* * * Tour de Presteigne 2008 Details * * *

[Haku]

That's me near the back:

I saw a lot of photographers around the course during the race & a few video cameras, so more pics & clips please! next year I'll be racing with a headcam to show people just how hairy it got going round some of the corners, I have the necessary equipment here but didn't have enough time to get it all together as I was too busy on Saturday cleaning+tuning up my bike and finishing off the lighting setup (which I'm sure people couldn't have failed to see during the race...)

Amazingly my legs don't ache today even with my normal riding but I am still feeling a big exhausted, I had a go on a couple of other bikes and wished I had the confidence to go up and ask to have a go on more to see how they compared to mine but nevermind, I'm still very happy with what I got.

 

[JohnInStockie]

Some pics of bikes

Heres some pics of the bikes at the Presteigne 2008 show

link

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

Heres some pics of the bikes at the Presteigne 2008 show

link

Great pics John. I think the last one is the pro connect step through though and not an agattu.

Regards
Paul

 

[JohnInStockie]

oops sorry!

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

was it light

Paul

 

[Tintaglia]

Great pics John. I think the last one is the pro connect step through though and not an agattu.

Regards
Paul

We found the entire Kalkhoff range very confusing, never knowing which one we were looking at, except the ones with a cross bar which were too tall for our little legs!! I'm sure the differences are obvious when you know what you are looking at, but the only way we found was the number of gears and the presence/absence of a computer/speedo (not very scientific). In our defence they were continually changing places as people took them for a test ride and returned them and they all rode beautifully. The frame/wheel sizes took a bit of getting used to as well, on a couple of occasions we thought we were looking at the same bike we had tried previously, only to notice some subtle difference

 

[stokepa31_mk2]

We found the entire Kalkhoff range very confusing, never knowing which one we were looking at, except the ones with a cross bar which were too tall for our little legs!! I'm sure the differences are obvious when you know what you are looking at, but the only way we found was the number of gears and the presence/absence of a computer/speedo (not very scientific). In our defence they were continually changing places as people took them for a test ride and returned them and they all rode beautifully. The frame/wheel sizes took a bit of getting used to as well, on a couple of occasions we thought we were looking at the same bike we had tried previously, only to notice some subtle difference

I guess thats the problem when there are all those choices. I only base my observation on the lack of front suspension and the fact that its a different colour. like you say, its all very subtle. I'm really jealous as I was unable to attend. perhaps next year!!!

Regards
Paul

 

[JohnInStockie]

was it light

Paul

Yes, not heavy at all, but for reference the lightest ones were the Brompton and Trek Nano's. Even my wife thought the Trek was light.

John

 

[faphillips]

I took part as well on my Brompton Nano ( I was dressed completely in black with a Red Helmet). Not sure where I came but lapped Tony Castles on his Brompton Nano twice but he didnt pedal at all so not surprising. Tony's bike had the new narrow Tongxin motor and he tells me that it seems to have very similar performance to the standard motor although still needs special forks.

It was great fun and it is diificult to get over the great atmosphere to those not there. I may well do it again next year.

I am unsure whether many of the front runners had any assistance from their electric motors as the top 5 must have all been doing 30 mph - maybe faster. It was quite scary the speed they passed me at and in places the course was very narrow.

There were 2 bikes made for 3 competing - with dad and 2 small children - and the speed they passed me at was scary (think they must have had deristricted motors)

I pedalled furiously but with only 2 gears I cant actually go much faster than 17mph on the flat and I did about 17 miles during the hour.

I dont normally pedal significantly and expected my legs to be killing me today but they are absolutely fine.

It was interesting to note that whenever I left the bike unattended someone would pick it up to see how heavy it was (they should have looked in the bag as I was carrying a charger and a spare battery so it weighed more than normal).

Followed 'John from Cambridge' for a while and he may even have lapped me but we didnt speak.

Francis

 

[burncycle]

Heres some pics of the bikes at the Presteigne 2008 show

link

Great Pictures John.
A real treat.
Thankyou.

 

[Haku]

There's a bunch of race photos on Tour de Presteigne now, but the guy who drove me to Presteigne is in more photos than I am, and he didn't race!

Haku, no. 21

 

[Tintaglia]

Rogue Road Cone

This hilarious incident was at the end of the rally when they re-opened the high street to cars. In their haste to reclaim the road they were blocked by the sheer weight of cyclists and a rogue road cone (electric remote controlled). You can't see on the video but at the end of the clip when the cone is spinning it is also squirting out water from the top. Luckily even the car driver got the joke

YouTube - Presteigne 2008 road cone incident

 

[john]

This hilarious incident...

Fantastic......!!

 

[Lloyd_50cycles]

Hi, just thought I'd clear a few things up about the Kalkhoff's we entered on Sunday. The idea of project X was to show exactly how fast an Agattu can go. Niether me nor Tom are Pro cyclists( if we were we would be out training right now instead of working!). The Kalkhoff bikes are pedal assist bikes, mine was custom modified to assist me between 15-30 mph( still using the Shimano 7 spd nexus hub system). I will post pics and detail how later if anyone is interested. I am actually 90kg and the lycra was meant to be a joke, I am waaaay to chunky to be a road racer!. I was averaging 28-ish-mph until my confounded puncture stopped all that, and I can assure you all that there's no way I could do that on a normal bike. Project X is here at our showroom if anyone wishes they too can take her out and see for themselves how the bike did most of the work(I advise bringing a helmet.....and knee pads....and elbow pads. Just in case). Infact I did let one of the guys from another e bike company have a go on her Sunday morning and I'm sure he could vouch for how fast she went. I can't repeat exactly what he said, it was far too rude.....
Also the Pro Connect Emma entered on was completely out-of-the-box and she is not a cyclist atall. Infact I had to bribe her to even enter in the first place! The bike genuinely had only lost one bar of battery for the whole hour. All in all though I really hope everyone enjoyed the event and it was great to see so many e-bikes at one time! It was good to put a face to the voices I have been speaking to on the phone. Roll on next year!

 

[JamesC]

I took part as well on my Brompton Nano ( I was dressed completely in black with a Red Helmet).

It was great fun and it is diificult to get over the great atmosphere to those not there. I may well do it again next year.

Francis

A big thank you to Pete Mustill and the people of Presteigne for an excellent weekend.

As the rider of Torq # 22 (still restricted !!) in the Tour, I was really impressed by the speed of some of the regular guys and gals - the Bromptons were very effective and put in a great turn of speed, as also did the two family bikes with dad and two smalls going extremely well with huge smiles all round.

I was pleased to meet some 4 or 5 Torq owners and chat about developments - a great effort by Ian Johnson to come home first on the Tour against some very strong opposition.

The fast guys created great excitement, and speaking as one who was overtaken quite frequently, there was good communication each time someone wanted to pass. Not being a racer, it took me a couple of laps to decide which side they were passing on when the call went up "coming on your inside". When you are cycling clockwise, is the "inside" on your right (being nearer the centre of the circle) or is it your left (being nearer the traditional kerbside).

The mixture of performance could have produced problems, but good humour and consideration prevailed to make it an excellent event.

James

 

[dufus25]

Hi 50 Cycles

Can I ask how you justify deliberately breaking the law by cycling on public roads with a bike set up to assist to 30mph. In my opinion it is disgraceful that an ebike company would behave in this way. You then offer to publish details so others can copy your illegal bike.

Disgusted
Dufus

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Illegal

Hi 50 Cycles

Can I ask how you justify deliberately breaking the law by cycling on public roads with a bike set up to assist to 30mph. In my opinion it is disgraceful that an ebike company would behave in this way. You then offer to publish details so others can copy your illegal bike.

Disgusted
Dufus

Hi Dufus

I think that the highly tweaked bikes were only for use in the race and 50 cycles would not be so irresponsible as to encourage the use of illegal bikes on the public highway on a day to day basis.

The roads we actually closed for the duration of the race and I must say to see those "illegal" bikes flying around the course added to the spectacle and excitement of the day.

On a sober note, we do all have to be careful with these faster than legal electric bikes, we are enjoying a prolonged period of non interference by government and police. Too many incidents involving fast ebikes would draw unwelcome attention and may well spoil it for all.

Best regards David

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Great Vid!

Hi

Here is a video on our blog of the recent rally in Presteigne.

This should show the good humour of the whole event and the superbly friendly atmosphere.

Well done Scott!

Great video, it really captured the essence of the day.

This event could become the Cannes of the Pedelec world! But Peter can't be expected to do it all himself. Do you think he would be interested if we all got together to help? If he is would you be up for it?

All the best David

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Preseigne 2009

OK Scott

I will contact Peter and call you.

All the best David

 

[Lloyd_50cycles]

Hi Dufus,
In answer to your accusation. I can justify using a 30 mph e-bike as it was, as David said, on a closed circuit as part of an organised event, not a public road. I in no way condone the use of illegal e-bikes on public roads.

You are entitled to your opinion, but you live in a society where diferences of opinion are allowed if indeed encouraged. In our opinon it shows some of the potential of the Agattu in the "right" hands.

My offer to show how this was achieved was in response to an earlier thread expressing interest on this very forum. The use of this information (which to be honest most people could figure out on their own if they wish) is entirely at the discrection of the end user. Rumour has it that there are cars on our very roads that have the capabilty to exceed 100mph, when the national limit is 70!!!!!