Channel 5 Gadget Show

[fcurran]

FiveFWD - Urban Challenge - Part One video from The Gadget Show

[eddieo]

God i cant stand the fake over the top enthusiasm of this show......But I watched it this time

They had quite a few bikes on there. kalkhoff and wisper were oddly not present. the Eeze Forza and the AtoB where the favourites. but X bike and cytronex were shown as well

But boy what a truly awful bunch lol

[Phil the drill]

Couldn't agree more, I watched it, but it was rather painful to do so. I love the idea of 'testing' e-bikes by riding them around an oval..... that's bound to give a good idea of what it's like to ride up a hill..... . The rather rather rapturous review given to the Kioga Miyata is a case in point. I'd rather try to ride a cheap mountain bike up the hills around me than use one of them...
Ah well, I'm assured that nobody with a brain watches that show anyway (having just done so myself I'm satisfied that it's pretty unlikely they do) I certainly won't bother again.
Incidentally I've never come across the 'A to B' bike anyone on here tried (or even own) one?
Strangely, although the Kalkhoff's and Wispers were absent, someone seems to have been browsing in 50 cycles - note the Casco helmet and winku mirrors. The mirrors appeared to make the 'A to B' bike extremely wide. A bit of a hazard I would have thought in central London?

Phil

[Beeping-Sleauty]

don't have TV but was in a chums' house who knows i have electric bike & tuned in, pitiful, this was a gimmick surely, learnt nothing, reminded me why i don't have TV.

opportunity lost,
sad beeps

[flecc]

The A2B has been discussed in here previously. It's hardly qualifies as a bike with those moped style wheels and wide tyres. I'm fairly sure there was a Wisper in there, and I believe a Panasonic powered bike, both in the initial range shown leaning on a fence, though they aren't mentioned in the video Frank posted, but the camera pan was too fast to identify the bikes with certainty.

It was probably inevitable that they would choose the two most powerful machines present, given the nature of the silly challenge, but anything that might get people enthusiastic about riding around on personal electric two wheelers instead of driving cars is welcome of course, regardless of what they are.
.

[fcurran]

Bikes present from memory in no particular order:

Wisper
Kalkhoff
Powabyke
Powacycle
Urban
Brompton Nano
Cytronex
A2B
Ezee
Emotion (from OnBike)


Im sure there were a couple more but can't remember. If I think of them then I will post details.

[winterdog]

its interesting that people can make a program with out being encumbered with things like ... information ... facts ... any thing useful about the tech they were playing with.

i did not hear them give any good reason for the bikes they selected.
perhaps it was the bikes with largest <promotion> budget

i cant imagine the a2b is much faster than the 905 that was there

all in all a rotter of a program

[matt-derby]

I had many texts this evening regarding the show, most from former colleagues in the design field who know I have an EB and most still in their 20's. Their feedback was very positive. A stark contrast to their first impressions when I told them I had bought one.. comments such as cheating etc.

Maybe there is a small chink of light resulting from the show, if only to inform the younger generation that there are some exciting developments in the bicycle industry and to alternative forms of transport. Anyone really interested in parting with over £1000 will surely stumble upon this site and benefit from the feedback and advice, like I'm sure we all have.

Most of the main brands were there too, including Wisper and Kalkhoff.

Matt

[Vikki]

I couldn't help but notice that Jason Bradbury (a quite fit person and very competitive) was actually pedalling that bike for all he was worth in an effort to beat Suzie. Pedalling faster than, I suspect, the bike could go. He's done a number of bicycle challenges and he can go like the wind. So, was it a real test in his case? Suzie is no slouch on a bike either and has walloped Jason in the past.

Best regards.

Vikki.

[fcurran]

Originally Posted by Vikki

I couldn't help but notice that Jason Bradbury (a quite fit person and very competitive) was actually pedalling that bike for all he was worth in an effort to beat Suzie. Pedalling faster than, I suspect, the bike could go. He's done a number of bicycle challenges and he can go like the wind. So, was it a real test in his case? Suzie is no slouch on a bike either and has walloped Jason in the past.

Best regards.

Vikki.

If you ever meet Jason, you will see he is ultra competitive and a big kid at heart. To be fair he loves his gadgets and the bigger and faster the better! The A2B is a fast bike and no doubt he had it derestricted, but he explained his reasons for choosing this bike over all the others to be because it would appeal to the Gadget Show viewers as it was different to everything else. I think Suzie chose her bike mainly for comfort reasons and she only won the challenge due to her superior Satnav system.

All in all, it was good exposure for the electric bike industry and I am just happy to of been a part of it on the day.

Regards

FrankC
Powabyke Ltd