I heard recently Raleigh has moved production to europe and getting parts might now be a issue , got me thinking .

 

So what Ebikes are made in the UK, how many are there?

thanks

I heard recently Raleigh has moved production to europe and getting parts might now be a issue , got me thinking .

 

So what Ebikes are made in the UK, how many are there?

thanks

It depends what you mean by made. Brompton was the last British manufacurer that made the frames and cycle parts. There are still some specialist bike makers that make bikes based on traditional designs, but I don't think any of them do electric versions. Some brands do some basic assembly and checking in the UK, like Cyclotricity, Mirider, Woosh and Wisper(?).

 

If you want a secure parts supply, you'd be better off sticking with a standard Chinese bike. You can still get parts for such bikes that were made 14 years ago. The closest to that is Bosch, though it's becoming much harder to get parts for the early ones now.

Cooler King is a UK company, but their bikes are themed on motorcycles and made in China. They appeal to me but I don’t think many on here share my enthusiasm for them.

Cooler King is a UK company, but their bikes are themed on motorcycles and made in China. They appeal to me but I don’t think many on here share my enthusiasm for them.

 

I'm really digging their model with sidecar. 50kg sidecar load weight is too low for a normal sized adult, so is 750W for two normal sized adults. I guess the sidecar cockpit could be unbolted and replaced with a larger volume cage for cargo.

 

https://cooler.bike/collections/ebikes/products/cooler-kub-750s-and-sidecar-dual-removable-battery-80km-range

 

Yeah side cars are cool.

I'm really digging their model with sidecar. 50kg sidecar load weight is too low for a normal sized adult, so is 750W for two normal sized adults. I guess the sidecar cockpit could be unbolted and replaced with a larger volume cage for cargo.

 

https://cooler.bike/collections/ebikes/products/cooler-kub-750s-and-sidecar-dual-removable-battery-80km-range

 

 

The sidecar is on the wrong side for our UK roads.

.

You cannot register a sidecar outfit that has the sidecar on the wrong side. They were banned in 1981.

I rode a sidecar outfit for a couple of years when I was a student. It was a terrible machine with dangerous tendencies, like the sidecar rising up off the road if you turned left at anything but a pedestrian pace. It never braked in a straight line either and how much it veered depended on how heavy your passenger was. The whole idea of such a contraption is a horrific make do, born of a period when people had motorcycles, and a family and not much money, so they cobbled this dangerous contraption together.

 

Those things may look cool to some people, but if you'd ridden one, you might feel differently.

It’s for Americans. Our roads aren‘t suitable for side cars and our culture doesn’t appreciate them either.

 

Any faster than 8mph, my 15.5kg Homcom bicycle trailer is a bit hairy to tow when loaded with 75kg. I guess my bicycle with a sidecar carrying the same weight, would handle weirder.

 

This bicycle sidecar is for the correct side:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266942599197

 

 

 

There were cargo versions:

 

https://oldbike.wordpress.com/1930s-watsonian-juvenile-sidecar/

 

 

 

 

There must surely be new sidecars for bicycles somewhere? I could hog the road at 8mph.

Edited August 12, 20241 yr by guerney

Yeah side cars are cool.[ATTACH=full]59323[/ATTACH]

 

Looks like a dog guided missile. The dog can't jump out of this one to chase squirrels.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276562472868

 

 

 

 

Seems just the thing for supermarket click and collect.

Around here it is quite common to see farm dogs riding on the back of quad bikes as the farmers drive from one field to another. They are incredibly adept at jumping up on the rear platform of the bike and they brace themselves as they go around bends, often going quite fast I never saw one come off. These are very intelligent sheep dogs though, and they cost thousands. The people who use them could not work without them.

 

This is not my photo - I just snaffled it as an example.

 

https://dalesfarmers.co.uk/2017/05/08/a-day-on-a-swaledale-farm/

I rode a sidecar outfit for a couple of years when I was a student. It was a terrible machine with dangerous tendencies, like the sidecar rising up off the road if you turned left at anything but a pedestrian pace. It never braked in a straight line either and how much it veered depended on how heavy your passenger was. The whole idea of such a contraption is a horrific make do, born of a period when people had motorcycles, and a family and not much money, so they cobbled this dangerous contraption together.

 

Those things may look cool to some people, but if you'd ridden one, you might feel differently.

I rode sidecar outfits for three years in 1971 to 1074. First an Ariel VB with a home made box on the sidecar chassis, then a Triumph 21 with a Steib SA sidecar. They're very weird at first because of the reversed steering. Everything is wrong about the dynamics of the off-centre mass, drag and momentum, which all work against you once in motion; however, you do get used to it, and it becomes manageable as long as you keep the speed down. Riding in the snow and ice is very safe compared with a solo bike. The one thing that's difficult to deal with is emergency situations, as you cannot steer to avoid things. Every turn needs to be planned in advance by the appropriate use of speed and acceleration. Braking while turning left is simply not possible. With all that in mind, I'd say that those sidecar outfits are not safe enough for modern roads and traffic unless you have a sidecar wheel with at least a brake, and motorised as well, ideally.

....you'd be better off sticking with a standard Chinese bike. You can still get parts for such bikes that were made 14 years ago. .....

 

What are the 'standard chinese bikes'? there seem to be so many.

What are the 'standard chinese bikes'? there seem to be so many.

 

There are many, so just pick one on eBay that you look the like of. Some of them are even UK compliant.

I'd say that those sidecar outfits are not safe enough for modern roads and traffic unless you have a sidecar wheel with at least a brake, and motorised as well, ideally.

 

Which Zündapp did for the Wehrmacht:

 

"From 1940 onward Zündapp produced more than 18,000 units of the Zündapp KS 750.[3] This is a sidecar outfit with a driven side wheel and a locking differential, supplied to the German Wehrmacht."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C3%BCndapp_KS_750

.

What are the 'standard chinese bikes'? there seem to be so many.

The ones that have a standard hub-motor, a Hailong type battery, a standard LED or LCD control panel, a standard pedal sensor (torque sensors not allowed) and no phone app associated with them. Basically, check that the battery and control panel are readily available on Aliexpress. Motors are all interchangeable, so you don't need to worry about them.

 

In summary, if it has a Hailong type battery, it's probably OK as long as they don't claim that the bike has any unique features, like tilt control, belt drive, auto-locking and stuff like that.

 

That £360 argos bike is the perfect example. Every electrical component can be swapped with other standard ones. The battery, controller and control panel can be easily upgraded to whatever you prefer. The bike itself has all standard bike parts that you find on any catalogue bike. They can all be upgraded or changed if you want. They're all proven to be robust and reliable. A bike like that should last for years until the battery gets tired. The chance of something going wrong is extremely low.

Edited August 12, 20241 yr by saneagle

The ones that have a standard hub-motor, a Hailong type battery, a standard LED or LCD control panel, a standard pedal sensor (torque sensors not allowed) and no phone app associated with them. Basically, check that the battery and control panel are readily available on Aliexpress. Motors are all interchangeable, so you don't need to worry about them.

 

In summary, if it has a Hailong type battery, it's probably OK as long as they don't claim that the bike has any unique features, like tilt control, belt drive, auto-locking and stuff like that.

 

That £360 argos bike is the perfect example. Every electrical component can be swapped with other standard ones. The battery, controller and control panel can be easily upgraded to whatever you prefer. The bike itself has all standard bike parts that you find on any catalogue bike. They can all be upgraded or changed if you want. They're all proven to be robust and reliable. A bike like that should last for years until the battery gets tired. The chance of something going wrong is extremely low.

 

I charged mine up when I first got it, rode 9 miles and then charged it up again and rode it seven miles. I just checked the voltage on the battery output pins when I was trying to free off the stuck power switch. The voltage was 40.3V. After seven miles of riding, that suggests a fairly meagre sipping of battery power and a decent range as long as you are not racing and letting the motor do all the work. I am hoping the battery on this thing will be good, and it does look like it. That battery is at around 83% after 7 miles! I'm surprised.

 

I was almost all the time in the middle of the three PAS levels. Two years in a crate doesn't seem to have harmed the battery at all.

I rode sidecar outfits for three years in 1971 to 1074. First an Ariel VB with a home made box on the sidecar chassis, then a Triumph 21 with a Steib SA sidecar. They're very weird at first because of the reversed steering. Everything is wrong about the dynamics of the off-centre mass, drag and momentum, which all work against you once in motion; however, you do get used to it, and it becomes manageable as long as you keep the speed down. Riding in the snow and ice is very safe compared with a solo bike. The one thing that's difficult to deal with is emergency situations, as you cannot steer to avoid things. Every turn needs to be planned in advance by the appropriate use of speed and acceleration. Braking while turning left is simply not possible. With all that in mind, I'd say that those sidecar outfits are not safe enough for modern roads and traffic unless you have a sidecar wheel with at least a brake, and motorised as well, ideally.

 

You and I have had many similar experiences. That span of 'outfit riding is similar to mine, only I dumped mine in 1974 for a 1960 Morris Thousand - mine was an 850cc engine.

 

What you say about the snow is certainly true, and I would add bad fog to your 'better than solo'. I used to ride mine up and down between Newcastle and London when I was a student and one time, being the world's worst mechanic, I had 'adjusted' the chain in Newcastle at my mum's house, and set off for London, only I had set the wheel out of line and as I climbed a hill on the A1 near Tadcaster the engine (650 BSA A10) roared and dropped the chain on the road. I thought I was tooled up for every eventuality, recovered the chain and got out my big old chain tool and spare link, but when I looked at the chain, it was horribly shredded all through its length. With another 190 miles to go and a big load in the side car (all my gear and my girlfriend' stuff) I got it towed into a local garage for storage, and took a massive amount of gear on buses and the train and eventually ended up in Twickenham. Next day - a mate of mine with a BSA 250 - I think it was a B25, high compression thing and rather flashy, came with me to Blades the motor bike parts shop in Twickenham and got a new A10 Gold Flash chain (or so we thought). We set off up the A1 for Tadcster. It was the dead of winter. I am thinking it was just after the Christmas holiday, and we were pretty cold.

 

We offered up the chain the complete Knacker at Blades's had sold us and it was the wrong size. Turned out it was for a BSA A65, so we rode to Leeds and got the right chain, went back to Tadcaster, and fitted it.

 

By now it was pretty late and nearly dark and it was also foggy. Off we went back down the A! at about 45 miles an hour and the fog got worse and worse and started freezing up in my beard and hair poking out under the helmet. Pitch dark and a white out of fog. Pretty soon, Brian my mate was riding pretty much blind at 30 miles an hour and he could not keep the bike steady because he was losing his visual reference as to where vertical was. For me it was easy . The thing just sat there on three wheels and all I had to do was not run off the road. So I overtook him and led the way all the way down. he said that once he could see my two tail lights he knew how to steer straight. At one point, my A10 engini started misfiring badly, so I pulled off into a lay by and took a look - feeling really, rather than looking, because I had no torch and only Brian's headlight to help me. The magneto cam had come loose.It was a sort of weird oval ring with the points flying around in the middle and the cam ring had lost one of its little machine screws, the other was loose and and the cam ring was floating about, hence the terrible ignition timing problem. I hunted around in the bottom of the boot compartment on the side car and could not find one anything like it, but there were some tiny wood screws, so I stuffed a bit of match stick in the hole that I had picked up in the lay by and put the wood screw in, and that got us home, albeit with a few pops and bangs from the mis-timed engine.

 

So that's how a sidecar can help you in fog. It can keep you vertical when you can't see anything.

You and I have had many similar experiences. That span of 'outfit riding is similar to mine, only I dumped mine in 1974 for a 1960 Morris Thousand - mine was an 850cc engine.

 

What you say about the snow is certainly true, and I would add bad fog to your 'better than solo'. I used to ride mine up and down between Newcastle and London when I was a student and one time, being the world's worst mechanic, I had 'adjusted' the chain in Newcastle at my mum's house, and set off for London, only I had set the wheel out of line and as I climbed a hill on the A1 near Tadcaster the engine (650 BSA A10) roared and dropped the chain on the road. I thought I was tooled up for every eventuality, recovered the chain and got out my big old chain tool and spare link, but when I looked at the chain, it was horribly shredded all through its length. With another 190 miles to go and a big load in the side car (all my gear and my girlfriend' stuff) I got it towed into a local garage for storage, and took a massive amount of gear on buses and the train and eventually ended up in Twickenham. Next day - a mate of mine with a BSA 250 - I think it was a B25, high compression thing and rather flashy, came with me to Blades the motor bike parts shop in Twickenham and got a new A10 Gold Flash chain (or so we thought). We set off up the A1 for Tadcster. It was the dead of winter. I am thinking it was just after the Christmas holiday, and we were pretty cold.

 

We offered up the chain the complete Knacker at Blades's had sold us and it was the wrong size. Turned out it was for a BSA A65, so we rode to Leeds and got the right chain, went back to Tadcaster, and fitted it.

 

By now it was pretty late and nearly dark and it was also foggy. Off we went back down the A! at about 45 miles an hour and the fog got worse and worse and started freezing up in my beard and hair poking out under the helmet. Pitch dark and a white out of fog. Pretty soon, Brian my mate was riding pretty much blind at 30 miles an hour and he could not keep the bike steady because he was losing his visual reference as to where vertical was. For me it was easy . The thing just sat there on three wheels and all I had to do was not run off the road. So I overtook him and led the way all the way down. he said that once he could see my two tail lights he knew how to steer straight. At one point, my A10 engini started misfiring badly, so I pulled off into a lay by and took a look - feeling really, rather than looking, because I had no torch and only Brian's headlight to help me. The magneto cam had come loose.It was a sort of weird oval ring with the points flying around in the middle and the cam ring had lost one of its little machine screws, the other was loose and and the cam ring was floating about, hence the terrible ignition timing problem. I hunted around in the bottom of the boot compartment on the side car and could not find one anything like it, but there were some tiny wood screws, so I stuffed a bit of match stick in the hole that I had picked up in the lay by and put the wood screw in, and that got us home, albeit with a few pops and bangs from the mis-timed engine.

 

So that's how a sidecar can help you in fog. It can keep you vertical when you can't see anything.

Do people still have "adventures!" like that anymore in this "modern" age?

Do people still have "adventures!" like that anymore in this "modern" age?

Only if they want to. In those days it was a necessity.

I never set off on those journey's without a big dose of anxiety about what would happen.I had all kinds of horrible breakdowns on the A1, from burned out valves on the A10, to a seizure of the BSA C15 - and usually at least a hundred miles from home. Bear in mind, these terrible old motorbikes were my only and much prized asset and there was no way I could afford break down insurance or any sort of professional assistance. You had some moth eaten old, rusty spanners and half a clue how the thing worked. The only help you were ever going to get was the kindness of strangers, and / or help from your mates. There were no phones that were not wired to hard infrastructure and you probably couldn't really afford to use them anyway because calling outside the locality where you were, was charged at a premium.

 

Talking about kindness, I received some (not that much) but I always made a point of stopping to ask any broken down traveller if they needed any help and I quite often got people going again. One of the worst was when I found a guy in an old jag with his disabled wife inside and he had a really bad petrol leak in the boot from a split hose. Fortunately the slit was right at one end and there was enough length to cut off the bad bit and reclamp it with the jubilee clips.

I never set off on those journey's without a big dose of anxiety about what would happen.I had all kinds of horrible breakdowns on the A1, from burned out valves on the A10, to a seizure of the BSA C15 - and usually at least a hundred miles from home. Bear in mind, these terrible old motorbikes were my only and much prized asset and there was no way I could afford break down insurance or any sort of professional assistance. You had some moth eaten old, rusty spanners and half a clue how the thing worked. The only help you were ever going to get was the kindness of strangers, and / or help from your mates. There were no phones that were not wired to hard infrastructure and you probably couldn't really afford to use them anyway because calling outside the locality where you were, was charged at a premium.

 

Talking about kindness, I received some (not that much) but I always made a point of stopping to ask any broken down traveller if they needed any help and I quite often got people going again. One of the worst was when I found a guy in an old jag with his disabled wife inside and he had a really bad petrol leak in the boot from a split hose. Fortunately the slit was right at one end and there was enough length to cut off the bad bit and reclamp it with the jubilee clips.

More coincidences. My first bike was a C15 that used to seize up regularly because it lost so much oil caused by blow-by pumping the oil out the crankcases - eventually sorted with a rebore, but then a valve guide came loose, and with my new found wealth from a holiday job on Southend Pier, I bought the Ariel VB for £10 with a broken camchain, which was fixed at a local bike shop for about £2 10s. Luckily, it was downhill from my house. As a learner, I was allowed to carry 3 friends on the Ariel, which was handy. I never did understand why it was allowed. One time, there were seven of us on the bike going to a party the other side of town, and I got stopped by the police. They made three get off and walk.

 

When I first got it and it wasn't running. My friends came round to see it. We pushed it to the top of my street, then rolled down about half a mile before we had to push it back. Several others joined in until there were about 6 of us on it all cheering as we rolled down the hill, until a neighbour grassed us up to the police. It wasn't taxed and insured yet, so they gave me a bit of a talking to, but let us off in the end as long as we stopped doing it.

More coincidences. My first bike was a C15 that used to seize up regularly because it lost so much oil caused by blow-by pumping the oil out the crankcases - eventually sorted with a rebore, but then a valve guide came loose, and with my new found wealth from a holiday job on Southend Pier, I bought the Ariel VB for £10 with a broken camchain, which was fixed at a local bike shop for about £2 10s. Luckily, it was downhill from my house. As a learner, I was allowed to carry 3 friends on the Ariel, which was handy. I never did understand why it was allowed. One time, there were seven of us on the bike going to a party the other side of town, and I got stopped by the police. They made three get off and walk.

 

When I first got it and it wasn't running. My friends came round to see it. We pushed it to the top of my street, then rolled down about half a mile before we had to push it back. Several others joined in until there were about 6 of us on it all cheering as we rolled down the hill, until a neighbour grassed us up to the police. It wasn't taxed and insured yet, so they gave me a bit of a talking to, but let us off in the end as long as we stopped doing it.

 

Hooligans!!

 

The good old days. There was a lot good about the seventies - as long as you don't think about the fashions and the hairstyles.

 

The laws about sidecar outfits were very strange. As a learner, you could ride up to a 250 motor cycle then, but no pillion. The same license allowed you to ride a sidecar outfit with a big engine and carry people, but I think.... not sure.... they had to be in the side car. I didn't take the motor bike test back then. I just rode that big old beezer around with a tiny, minimalist side car on it and carried on until I bought my Morris thousand in 1973/4. I had no driving lessons in that either. A pal of mine who had a license but had never driven, sat in the Morris with me while I got accustomed to the gears and the steering wheel, and a couple of reverses around the corner, and then I just dispensed with the plates and just drove it - even driving it back from London to Newcastle. Six weeks later, I passed my test. When I arrived at the test centre, the guy looked over the car and then frowned and said, 'Where is your accompanying driver?'

I said, 'He's gone a message, he lives near here.'

'What will you do if you fail?' he said.

'I'll have to walk around to his house and get him,' I replied.

 

He knew and his face told all.

 

Anyway, he passed me and that was that.

 

Did the Aerial VB have a CAM chain? I never saw an old Brit bike that didn't have gear driven camshafts. Could you mean the magneto chain? My A10 had a gear driven magneto, but a chain driven dynamo on it.

 

Here is an aerial VB at Andy Tiernans - looks pretty mint.

 

Hooligans!!

 

The good old days. There was a lot good about the seventies - as long as you don't think about the fashions and the hairstyles.

 

The laws about sidecar outfits were very strange. As a learner, you could ride up to a 250 motor cycle then, but no pillion. The same license allowed you to ride a sidecar outfit with a big engine and carry people, but I think.... not sure.... they had to be in the side car. I didn't take the motor bike test back then. I just rode that big old beezer around with a tiny, minimalist side car on it and carried on until I bought my Morris thousand in 1973/4. I had no driving lessons in that either. A pal of mine who had a license but had never driven, sat in the Morris with me while I got accustomed to the gears and the steering wheel, and a couple of reverses around the corner, and then I just dispensed with the plates and just drove it - even driving it back from London to Newcastle. Six weeks later, I passed my test. When I arrived at the test centre, the guy looked over the car and then frowned and said, 'Where is your accompanying driver?'

I said, 'He's gone a message, he lives near here.'

'What will you do if you fail?' he said.

'I'll have to walk around to his house and get him,' I replied.

 

He knew and his face told all.

 

Anyway, he passed me and that was that.

 

Did the Aerial VB have a CAM chain? I never saw an old Brit bike that didn't have gear driven camshafts. Could you mean the magneto chain? My A10 had a gear driven magneto, but a chain driven dynamo on it.

 

Here is an aerial VB at Andy Tiernans - looks pretty mint.

 

Sorry, it was the timing chain that drove the magneto. I wasn't thinking. It was just a loop of chain about 6" long. A few screws to remove the cover, and all was revealed. You can see it here on a Square 4, which looks identical:

https://ariel-square-four.blogspot.com/2019/08/ignition-timing-and-nearby-jobs.html

 

The passengers could sit wherever they wanted. There's no requirement to sit in the sidecar, though you'd always want to fill it up first for stability.

 

That video was cool. I'm not too sure why he was changing gear though. I don't remember doing that too much with mine.

Edited August 12, 20241 yr by saneagle