raleigh electric bike

[jac]

hi all i am completely new to this so not sure if this will work but have enjoyed reading all the stuff on the site i just thought you might be interested in this bike on sale on german ebay raleigh bike with panasonic drive plus lithithium 10 amph battery the no is 120146964944 it looks like an nice city bike looks like giant could lose a lot of sales to this machine

regards jim

 

[flecc]

Welcome to the forum Jim, and thanks for this information. We have the similar Gazelle Easy Rider available here now with that same motor unit, but it's nearly £200 dearer than that at £1400. The problem is that the Raleigh is cash on collection, so only for someone who can combine that with a holiday or business trip.
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[jac]

hi i just thought as this bike is now selling in germany now we might expect to see it in the uk in the future but would like to ask the question why is it on extra energy org web site that all the panasonic drive units give various amounts of asistance on hills the gaselle being one of the lowest and helkama one of highest
regards jim

 

[flecc]

I don't know about the Helkama Jim, but I've already remarked on the weight of the Gazelle

It weighs 28.6 kilos including a 2.1 kilo battery, while the original Panasonic motored Twist weighed 22 kilos including a 3.7 kilo battery, the later versions a little more.

Taking into account it's battery is 1.6 kilos lighter, the Gazelle bike alone manages to be an extraordinary 8.2 kilos / 18 lbs heavier than the Twist. There are a few complete bicycles that total this weight difference. Perhaps Wildebeest would have been a better choice of name!

This does appear to impair it's hill climb abilities in that it wastes the additional power that it's latest model Panasonic power unit has, and some more. It can still climb virtually anything regardless, but the loss due to that extra weight is shown in slowness of climb.

It may be that the Helkama is lighter, or that it's producers have opted for more power and less range in their specification for the unit's supplied. The original Panasonic unit came with power limited according to Japanese law, but this later unit is more powerful and Panasonic may let producers specify the level.

And of course much depends on how much the Extra Energy site is to be trusted, some are very critical of it.
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[Leonardo]

It seems that they changed the auction, because now there is the option of shipping (to Germany: 50 euros). I wonder which version of the Panasonic unit it uses.

Raleigh is no more a British company? This “Leicester E” seems to be sold only in Germany.

Price is far better than Helkama Jubilee, Gazelle Easy-Glider and Flyer.

(By the way, I’ve bought a Flyer T8 to my wife, I had a good offer for a 2006 model: if you are curious about it I can try to answer to some questions)

 

[flecc]

The old Raleigh Industries Ltd manufacturing company went years ago Leonardo, and now Raleigh is maninly just a marketing company selling other peoples bikes under the Raleigh name or a few of their own designs made in the Far East. They aren't very cheap either, cashing in on the Raleigh name. Latest is that they are a distributor for motor oil, so not exactly a dedicated bike company any more!

I would expect that electric bike is either someone else's design or Raleigh are doing a joint deal with one of the other suppliers of a bike with this motor. Given our small market for e-bikes and the many suppliers we already have, I doubt if they'll bother to bring it here.

Raleigh
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[Ian]

Having been a frequent business visitor to Nottingham for many years I remember well the old Raleigh/Sturmey Archer factory which took up a sizable chunk of the west side of the city. By contrast the current warehouse is a typical industrial unit near to, but dwarfed by the huge Ikea store.

Not far from the original factory was the old John Player factory, almost as large as the Raleigh factory. That too has gone but it's replacement on the south of the city is still pretty big. I guess Chinese cigarettes haven't caught on in the same way as bikes.

 

[jac]

hi i would be interested to know what you think of the flyer. i ride a giant comfort which i find pretty good it gets me up all the steep hills round brighton the only problem is the power fades out near 15 mph does the flyer do the same or is it different for swiss models and european models.

jim

 

[Leonardo]

Hi Jac. The Flyer is something like a better version of the Giant Twist Comfort Gts that I use: very silent and supple, it has higher uphill capability and a bit stronger assistance, better bicycle components and the third generation of the Panasonic unit. My wife’s T8 has a 28” wheel and is a bit faster than the Twist as well. It is the EU pedelec version though, so power fades at a nominal 25kmh (around 28 really). Flyer produces also a high speed version (HS) of the T and S series, legal in the Switzerland and in Germany under special conditions. You can download a catalogue of the Flyer (in German) with all the data here. On our Italian forum we have several experiences of this bicycle: if you like have a look in the section "Esperienze" at the threads whose author is "job" (there are a few links to videos).

 

[jac]

hi sounds like a good bike the guy in the films looked like he was going up some realy steep hills also rough tracks i must go to london some time and try one as i think there is only one person selling these bikes in uk thanks

jim

 

[Cyclezee]

Does anyone know who sells Flyers in the UK and the prices?

 

[Cyclezee]

It's ViTA Electric 020 7794 3373 mckeownace@aol.com of Hamptsed, London

 

[Cyclezee]

Quote from Vita Electric in response to my enquiry last night.
"The Flyer range of e-bikes are very good quality, Swiss / German made, 2 year warranty on electric's and 10 year warranty on frame. They range in price between £1,500 and £2,164 with a choice of frame size, style, brakes, gears and wheel size. Because they are almost made to measure, after the specification details are agreed, they are sold on an order only basis with a money back guarantee if not satisfied."

 

[Leonardo]

To be fair I should add that, although a bit faster than the Twist, the EU legal Flyer is not a fast bicycle. And, although it can cope with almost every hill (like and better than the Twist), on a middle gradient it is slower and requires more effort than a good hub motor bike. On the other side, it is true that it is very good quality in every detail and its kind of assistance allows also some kind of 'training', so that in the time makes you feel fitter.

 

[flecc]

It seems the lowest price one has gone up Aldby, it was £1400 a short while ago, but the top end price is about the same.
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[coops]

Thanks for the information on the Flyer, Leonardo, very interesting .

on a middle gradient it is slower and requires more effort than a good hub motor bike. ...its kind of assistance allows also some kind of 'training', so that in the time makes you feel fitter.

...Whereas some hub bikes require some kind of "discipline" or "willpower" to ease off the throttle & put in more effort, so that in time you get fitter!

Stuart.