E-Bikes on the Rhine/Mosel in Germany

[Tubamanandy]

Just back from a two-week camping holiday along the Rhine/Mosel rivers in Germany.

Really surprised at the large numbers of e-bikes I spotted en-route. To be honest, it was probably a 60/40 split between normal bikes & e-bikes - I saw many more than when I was there last bike BUT the majority were definitely crank drives (saw very few hub motors).

Main makes I spotted were Flyers, Giant, Victoria, Gazelle, Batavus, Kalkhoff and Trek - most were either Bosch or Panasonic units. Some of the Bosch crank drives seemed very smart/compact units.

Just to confirm, e-bikes really seem to have taken off on the continent although I was in an area where many people were touring.

 

[flecc]

Just back from a two-week camping holiday along the Rhine/Mosel rivers in Germany.

Really surprised at the large numbers of e-bikes I spotted en-route. To be honest, it was probably a 60/40 split between normal bikes & e-bikes - I saw many more than when I was there last bike BUT the majority were definitely crank drives (saw very few hub motors).

Main makes I spotted were Flyers, Giant, Victoria, Gazelle, Batavus, Kalkhoff and Trek - most were either Bosch or Panasonic units. Some of the Bosch crank drives seemed very smart/compact units.

Just to confirm, e-bikes really seem to have taken off on the continent although I was in an area where many people were touring.

They certainly have, sales in The Netherlands and Germany are in hundreds of thousands per annum in each of those countries. In The Netherlands, 1 in 6 bikes sold now are e-bikes and that's been a steadily increasing proportion. In Britain it's mostly been 1 in 100 and peaking at 1 in 67 at best recently. We have a very long way to go.
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[Tubamanandy]

I think the UK is missing a trick