trail with drops etc is not great
Like I said a hard tail non electric bike can handle quite a lot of off road abuse due to the lack of weight and can give a good account of itself up against a full suspension bike
I have risen emtb s hard tail and full sus and the full sus is far better for the riding I do
next time dont touch the brakesI can't say that I have ever found riding rough terrain to be in an issue, in fact my hardtail copes very well with it. Each to their own though.
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