Schwinnfan

Lloyds service I would second Lloyds quality of service. I bought two Raleigh Leicster, one of which had a battery use issue. Within a week a new, complete, motor had arrived at the dealer to be fitted. Also, one of my batteries has dropped a light on test button, he has also sorted that out. Phil K

Bosch That is fantastic news. Bosch are using those batteries in lawnmowers and the other day I was looking at one in Costco and commented that it would make a great bike battery. The battery can aslo be fully charged in 45 minutes. Phil

Hilderthorpe in Bridlington

i was at the NEC yesterday and met Pete of OnBike. He had various Emotion bikes there and he knocked spots off the other rubbish on display. I have a couple of Kalkhoff/Raleigh Leicester and had a look at the Panasonic powered Emotion. Without any qusestion my next bikes, Emotion Cross Deluxe. Good luck at the show guys.

Petrol or electric We do it the opposite way, we live in England and motorhome to France. I gave all the same thought to which bikes to buy to replace a couple of normal bikes. To be fair we would go out on normal bikes and do 25 miles anyway but like you say all campsites are at the bottom of hills. 50 cycles post seems about right. We have the same make as he sells but sold under another brand which the manufacturer owns, ironically Raleigh. 50 Cycles sell the same unit as a Khalkoff Tasmin. We use two batteries each and sometimes go out for 70 and 80 mile days, changing batteries at about 45 miles. I have two 130 watt solar panels and can normally draw with normal inverters the same as the panels put in to charge the batteries. Charging whilst the engine is running is another option and is really easy. Am going through France in May will wave on our way to Sardinia. Phil

New Pro connect On your pic you have large side bags as well as a central one. If you are going out for a spin, try getting rid of the side bags. At speeds above (Flecc will give us the correct figures) 15mph, as much as 75% of your resistance is wind resistance. I have noticed a big difference, especially since changing the gearing and riding at an averagely higher speed.

Raleigh Leicster E Tony, if you know the guys at 50 Cycles, maybe we can bring them together. I agree on the internet marketing, but this would be almost a subfranchise arrangement and I suppose it would only work if everyone could freely market, but with pricing agreements etc. Phil

Raleigh Leicster E Tony, fairly put, but I have been at the wrong end of distributors, when something doesnt sell well you get too much, when something sells well you get none. One observation I have about most small businesses is that they are either business people and not good in the field they are in, bikes for example, or bike fanatics or whatever their field, but not good business people. Every day of my life I deal with similar situations, i have commercial properties and shops and Paul is typical. One thing i have suggested to him is to sit down with 50 Cycles, but I have no idea why this is a none starter. It strikes me as a win win, (albeit Tony it would be a distributor situation) Most of my conversations with Paul are about commercial leases, landlord tenants act, investment property and an area of pensions called SIPPS. We occaisionally get onto bikes and if you know the lads at 50 Cycles, let me know if that idea is a starter. Cheers Phil

Tony and Alex, i agree with what both of you say. But, my angle is that of someone who has dealt with them. The recent behaviour and quality of website, the latter which I rang Paul and pointed out, do not represent my experience of them. Last time I spoke to them, they were just opening a second shop and run off their feet. On the supply side, Tony I told you some of my background, and distributor arrangements never work. I think that Hilderthorpe have tried routes to stand alone with Giant for example, but they also appear to be dipping in and out of the market, bearing in mind that most of this has happened during a torrid two years.

Raleigh Leicster E Guys, if it helps, I have had 2 Schwinss from Bridlington and now have 2 Raleigh Leicester E. They do Tony, have the 10 amp battery and thanks for instruction, they have 19 tooth gear. Some thoughts for consideration; Raleigh have been threatening to get into the uk pedelec market for a couple of years and have not done it yet, leading to Bridlington marketing on the back of a promise from Raleigh. Schwinn importer no longer in a position to supply. I have no financial involvement whatsoever with Paul but I have dealt with Paul for three years now, he has never let me down, i have had one stand failure on a Raleigh replaced in days, spare batteries for our Raleighs supplied at cost, 19 tooth gears supplied no charge. As for all the Schwinn failures, anyone with half a technical mind looking at the electrical connection could replace four screws on the control box with larger ones and do the hundreds of miles that we did without a glitch. Any of you on here who have a business should recognise someone trying to build a business, this a good honest person, battling against a situation where an importer has a given franchise tied up tight and other suppliers and sporadic at best, irregular normally and useless sometimes. I head something called the Fair Play charater, a trading standards body for motor traders, i see good and bad serice every day and this is good. Phil

Mercedes Bike Cruiser and Tony, I have had one of these years ago as they were launched, in 2001. They have limited range, are heavy but are well made. There are loads of lighter, more capable products on the market. The MB is only a rebadge of course, several places on the bike carried the Puch stamp. Phil

Hi Paul, we have swapped our Schwinns for Raleigh Leicster and they are a bigger bike, the advice you have been given is good. If you have solar, get a pair of inverters, we charge the batteries in 4 hours with the solar. The Raleigh is an Agattu rebranded. In terms of range, we have done several 35 mile rides without a problem, but have bought spare batteries, we have some 50 mile days planned down in Messanges in the Summer. The Raleigh comes with great spec and rides really well, I am sure the Khalkoff must be the sa

Does anyone know if you can purchase the Schwinn Continental? In the UK. We bought two originals from hilderthorpe cycles, had them two years, never missed a beat. Swapped them for two Raleigh Leicester from Hilderthope, I believe they have already sold the ladies Schwinn p/ex. On balance, i prefer to ride the Schwinn when riding without power, but under power the panasonic system is better. Great dealer actually, never let me down once.

hybrid bikes Thanks for that Tony. You can achieve the range easier and lighter with a second battery and probably lighter with a third one lol. But, that system give you the option, size allowing, of charging your battery whilst you have a coffee. OK, next thought, triangular solar panels between the cross bar, or a false cross bar, facing each way and double sided solar solid wheels . Assuming no loss to connections, that sort of surface area would give you 100 watt at 12v, 8 amp ish. In reality that would give about 3 or 4 amps but constantly. Then, regenerative braking, a bike doing 25mph down hill has a lot of kinetic energy, even with large wastage a useful amperage could be put back in. If the regen or KERS as they call it F1, gave a 10% help and the solar could match it we could increase range seriously and a parked bike would charge all day. Wind resistance is of course the largest user of energy on a bike, unless you really amble. The solid wheels (solar) would go some way to helping and a slight repositioning of the rider might be considered. Next, it strikes me that the Panasonic battey could be enlarged and still fit in really easily. Assuming the voltage remains the same, a 14amp battery would grant you a proportional increase in range with the electric system handling it no problem and weighing only 40% more (in theory). I know that you have extended batteries for other bikes , have you ever tried it on a Panasonic driven one. I believe the battery has loads of onboard software. Hell its Saturday night and red wine makes me think. Phil

a further consideration? Evening Flecc. I have been thinking A 12v bike battery charged by an on-board generator with the electric motor powering bike. Clearly a different hybrid set up but a slow running motor such as the Australian Rotary motor might just do the trick. The obvious downside is that it would weigh a ton. A smaller battery with small generator might just be possible. Where would that stand on the rules? Phil