Raleigh scoops KOGA sales rights in the UK

[trex]

I think we should keep a distinction between self builds and ready made bikes. Self build bikes cannot be certified, therefore it's up to the individuals to decide where to draw the line with regard to motor power. I wouldn't put too much faith on the label either. If you compare the output of a 250W Panasonic hub against that of a 250W Keyde front hub motor, it does not take much expertise to know which one is more powerful. Is this difference down to technology? that the P hub is so much better built than the Keyde unit that it can pull wheelies where the Keyde can't? No, it's not. It's down to other components and to 'engineering view' of their respective manufacturer as how to specify the wattage of their motor. I met a guy yesterday who rides one of those 1000W DD motor kits. I asked him why he needed 1000W, he told me that he likes the acceleration, he's not that bothered with speed. Should we treat the guy with the 1000W DD motor that can't pull wheelies but has an illegal label as law breaker when compared to the other guy who's bought a ready made Panasonic powered bike?

 

[EddiePJ]

we are all agreed that 250 watts is more than enough,is legal and is also in the spirit of what Pedelecs were conceived.
KudosDave

I really didn't want to derail this thread any further, so sorry for this Martin.

Dave if you had made that comment a year ago, I'd have been privately thinking "get lost". The reason being that I was then very misguided, as to what a pedelece should be about. Over the last year I have grown to know exactly what a pedelec should be about*.
Owning and riding a pedelec is to me now more about being able to ride at realistic pedal cycle speed along flat ground and down hill, but then being able to pedal up hills with assist, at a rate that is both giving me a safe to others, sensible attract no attention speed, along with a decent work out should I so desire one. The law as it stands meets all of my requirements, and even whilst out riding today on my pedal only KTM mtb, I was thinking how great that it was that riding with 100% rider input, makes you feel so alive. The sense of achievement climbing without any assist up steep inclines, just can't be matched. I'm certain sure that with the rise of both power and speed, that this sense of achievement would ultimately be lost altogether. Certainly riding an e-mtb doesn't give the same buzz, but it allows me to do the extra miles that I want to do, without so much of the pain afterwards.
A legal e-mtb gives me a good balance for all my requirements, and even if the law ever did permit greater power/speed, I won't be switching.
Sadly one of the first questions that I get asked when out and about is, how fast does it go, and does it have a throttle. Awareness also appears to growing about e-bikes, as more and more frequently, the next question is about dongles, and can one be fitted, or does it have one.
I lent my Haibike to someone last week who had expressed an interest in buying an e-bike for winter training, and I felt that he would be better trying a bike before buying one. He was a road rider, and his first question was about dongles. He seemed disappointed that it didn't have one, because his friends bike did. A week later when he returned the bike, he openly said that a dongle would have ruined his riding experience, and that he is now going to be buying a crank drive e-bike, but won't be fitting dongle. In the end, gearing proved to be more important to him than anything else.

To end, if I wanted electric off road speed, I'd buy a KTM Freeride E.

Once again, sorry to derail the thread further Martin.



*About for me.

 

[tillson]

Well said and very true!

I was the first outside member to join this forum in Autumn 2006 when it started and helped in bringing in the early members through links and an introductory article in my own e-bike websites.

I think all those original earliest members except me have disappeared now, and I'm now almost out of the door, just inserting the odd correction to something wrongly posted.

I thought it was just me, feeling this way. The forum interests me less these days and topics which I feel motivated to read crop up very infrequently. I have absolutely no interest whatsoever in high speed, high power bikes because I feel that they violate the fundermental reason for the ebike's creation and existence, utility cycling.

The motivation for high speed electric bike ownership is usually driven by a desire to ride something similar to a motorcycle in terms of performance, but without the cost and responsibility which accompanies motorcycle ownership. More than this, there is also a wanting to share cycling facilities such as cycle lanes and paths. This situation is repugnant and has no place in a forum which purports to be a credible Ebike / Pedelec site.

Sadly, since I joined just over 6 years ago, the forum has migrated away from Ebikes and more toward motor vehicles and that shift has accelerated over the past 12 months. Hence, my level of interest has accelerated toward zero. I don't even look in much these days, but I still enjoy my bike.