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"Put the power into the pedals
SIMON DUNFORD
June 18, 2003 11:20
It's National Bike Week, but cycling doesn't have to be all huff, puff and sweaty arrivals. In an
epic race to the coast, SIMON DUNFORD cruised in comfort on an electric bike while his good lady
wife discovered how flat Norfolk isn't.
'I'm road-testing one of those new electric bikes,' I said.
'Oh, great,' she said, 'when are we going?'
A typical exchange.
Then one thing led to another and - being no strangers to competitive spirit – the battle was on.
We would race the 20-odd miles from our home near Aylsham to Salthouse on the edge of the world, my
wife on her traditional push bike and me on an electric Powabyke.
Gloating rights for the winner, it was agreed, would extend indefinitely.
The result seemed academic. With a cruising speed of 15mph, how could I possibly lose? It would take
a hamster-wheel feat of endurance from my opponent to shrug me off. Surely I would glide to glory?
Too excited to concern myself with the dull business of reading the instructions, I hopped onboard
my gleaming red chariot and buzzed smugly northwards. This was sport-heaven. In a Tour de France for
slackers, I would be yellow-jerseyed.
Some considerable way into the journey, I paused to give my significant other the chance to catch
up. A sporting gesture, if you like. But it was then, beside a honeysuckle hedgerow in Hempstead,
that my wife dropped the bombshell she had been stowing in her saddlebag. My bike's re-chargeable
battery, revealed the manufacturer's instructions, had a range of only 20 miles.
Disaster.
How would I get home after my victory speech at the Dun Cow? The Powabyke is far heavier than a
normal bike – more the weight of a Scooter – and pedalling uphill without a motor off would be
like riding through wet cement. The only solution, if I was to make it home by dusk, was to
economise. I immediately switched off the battery and slugged sheepishly behind the opposition all
the way until she freewheeled it past Salthouse Heath, to the marshes and the sea…to victory.
Now let's not bang on about tortoises and hares. Give me a break. I feel I lost this race on a
technicality. And hey, didn't anyone ever tell you that it's not about the winning, it's about the
taking part?
Win or lose, this electric bike business is a whole heap of fun. Apart from being rather heavy to
manhandle, everything about the Powabyke is straightforward. The throttle is easy to operate,
re-charging is a simple matter of plugging into the mains, and the gears and brakes are the same as
a regular bike. There are two ways of riding – or should that be driving. The frightening-sounding
'Pure Power' option means that you don't have to pedal at all, just sit back and enjoy the scenery.
If you are feeling particularly keen, you can switch to 'Pedal Assist' mode and add to the speed
with a spot of lazy pedalling.
Convincing people that Norfolk is not actually flat has always been an uphill struggle – until
they slip into the saddle. And it is on hills that the Powabyke comes into its own. Slowly but
surely it drags you up the very steepest of slopes with not the slightest contribution from your
legs or your sweat glands. It's a wonderful thing. Revolutionary. Perfect, in fact, for jam-busting
commuters, knackered postmen, puny Pizza-delivery boys and goody-goody 'greenies'. With no fuel, no
emissions and no parking space required, electric bikes are, of course, seriously environmentally
friendly. Powabyke's website goes by the name of 'The Pollution Solution' no less.
My only reservation during the course of our Great Electric Bike Race was the hum. (No, the bike
didn't smell funny. I'm talking noise.) Though not even approaching the dreaded
angsty-teen-on-a-scooter screech, the machines did make a minor racket - akin to the high-pitched
whine of an old-fashioned milk float. This would be fine in the context of a city centre rush-hour
roar, but out in the sticks it rather interrupted the hush. Birds heard me coming, in fact, and
buggered off back to their nests. Which rather defeats the whole point of cycling in the country,
does it not?
Life's not a race, after all.
The Powabyke has a 200 watt front hub motor and weighs 39 kilos including the electric battery.
Top speed is 15 mph – faster if you pedal or are going downhill.
No license is required but you must be over 14.
The battery has a range of around 20 miles if you don't pedal or 34 miles if you do. It costs around
30p worth of electricity to recharge.
The Powabyke is available in seven different versions, including a trike, folding bike, shopper and
commuter models. Prices range from £539 to £845.
Simon road tested a five-speed Euro Powabyke supplied by Velo Cycle Centre, Sprowston Road, Norwich.
Telephone 01603 424499. Contact Powabyke on 01225 443737 or www.powabyke.com."
Personally, I love the bit about the electric bike "With no fuel, no emissions and no parking space
required, electric bikes are, of course, seriously environmentally friendly." Just what does the
intrepid report think is needed to produce electricity??? And as for parking space - it surely does
need one. It'll need less than that required by a car, but unless said reporter knows something
about the laws of physics that the rest of mankind doesn't, it'll surely take up some space ;-)
Personally speaking, I think I prefer my Bianchi ;-)
Cheers, helen s
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