November 4, 200916 yr Yep, seen it a couple of more times since I last mentioned it. The last time I was right next to it at the crossing - not for long though Right from the first crank of the pedal I held the.... back marker position. Oh, we weren't racing. He just went off like a whippet with a bum full of nitro. When he was coasting I could just about maintain distance by assisting with pedalling. By the time I got to where I can switch my off-road on he started to pedal and was like - just - GONE MAN! No joke, that thing shifts like stink. Either it's overpowered or he had his in off-road all the time. Good job we wasn't racing or I'd have been embarassed. However I went and looked at it's specs and the range didn't impress me and I thought the bike looked really UGLY! (Steady now Vikki, watch those blood vessels [Hey, Missy, I wanna throw a tantrum I WILL]). No, seriously, I was impressed with the beasty. Would I trade my Wisper for one? In a heart beat...... I say NO, NON, NEIN, NIET. I love my Wisper , love my Wisper so much that Brian (my hubby) is asking me when I'm going to stop bringing it to bed with me. Does drifty, shifty eyes mean I'm looking in its direction? Could be... but I assure you, it's only to PUNCTURE HIS TYRES!!!!! Oh yeah, be hard pushed to stick anything sharp through those monster tyres that it has. Vikki (Looks lovingly at her Wisper and whispers "He's my Wisper and I call him SuperBikey", cue dewy, doe-eyed look).
November 4, 200916 yr Does drifty, shifty eyes mean I'm looking in its direction? Could be... but I assure you, it's only to PUNCTURE HIS TYRES!!!!! Oh yeah, be hard pushed to stick anything sharp through those monster tyres that it has. Wouldn't want to meet you in a dark alley at night I'm sure the A to B would appeal to the boy (& girl) racers. Presumably it will lose a lot of its appeal if ever they have to be sold without the off road button...
November 4, 200916 yr A to B Hi Vicky you quite rightly say the A to B has a big motor, although still a 250W . We are looking into a "special" 250W motor ourselves but are a little wary of the legalities if the bike was involved in a bad accident. We are firm believers in staying within the Law, the A to B falls outside new EN regulations. The quandary of course is do we work in the same arena as A to B or do we stay within the EU regs? If we were to use the "special" 250W motor our range would decrease too. All the best David Edited November 4, 200916 yr by Wisper Bikes
November 4, 200916 yr A " 250 w " motor and a throttle only function ( no pedals) on one model ,these guys are all ready to roll into Brussels!
November 4, 200916 yr mad how a little bike is over 35kg in 2009/2010 •Weight of A2B Metro with battery: 37kg i agree its ugly Vikki;)
November 4, 200916 yr looked at "find a dealer" on their site and it comes up with Harrods, selfridges and another in park lane..... I don't normally like modern designed bikes but this and the much hyped American Optibike are really growing on me. I kinda like them for some strange reason..........To be honest the optibike is probably the best looking bike I have ever seen.
November 4, 200916 yr He could have just been a very strong cyclist Vikki. I have colleague who averages 25mph (actual) on a non electric single speed tricross - traffic steep hills junctions and all - showers and change required though!
November 5, 200916 yr I saw my first A2B Metro in Canterbury this morning, definitely one for wannabe motorcyclists . Being a wannabe cyclist myself I prefer my Powabyke X6
November 5, 200916 yr looked at "find a dealer" on their site and it comes up with Harrods, selfridges and another in park lane..... I don't normally like modern designed bikes but this and the much hyped American Optibike are really growing on me. I kinda like them for some strange reason..........To be honest the optibike is probably the best looking bike I have ever seen. So definately marketted at those with a large disposable income and magpie-like tendancies (ooh-look-shiny!!!). I know what you mean though about finding them strangely attractive, leads one to think wether an e-bike is still essentialy a bicycle, or rather a vehicle type in its own right. Maybe the latter perception is required in order to sell the idea to the non cycle minded masses, i.e. borrowing some of the glamour from the world of particularly Japaneese motorbikes.
November 5, 200916 yr leads one to think wether an e-bike is still essentialy a bicycle, or rather a vehicle type in its own right. I'd say that it's a vehicle type in its own right, combining the features of both bicycles and motorbikes. How much they resemble one or the other depends partly on design and partly on how they're used. At one extreme you can ride bikes like the A2B as pure motorbikes and ignore the pedals. On the other hand if you were racing round a velodrome at 30mph on a street legal bike then you would find yourself at the other extreme riding it purely as a bicycle without the aid of the motor.
November 5, 200916 yr I'd say that it's a vehicle type in its own right, combining the features of both bicycles and motorbikes. How much they resemble one or the other depends partly on design and partly on how they're used. At one extreme you can ride bikes like the A2B as pure motorbikes and ignore the pedals. On the other hand if you were racing round a velodrome at 30mph on a street legal bike then you would find yourself at the other extreme riding it purely as a bicycle without the aid of the motor. Here's two more of these motorcycle/e-bike hybrids, capable of up to 30 mph, one with pedalling optional, both are made by Matra in France: http://www.greenpacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/black-matra-ms1-electric-bicycle.jpg http://www.bike-eu.com/public/Image/Bike%20Europw%20Website%20Matra%20234.jpg
November 5, 200916 yr Ooooooo, that top one's a sexy wee beastie . Here it is again on colour Vikki: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/09/9-28-07-ms1_3.jpg
November 5, 200916 yr mmm...definately better in black Definitely, it looks like a Tonka toy in that colour scheme, while in black it's looks a real mean machine. .
November 5, 200916 yr Good day all! Patrick is spot on - the A2B Metro is aimed at people that would probably not choose to buy a conventionally styled electric bike. Ultra Motor brought in a motorcycle designer to engineer the Metro which is aimed at trend conscious urbanites (seen the Gadget Show?) who would be more likely to consider a scooter than a bicycle as a transport option. Its contemporary styling, power, weight, riding position, wheel and tyre size all give it a much more scooter-like feel - with many of the advantages of a bicycle and few of the disadvantages of a real scooter. Purists on each side will say it is neither one thing or another but it does fill a niche - if in time this niche proves to be commercially successful then we can be sure to see more of his type of 'crossover vehicle' on the road. Ultra Motor also produce the much more bicycle-like A2B Hybrid with torque sensing pedal assist and plan to launch a road-legal electric scooter based on the Metro (the A2B Excel) next year.
November 5, 200916 yr Hi Steve Welcome to the Forum! Your knowledge of electric bikes will be invaluable! I agree the Metro is a great machine lots of fun, but should we be promoting bikes that patently do not conform to the European standards? My worry is when one of these 40kg bikes hits a child at over 20mph, and it will happen, the whole electric bike industry will suffer. All the best David
November 5, 200916 yr I agree the Metro is a great machine lots of fun, but should we be promoting bikes that patently do not conform to the European standards? My worry is when one of these 40kg bikes hits a child at over 20mph, and it will happen, the whole electric bike industry will suffer. Here is what the DfT have to say about it ‘Off Road’ Assistance We are aware of some electric cycles that have a switch offering a temporary increase in top speed – often advertised as an ‘off road’ facility. When the switch is pressed the vehicle can be propelled by the motor at a speed greater than 15 mph. Vehicles with this feature fitted, in our opinion, do not comply with the GB EAPC Regulations. Vehicles and riders must comply with the appropriate motor vehicle requirements i.e. registration, driver/rider licensing, insurance, use of an approved helmet etc Consumer Advice - Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPCS) in Great Britain, July 2009, Deparment for Transport http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/cyclingandmotorcycling/electricassistedpedalcycles.pdf Cycling and motorcycling
November 5, 200916 yr I agree to a point, but I think the result will be quite similar whether you have a 100kg rider doing 20mph pedal power on a 15kg bike, or a 75kg rider on a 40kg doing 20mph motor powered hitting a child. Unfortunately we live in a world where it's deemed dangerous to have a 100kg object (bike plus rider) that can go more than 15mph, whilst you can legally buy a car that weighs about 2000kg and does more than 250mph. I'm sure the A2B isn't the only bike out there that are easily de restricted or have an off road button. How fast is the A2B, off road of course..?
November 5, 200916 yr Many thanks David. As you know I couldn't agree more - it is important that suppliers operate within the current rules if we are to avoid risk of further restrictive regulation and of course they know this. I think it is likely that more suppliers will follow your lead regarding the approach to features such as 'off-road' buttons for example. Perhaps the ETRA proposal for a review of the current regs will result in multi-tiered classification for electric bikes and light electric mopeds into which current and emerging products will fit - certainly a one size fits all approach is not what the industry or the customer wants. Fingers crossed! Hi emmissions-free - The A2B Metro off-road 'boost' button increases powered speed to 20mph.
November 5, 200916 yr Hi Powarider Only 20mph, not so fast... You're both quite right of course, you have to stick within the rules. Hopefully like you say the rules will change to allow some different classifications to allow the bikes to have a little more speed and improved hill climbing ability in the future.
November 5, 200916 yr Perhaps a scientific approach to clasification would be to use a percentage of a very fit athlete's power output to set the maximum power of an e-bike's motor. For example, a little cursory research indicate's that Chris Hoy's peak output is somewhere around 2.4kw, if a study was done into the average peak of mere mortals like us, and one subtracted from the other to give a maximum combined output of no more than an olympian can deliver, then we may end up with a justifiable peak power for an ebike motor. Anything over this would naturally fall into the classification of a motorbike. Thoughts?
November 5, 200916 yr i think the 'rules' should stay as they are.Most people buy an ebike because they can't pedal an unassisted bike or hills are a problem...if you want to go faster then buy a moped or motorbike.If we have classifications then we will get to the point where an ebike is as fast as a moped/motorbike without the structural strength/brakes/lights to cope.
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