Attendance figures just released show 25,514 people came through the gates at the NEC during the 4 day event. With ticket sales up on last year, we show just a few of the stands exhibiting electric bikes below, along with comments from some of the companies who took part in the UK’s largest cycling show.
Powabyke’s Keith Palmer told Pedelecs that the show proved a very busy one for them. With a “good calibre of visitor both trade and public” alongside “a good range of exhibitors” 2013’s Cycle Show proved just the “leg up” Powabyke wanted in the early days after taking ownership of Powabyke.
The Show was the first for Powabyke since the management buyout and Keith further commented that ‘everyone was genuinely pleased to see Powabyke under our control and we signed up dealers who had previously moved away from Powabyke.’
In terms of product popularity on the Powabyke stand, Keith told Pedelecs that ‘7 out of 10 visitors – both trade and public – were interested in the Conv-e electric conversion kit…the general comments were ‘we have seen lots of e-bikes over £2000 but all we want is assistance without complications and at £699.00 the Conv-e is good value and we can still use our own bike.” Keith also added that the The Brompton conversion “had crowds of Brompton owners licking their lips.”
Andrew Lozinski of Oxygen also had a good show: “Probably the best Cycle Show so far with great interest in electric bikes and, surprisingly, amazing interest in our range of electric industrial trikes.”
For newcomer, RooDog, this Cycle Show was their first. Weiwei Wu told us they “could not have asked for a better response” in launching their brand with the four day show. Their eye-catching polka dot e-bikes led the company’s campaign at the show of offering “an e-bike for everyone and to make that first attraction via the style of bikes.” Complementing their existing product range, the polka dot will be available in January 2014, with this bike “specifically designed for the female riders, nothing fussy, just classic, stylish and functional…for all age groups.” 
JuicyBike also had a good response from both the trade and public, Bob Wales told us the “new retail partners who are now stocking Juicy Bikes confirmed the changes we have made to our latest “Juicy Click” range did the job of reassuring the traditional bike shops that there is nothing to fear with stocking electric bikes. We were able to demonstrate to traditional bike mechanics and bike owners alike that electrical components on the new Click range can be replaced or upgraded very easily.”
Mark Loveridge of The British Electric Bicycle Association also found the 2013 Cycle Show to be the best yet: “There was a fantastic array of electric bicycles to suit every need with a record breaking number of exhibitors and the largest test track with the steepest incline yet. Members also found they were having sensible conversations with members of the public talking about watt hours and torque ratings! All in all, it was a great sign that the market is growing, but also maturing.”
One major drawback of an otherwise good event for Kudos, was the lack of safety on the test track according to Dave Elderfield on the forum. Combined with a lack of vetting testers, Kudos felt that the test track facility fell far short of what other venues provide specifically for e-bikes.
50Cycles summed up the growth in the industry in recent times, saying “we were impressed by the number of electric bike stands this year, especially compared to our first Cycle Show back in 2004 when only ourselves and the importer of the American e-bike attended and the 99% of the public had not heard of electric bikes at all. Nine years later we find a very different market place with a clued-up audience who were there to try out many bikes…. we sold a good number of bikes there too which made it worthwhile and met up with old friends in the industry too”.
Something a little different – and very laudable – at the show was the Murphy HGV spotlighting road safety for cyclists as part of the organisation’s “commitment to cycling safety as a responsible civil engineering contractor”. The stand gave the opportunity for cyclists to climb into the cab of the Murphy lorry and see first-hand the driver’s view. A hand-out highlighted the danger areas for cyclists, showing HGV blind spots and in particular the dangers of cycling up the left hand side of a stationery HGV at a junction. The company urges cyclists to stay behind lorries or get a long way in front where a driver can clearly see you, and to never assume you have been spotted.
Staff also explained to stand visitors the side scan and audible warning devices that are fitted to Murphy’s new trucks as well as the education given to drivers on the importance of taking extra care when in proximity to vulnerable road users.
The Hochtief Murphy Joint Venture team are responsible for delivering 2.6 km of new tunnels beneath the River Thames for the Crossrail’s C310 Thames Tunnel project and told us that in the last four years in London, over 50% of cyclist fatalities have been caused by heavy goods vehicles, despite HGV’s only making up 4% of the traffic volume.
