The organiser's trusty steed

Hill Climb

The day's events began with the hill climb. A number of bikes took part and David Henshaw from A to B powered his way to the top of the hill riding an eZee Forte.

On the descent, Ian Johnson riding an eZee Torq snatched victory, an outcome which was to be repeated in the exciting finishing stages of the afternoon's endurance rally.

Results

1st Place - Ian Johnson
2nd Place - David Henshaw

Before the afternoon's Questions and Answers session, we spent some time talking to exhibitors and their customers in and around the tent. Given the weather, all were pleased with the turnout and it was a good opportunity to speak directly to the customers.

We first spoke to a gentleman who currently owns a Giant LaFree and was having difficulty with the hill-climbing ability of the bike and the range of the battery. Due to a disability he was looking for a bike which could further reduce his pedalling effort and also provide a step-through frame.

Sizing up the PowaTryke Cruiser

Another potential customer was there to support his wife who is epileptic, can't drive and needs assisted pedalling to get to the shops. While drying off over lunch in the local pub we overheard a couple of conversations from other visitors. One lady said she wants something to keep cycling, so switches off power on the flat but uses it up hills and when tired on the way home. A chap in the pub was looking for 2nd hand bikes, where better than the Pedelecs forum!

Outside the tent and on the road, a number of test-rides were taking place throughout the day and we got the impression people were pleased to be able to try and compare different machines head-to-head.

A couple prepare to test ride
"where's the kick start?"

Afternoon Questions and Answers

We retired to the dry for the afternoon's question and answer session. In all there were approaching 100 attendees and the session began with a review of 2006 by David Henshaw.

David is keen to discover an electric folder, sees the industry getting bigger and feels we are at the beginning of a new movement. He was rather downbeat about the lack of real improvements in battery technology this last year and is still not convinced about the long term reliability of Li-ion. He has already seen failures in 2006 li-ions whilst older Ni-Mh batteries are still going strong. He wants 40-50 mile range and says a new Giant Twist promises a 40 mile range on twin batteries at £1400 but it hasn't been proved yet. He believes fuel cells are still a pipedream and wants lighter faster bikes which will go further and the slow progress is frustrating.

Scott of 50cycles reported few changes, a number of range improvements but not as much as he'd hoped for this year. The Ezee spec has been improved with the introduction of li-ion manganese over the past year.
The recently launched F range (Forza/Forte) are useful extensions to their range.

A chance for a brief respite from the rain

Hugo was a non-bike related speaker who is involved with the design and technology behind a range of electric vehicles. He doesn't see a society without cars in the near term and fails to see the likelihood of intercity electric vehicles, preferring to place them as realistic urban transport whilst fuel cell and combined fuel vehicles provide his vision for longer range transportation. His overall message was about inclusivity rather than a focus on one power source.

John Turner is developing small-scale hydrogen fuel cells and sees niche applications ideal for electric bikes. To support this vision he is developing a bike with Birmingham University and he hopes to be able to report on his
prototypes within a month or two.

David Miall of Wisper Bikes had just returned from a visit to Shanghai, where he met his manufacturing partners to agree range improvements and visited a huge bike show, China Cycle 2007. In 2006, 7 million bikes were sold in China with only a further 3 million sold in the rest of world. China has the monopoly on manufacturing electric bikes and in Shanghai 50% of the bikes on the street are electric bikes. Chinese riders are progressing to electric, but disappointingly, they seem to prefer riding on the throttle, not pedelec! In his final comments he spoke in dismay of the heavy import duty charged on electric bikes which makes them seem so expensive in the UK.

There were lots of questions from the audience but not many about electric bikes. The discussions mainly focussed on fuel cells. There were no conclusive answers but the discussions were around the following issues:

The size of fuel cells required for a 30mile range? No finite answer was given and John Turner's response that one cell may be enough was met with some disbelief.

Whether fuel cells are seen as a range extender or as a replacement for battery? The former seemed to be the consensus.

What is being done about expired batteries ? There seemed to be agreement that we need to encourage manufacturers to arrange recycling procedures.

Are Electric bikes only for older riders? With a very mixed audience it was felt that ranges should reflect different markets with models suitable for young commuters and others suitable for older riders. In reality, this is exactly what we already see out there and the newer more stylish bikes are definitely designed with younger riders in mind.


Finally, a question was raised as to whether it was time for a trade organisation/body to be set up to act on behalf of the electric bike industry? No definitive reponse was given to this point.

Riders gather for the Race

The Rally

The endurance rally (not a race apparently) finally began just before 5pm, fairly late in the day given the weather conditions. This was most likely to allow for the those entering the hill climb to recharge their batteries.

Approximately 25 riders took part, riding all manner of machines from stock production models to home brew contraptions. We counted several machines from eZee, PowaByke, PowaCycle, Urban Mover and Giant. Pete Mustill began the race on his modified Giant and completed it riding the Wisper. On the homebrew side, we spotted a Currie, several tandems and a yellow mean machine manned by father and two young sons, one of whom peddalled whilst the other sat in a midships box operating the waterpistol!

They call him, the leader of the pack

Once the rally got underway, David Henshaw quickly took the lead on an eZee Forte hotly pursued by Ian Johnson on his modified eZee Torq. Peter Henshaw followed in third place riding an eZee Forza. Many other production and homebrew bikes including a tandem provided fierce competition especially on the straights. The experienced riders really won through the bends.

By mid-race, David had opened up his lead, easily lapping some of the other riders. However, by lap 19, Ian's confidence on the corners in the wet had improved dramatically and he began to gain ground. After disappearing out of sight at the far end of the course, on lap 20, suddenly the two leading riders appeared with Ian finally passing David on the long straight. A few slower bikes on the subsequent corner blocked David's path, preventing him from regaining the lead, and over the remaining laps, Ian established a 45-second lead.

Prepare to be lapped

By now, the corner opposite the judges' tent and finish line had become submerged by the heavy rain. With cyclists using the corner in both directions, this lead to some interesting encounters, but happily there were no collisions. Some suicidal foot soldiers returning from the Eco event provided additional obstacles for the riders and certainly kept the course marshalls alert!

Finally, time was called and the chequered flag appeared (in actuality it was a tea-towel) with Ian Johnson winning the rally after covering approximately 18 miles on his unrestricted Torq. David Henshaw came in second place, followed by Peter Henshaw in third. Fourth place was occupied by David Little from Natural Discovery on an Urban Mover UM36.

Results

Unrestricted:

    1st : Ian Johnson - eZee Torq (modified/unrestricted)
    2nd : David Henshaw - eZee Forte (turbo mode/unrestricted)
    3rd : Peter Henshaw - eZee Forza (turbo mode/unrestricted)

Mayor of Presteigne presents the winner's trophy

We spoke with Ian briefly after the race to congratulate him on his second win of the day. Ian had covered 18 miles in the endurance and told us he was conserving power during the early stages of the race, before finally overtaking David in the final laps. Ian from Derbyshire was riding his own eZee Torq to which he has made severals modifications, including changes to the gearing and applying our resident forum guru Flecc's twistgrip modification.

Comment of the Day

"This is the most stupid thing I've done in my life" - Peter Mustill (organiser)

We congratulate him for arranging and overseeing an excellent day and look forward to the 2008 Electric Bike Rally.

More photos to follow on Wednesday