This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
ELECTRIC BIKES PIERS METCALFE, VOLT BIKES COLIN WILLIAMS, FLI DISTRIBUTION


KTM is a big e-bike player in Europe


“IN THE UK it’s very positive for electric bikes. The technology has improved massively for the last few years and reliability is now very high. So cyclists are getting more used to e-bikes and their benefits, having seen them around. London is going to have trials for e-bike hire so that will improve visibility further. As a nation we like cycling and we’re realised that there are cost savings to be had – in London a travelcard season ticket for Zone 1 and 2 is over £1,000, which is the same as some electric bikes! There’s a fitness aspect to it – it’s not for people who are lazy – but it takes away the sweatiness from cycling and the chore aspect. You will go further too, electric bike make larger distances easier to conquer. An obstacle for the UK has been the price of electric bikes – a sensible model is at least £1,000 and that’s seen as a lot compared with a bike in Tesco, where you can pick one up for £120. The average bike price in Holland and Germany is more like £1,500 or more, so here an e-bike is a bigger step change – four or five times more than what some people expect. Consumers are used to buying quality abroad. Reliability is much better. Our retailers get a surprise that


problems are quite simple to solve, with plug and play componentry and no welded reconnections making them easier to service. It is all colour coded and customers can even have a go themselves. Retailers have to wake up to the possibilities –


you have to be in it. The electric bike market is changing and the bikes are getting better looking too with more discreet batteries in the frame. With modern moulable polymer technology the battery can be squashed, smaller and more aesthetic.” Piers Metcalfe, Volt Bikes


E-bikes are benefiting from battery tech advances


“WE’RE GROWING faster with KTM than I’d even hoped, and the e-bikes are a big part of what’s fuelling KTMs growth in the UK. So we’re taking on more staff at the moment to help with brand management, dealing with the press and sales agents. We’re pretty new to the e-bike industry in the UK – we’re just starting our second year – but KTM has been making e-bikes for a long time. We’re selling a lot more e- bikes than we thought we would, but the vast majority are to specialist e-bike retailers who have been set up because traditional bike shops aren’t seeing or meeting the potential of this market. We have a lot of discussions about the market in our office and with dealers, and our opinion is that there are lots of traditional cycle shops missing a trick by not selling them. Too many in our industry see cycling as a sport and hobby, and are therefore missing out on sales because they can’t see it as also simply a form of transport. This is where we think our UK industry differs from mainland Europe. As soon as we mention e-bikes in your average bike shop, there is generally two


reactions: First one is it’s cheating, just buy a proper bike. Now we’ve got good experience of the bikes and we’ve been using them a lot, we can clearly see that people should view an e-bike as a replacement for the car, not a replacement for their bike.


The second common reaction is that they have tried selling e-bikes, but they were


rubbish and spent more time in the workshop that on the road. If a bike shop is used to selling quality cycles, they have to appreciate you’re not going to get a bike of the same quality bike with a motor for the same money as a normal bike. Things have improved massively over the past few years and there are now many brands of e-bike that can offer shops and customers many miles of happy, maintenance free cycling, but as with everything in life, you do get what you pay for. We do think the e-bike market is going to grow in the UK, but in order for it to become more mainstream, we need traditional bike shops to invest in stock so people can try them.... you can’t sell e-bikes from a brochure. Colin Williams, Founder, Fli Distribution


BIKEBIZ.COM


MARCH BIKEBIZ 53


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92