Aims

[Jack.Eagle]

Researching the prospects for the electric bike in the UK.
Could it get more people cycling and be used as a form of transport for shorter trips?
What barriers does the electric bike face to greater sales volumes in the UK?

In this forum I will post a number of questions that will be fairly open ended, under which people can comment as they wish. If anyone has any further questions they would like answering please let me know and I will include them.

Many Thanks

 

[Conal]

Barriers to the growth of electric bikes

The main barried must be lack of awareness / information (but not on this forum!)
Price must also be a large factor
Range, although getting better
Weight including battery, again getting better (often more of a problem for those who chose lectric bikes becaue of medical conditions or problems riding normal bikes)
Purchase methods - buying over the net is new to many and relatively high proces mean that some must be scared away
Aftersales and servicing - again few suppliers means paying for the bykes to be sent back and damage could be caused - can scare people away
Trains, not just electric bikes, in my area bikes are not allowed during commuter rush

 

[Jack.Eagle]

awareness

I think awareness is the major barrier to great e-bike use in the UK.

Obviously on this forum there is a very high awareness! But it would be interesting to find out how people first heard about e-bikes, and what percentage of the general public is aware of them.

Cheers


Jack

 

[Beeping-Sleauty]

Perception

I think awareness is the major barrier to great e-bike use in the UK.

Obviously on this forum there is a very high awareness! But it would be interesting to find out how people first heard about e-bikes, and what percentage of the general public is aware of them.

Cheers


Jack

also perhaps perception, talk to most folk about electric bikes and they are under the impression that 'they're for Senior citizens & the disabled' yet when i am out on mine, i get stopped every day and asked the usual, how fast is it, how far does it go, what did it cost etc... people are generally amazed when you spell out the actual running cost, and these enquirers are all ages,

plus you don't see many ebikes, not on the roads, nor in the shops, so at the moment folks don't know what is available or what it costs, and many people don't want to look out of place or be the first to try something new.

this may all change with the cost of petrol and the increasing 'eco' climate, and will put more cyclists on the road generally, some of these will be electric.

 

[Jack.Eagle]

petrol prices

I think as petrol prices keep increase people will look for different forms of transports and electric bikes and conventional bikes seem like a good solution.

 

[scobo]

I was looking into the availability of electric cars in the UK (which is not very good) when I discovered electric bikes.
They make perfect sense as a means of transport for people who don't live too far from where they work.
I'd say the range will be a barrier to those who have a lenghty commute and they might be a bit pricey for some people for recreational purposes.

 

[chess]

I think that e-bikes would become more widely used if:

a) people were more aware of their existence-perhaps 'events' in local areas to make people more aware would help here.

b) reliability was known to be good-this seems to be close with new batteries but as yet these have not been tested over time enough.

c) their use to overcome hills, headwinds and to carry loads over short distances was well know

d) overall running costs were known to be low, particularly replacement batteries-as yet I feel that e-bikes are not more than on a par with small motorbikes or scooters.

F) their use for commuting was known-here they are generally cheap and useful as I am told it rains only about 12 days in an average year for the time when people commute (wish the weather knew that rather than statisticians!).

chess

 

[jill]

Researching the prospects for the electric bike in the UK.
Could it get more people cycling and be used as a form of transport for shorter trips?
What barriers does the electric bike face to greater sales volumes in the UK?

In this forum I will post a number of questions that will be fairly open ended, under which people can comment as they wish. If anyone has any further questions they would like answering please let me know and I will include them.

Many Thanks

I need to get to work in a area that the buses do not run at the times I need to get to work.I dont drive and have no intentions of learning due to cost and my nerves.My problem is that most places do not cater for staff to come on bikes dispite all the cycle schemes ect.They do not have secure , well lite and sheltered places.That would make all the difference.The cost of bus fares is getting silly.

 

[timidtom]

We find tremendous interest in our bikes whereever we go - local pubs, gardens, shopping in the village. We've offered trial rides to people who look trustworthy (most people are, after all). The main perceived snag is not the range of the bikes but the cost of replacement batteries. Once this reaches an acceptable level - folk seem to expect a sub-£100 price. A chicken/egg situation? Supply & demand and all that ...
Tom

 

[Growbag]

Price (particularly of replacement batteries) is a stumbling block. But there is a sunny side to this, and the more people that we can introduce or convert to electric biking hopefully this will bring the price down over a period of time.

Chess also mad a valid point when he said people were more aware of their existence-perhaps 'events' in local areas to make people more aware would help here.
I agree with this, and such events should look at the massive possibilities for the social side of activity for electric biking. Some people will only want their bike for a commute to work or the shops. But there is a whole social side just waiting to be tapped of local or regional meets and rides. A group of electric cyclists pulling up at a cafe or pub before, after or during a ride is bound to get interest and whet the appetite of people.