Pedelecs member, Paul Rogers, tells us how stumbling across electric bikes four years ago has changed both his personal and working life:
“My introduction to the world of electric bikes came by pure chance, when I spotted one for sale on eBay about four years ago. Until then I had no clue that e-bikes existed. The bike in question was a Chinese cheap copy of the popular Wisper branded bikes. I purchased one, and had my first amazing ride on an electric bike. Although a joy to ride, it just wasn’t for me. I live in a second floor flat. It just wasn’t practical with two flights stairs!
Around this time I discovered the Pedelecs forum and heard about e-bike “DIY kits” allowing any bicycle to be converted to an electric bike. Although the idea of converting a bike seemed daunting, the Pedelecs forum proved to be a great source of technical support and inspiration, with many forum members enjoying doing conversions.
I needed a lighter, folding electric bike to carry up stairs and store folded in a cupboard in my flat. My first conversion was a 26” folding silver mountain bike, a clone of the Dahon Espresso. It was a great bike, and got a lot of attention as it was the first to have a fancy LCD console. It was much easier to convert than I imagined too. To keep the bike light, I used a small 5Ah battery from which I managed 18 miles using full power pedal assist!
After a knee injury I needed much something smaller, as the folding mountain bike was too heavy at 20kg. I was lucky to spot a cheap Mezzo folding bike on eBay. This was my first high quality branded bike. It was a sheer joy to ride, even without power. And Mezzo’s having anodised scratch resistant aluminium alloy frames and small 16” wheels made it an ideal conversion candidate for an ultra-portable take-anywhere e-bike. However, nobody had ever attempted converting one before. The “eMezzo” as I dubbed it, would be the first of its kind! I ordered all the parts I needed from China, but due to the nature of the Mezzo fold, the rear wheel had to be specially made up from scratch.
When ATB Sales the Mezzo manufacturers and distributors heard about my “eMezzo”, they were really quite excited and interested to see it! The conversion was more challenging than I thought, but I was very pleased with the end result. It has the perfect combination, of speed, power and portability in a bike that folds almost as small as a Brompton – with the same benefit of being allowed on trains and planes.
During my time on the Pedelecs forum, we started discussing the idea of public charge points for e-bikers, to extend the range we could travel. The idea generated a lot of interest and support, so myself and Lynda Graves (a veteran e-bike owner and forum member), decided to pursue it and with the help of forum members we started the appropriately named CycleCharge project. Already there over 70 free-to-use Cyclecharge charge points around the UK, provided in co-operation with local businesses, but it’s just the beginning!
As for myself, I love my eMezzo and couldn’t have picked a better bike. I can’t imagine how I ever managed without an e-bike. It’s no overstatement when I say owning one has been a life-changing experience for me in so many ways. Not only is it invaluable for my business for doing deliveries, but have I been able to travel to many new places. I’ve had so many great days out during the summer months, made many new friends, and have new hobbies all though electric bikes!
With the electric bike industry still in its infancy in the UK, we are starting to see some exciting innovations and e-bike technologies appearing, such as Speedict, a Bluetooth device which lets you use your smartphone to control your e-bike.
Another great thing about electric bikes is filming bike rides and posting videos of our travels on YouTube for others. With that in mind, I have some e-bike trips planned next year. The first being to make a pilgrimage on my eMezzo to Malvern to visit the home of my favourite composer Sir Edward Elgar and to ride around his stomping ground, the Malvern Hills, where he was a keen cyclist. And then the highlight of the year will be three trips I’m planning to Gibraltar, Isle of Man and Channel Isles during the summer. Naturally, my eMezzo will be coming with me to all three destinations!”
Our thanks to Paul for sharing his story to inspire others. Please mail us if you too want to share your electric bike story.
