UK e-Bike Market

[moneill]

Hi,

I'm doing some research into the European e-bike market, and wondered if anyone could help me understand better what is going on in the UK. I've been taking a look around this site which is helpful.

Some of my questions are (I appreciate these aren't necessarily questions with a single correct answer!):
- Who are the typical purchasers of e-bikes in the UK?
- What are customers reasons for buying an e-bike?
- Which bikes are the most popular?
- What is the typical retail price paid?
- What needs to happen to stimulate "mass-market" demand?
- Are the currenty 250W / 25km/h EU regulations too restrictive?

Anyone know where I might find more data on the UK market?

Thanks.

 

[Mussels]

Probably the only people with accurate answers are the retailers and I doubt they will jump over each other to help you as you look like another retailer.

 

[Conal]

Electric Bike Focus Group

Moneill

To assist with the completion of a thesis Russ set up this series of threads.

They will assist you.

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bike-focus-group/

Conal

 

[moneill]

Moneill

To assist with the completion of a thesis Russ set up this series of threads.

They will assist you.

http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/electric-bike-focus-group/

Conal

Thanks that's helpful.

 

[flecc]

There is linkage beween the typical price paid, typical purchasers and reasons for buying.

In here we have an enthusiast market which is small and very unrepresentative of the overall market. That's dominated by the lower to mid price end with "shopper" bikes and the like, used mainly for utility purposes and often only with quite low annual mileages. Where the high price end was once mainly the preserve of the enthusiast, over the last two to three years we've seen a big growth in commuting with e-bikes, increasingly using the high end bikes for their capabilities and greater reliability.

Regarding stimulating a mass market, only a reverse approach will work in Britain. The fact is that the British are averse to pedalling and there's ample previous proof of that. Prior to the 1950s, very large numbers cycled because there was little altenative following WW2, virtually no cars and inadequate public transport providing the stimulation, but then the petrol cyclemotor attachments became available to assist the pedalling. They enjoyed huge sales, reaching over a million on British roads at one point, but in the mid '50s the first scooters (mopeds) arrived in the form of the Vespa and Lambretta. The British raced to change to those as soon as they could afford them and within a decade the cyclemotors had virtually completely disappeared. Then as prosperity increased they couldn't wait to switch from scooters to cars, leading to our present situation. All this is stated from personal experience of being in the relevant trades over that period.

Therefore the only way for e-bikes to become a true mass market product is to make the alternatives either too expensive or not available, the London Congestion Charge being one example of a way to do that. I'm certain that E-bikes will never become a true mass market product in Britain on product appeal or by persuasion.
.

 

[john]

- Are the currenty 250W / 25km/h EU regulations too restrictive?

I think that a 32km/h class would appeal to many as this is more compatible with urban traffic speeds.

 

[Straylight]

Saw an interesting documentary about the history of the car in the UK, which basically concluded that we're addicted to the things due to the now fantastic notion of the 'freedom of the open road'. It struck me that what is now lost to motoring, is exactly what I love about cycling in that due to the lack of equivalent speed, we are in a totaly different world when it comes to road use. I think that rather than trying to compete with the car, the marketing of e-bikes should emphasise the difference in travelling experience, in that it's less stressful & healthier, particularly as a form of low impact excercise.

I have to agree with Flecc in that we are a physicaly lazy nation, so if it were possible to plant the seed that e-biking is much easier than riding an ordinary bike in the public conciousness, then I believe there'd be more takers. I think that people in this country equate excercise with work, rather than simply making use of a capability of the human body.

 

[themutiny]

Saw an interesting documentary about the history of the car in the UK, which basically concluded that we're addicted to the things due to the now fantastic notion of the 'freedom of the open road'. It struck me that what is now lost to motoring, is exactly what I love about cycling in that due to the lack of equivalent speed, we are in a totaly different world when it comes to road use. I think that rather than trying to compete with the car, the marketing of e-bikes should emphasise the difference in travelling experience, in that it's less stressful & healthier, particularly as a form of low impact excercise.

I have to agree with Flecc in that we are a physicaly lazy nation, so if it were possible to plant the seed that e-biking is much easier than riding an ordinary bike in the public conciousness, then I believe there'd be more takers. I think that people in this country equate excercise with work, rather than simply making use of a capability of the human body.

I would agree wholeheartedly with the notion that the e-bike now represents the true "freedom". Unlike others on the site, my current commute from the south coast to south London precludes use of an e-bike, to my chagrin. I work for a motor manufacturer, albeit in a peripheral capacity. I have more than 1 car, a Fazer 1000, and in most other respects can be considered a typical consumer - possibly worse than many. An e-bike gives me freedom on many levels. In no particular order:
The freedom to park where I choose
The freedom to use road and off road as I choose (conditions permitting)
The freedom to exercise as much or as little as I like
The freedom to NOT wear any restraint or impediment that offends my PERSONAL lifestyle choices
The freedom to judge my relative sobriety and ability (or otherwise) to make the journey home
The freedom to traverse the countryside without slavish devotion to "traffic news"
The freedom to plan routes without worrying too much about the topography
The freedom to enjoy uphill sections almost as much as the downhill ones
The freedom to GO for those great downhill sections without the attendant "back of the mind" inhibitions spawned by the principle "what goes up, must come down" or, in context, what goes down must come up!
It was a no-brainer for me when I first considered it. My subsequent experiences have only served to massively reinforce the validity of my original conclusion. Anyone want to buy a Fazer 1000, relatively unused for the last four years? ;-)P

 

[fishingpaul]

I feel most peoples idea of an electric bike, means sitting on a bike and going from one place to another without peddaling at all,i think the advantages of electric biking are not promoted enough,we all (presumably) know on here that you need a fair input to climb steep hills,you can also have fun catching up and overtaking most normal cyclists,who are left wondering how the overweight older cyclist passed them so easily,yes you can still get a good workout on an electric bike journey and it promotes extra usage as it is an enjoyable form of exercise,i still keep seeing the odd powabyke and thompson rider that are too lazy to turn a pedal though(get a wheelchair),they crawl along and help keep the myth going that electic bikes are slow boring things.

 

[felix]

Hopefully, when it gets to the struggling stage I'll be able to manage a "moped" type e-bike with stabilisers before a mobility scooter becomes necessary. Planning ahead.................

 

[Patrick]

Hopefully, when it gets to the struggling stage I'll be able to manage a "moped" type e-bike with stabilisers before a mobility scooter becomes necessary. Planning ahead.................

There was a long term review in A-to-B magazine by a fella who swapped his mobility scooter for an e-trike. The general gist was that he was happy with it (but he did mention that the trike always leant to one side because of the camber of the road).

 

[lemmy]

I don't think cars represent 'the open road' to many people nowadays. What they represent is status.

Why do people drive 4x4s in the suburbs? To give the impression that they have a country estate somewhere. Who, in a country with a 70mph limit needs a 5 litre 280bhp Ferrari? No-one. But it has sexual connotations, to other men, at least. Large motorcycles, ditto.

Bicycles just get you from one place to another. No glamour, no style, just practical. For that reason I can't see many British motorists taking to pedal/pedelec power.

A car is an item of white goods as far as I'm concerned and I feel the same about my bikes. They are their function, not their form. I (and most others here) am most unmodern in this respect, I think.

My bicycle will get me from my house to central London, door to door, in ½ to ⅔ the time taken by car. If I mentioned that to my young neighbour in his 150mph Audi, I guarantee his eyes would glaze over even before his inner voice could say 'so what?'

 

[Mussels]

I think that a 32km/h class would appeal to many as this is more compatible with urban traffic speeds.

Any faster class would be excluded from cycle paths, then for me they just become underpowered mopeds.

Why do people drive 4x4s in the suburbs? To give the impression that they have a country estate somewhere. Who, in a country with a 70mph limit needs a 5 litre 280bhp Ferrari? No-one. But it has sexual connotations, to other men, at least. Large motorcycles, ditto.

For most people that will include any car with an engine over 1 litre, unless you are towing or shifting tools then it's just not needed.
4x4s in the suburbs mean you can see over the top of most of the parked cars, I think that's a big USP for them.

 

[john]

mopeds

Any faster class would be excluded from cycle paths, then for me they just become underpowered mopeds.

As far I can tell, you cannot actually buy a moped any more, even petrol ones. To me, a moped has pedals (hence the name) but the name seems to apply mostly to motorised scooters now.

Pedals have at least two big advantages on the right machine IMO, allow you to exercise and keep you warm.

 

[Barnowl]

Bicycles just get you from one place to another. No glamour, no style, just practical. For that reason I can't see many British motorists taking to pedal/pedelec power.

A car is an item of white goods as far as I'm concerned and I feel the same about my bikes. They are their function, not their form. I (and most others here) am most unmodern in this respect, I think.

There's the Sunday cycling posers. Expensive spotless road bikes, all the best lycra wear and pavement all the way round the block.

 

[lemmy]

There's the Sunday cycling posers. Expensive spotless road bikes, all the best lycra wear and pavement all the way round the block.

I regard the 4x4s as the middle class equivalent of the chav's rottweiller on a piece of string. These guys are the cycling equivalent, I suppose.

I ride in Richmond Park in west London sometimes and some of these grim faced characters exhibit the manners of a rottweiller on the road.