News

Three European cycling associations have produced a joint forecast for bike sales over then next decade, predicting a unit sales growth of 47% for a total of 30 million bikes a year. More than double the number of passenger cars registered each year in the EU. This represents an additional 10 million bikes sold each year in 2030 compared with 2019 figures.

A major driver for growth is predicted to be e-bike sales. 3.7 million e-bikes were solid in the EU during 2019. This is expected to rise to 17 million by 2030. Initial data for 2020 indicates a 23% rise in sales from the previous year.

The study was carried out by Cycling Industries Europe (CIE), the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) and the Confederation of the European Bicycle Industries (CONEBI). The collaborators used a new forecasting method which took into account current trends, the impact of COVID-19, and government policies.

The folding, all-terrain, e-bike has already reached its funding goal

The SDREAM is an unusual concept. It’s got small, fat wheels, an electric motor, a smart security system, and it folds! It seems to be targeted at fun urban mobility, rather than serious mountain biking. The idea of making urban mobility fun and cool is a great one. This seems to be a niche that has been under-explored. The SDREAM appears to do a really nice job of filling this role.

The smart SDREAM e-bike has GPS and can alert the owner, if the bike is moved, via a smartphone app. The bike can then be tracked using the same app. It also has a USB charging port for a smartphone.

Power for the SDREAM can be provided by three different motors, 250 W, 500 W or 750 W. The 250 W version has a top speed of 15.5 mph (25 kph) while the more powerful versions can go up to 20 mph (32 kph). They all come with a 10.4 Ah battery and have a claimed range of 31 miles (50 km). It might seem a bit strange that the range is apparently the same when the power is increased by 3x. It’s worth noting that although the battery capacity, in Ah, is the same, the less powerful models have a 36 v battery while the 750 W version is 48 v, it, therefore, has a higher capacity. The 750 W version is not street legal in the EU.

Gearing is provided by a basic 7-speed shimano derailleur system. Disk brakes are used. Combined with the fat tires these should give very rapid stopping power. All models are available with or without full suspension.

With 30 days left in its crowdfunding campaign, SDREAM has already raised over $90,000 of the $50,000 target. This means it’s expected to deliver. You can order it now for between £799 and $1299, depending on motor power and whether you opt for suspension. Order it from the SDREAM IndieGOGO page.

Folding and compact e-bikes available to order now

GM has just released two really exciting e-bikes, aimed at urban mobility. The Meld (2,800 €) is a compact e-bike and the Merge (3,400 €) is a folding e-bike. They are currently only available to order in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, from www.BikeExchange.com.

The electric drives provide power up to 25 kph (16 mph) with four levels of pedal-assist. The assisted range is said to be up to 64 km (40 miles) with a charge time of 3.5 hours.

GM says they have designed the bikes to “automotive-grade capabilities”. They come with safety features such as integrated rechargeable front and rear light, and disk brakes with oversized rotors. Although it is nice to see integrated lights, they don’t appear to be of an automotive standard. We’d like to see them covering a much larger surface area and ideally covering the shape of the bike.

The folding ARIV Merge is designed to roll easily on both wheels while folded, as featured in the official advert on youtube:

Both bikes are fitted with a Quad Lock smartphone mount and connect with an official app via Bluetooth. This allows the smartphone to display speed, distance, remaining battery level, motor assist level, and distance traveled. The app is also intended to include an algorithm to help riders arrive at their destination sweat-free. A USB charging port is included so the attached phone can be charged while riding.

Other car companies have released e-bikes recently. For example the BMW Active Hybrid and the Ford MoDe. These are not very impressive. The GM offerings look somewhat more exciting.

Green Wave: A series of traffic lights timed so they’re all green for traffic travelling at the expected speed.

Green waves are an established concept in traffic planning. A series of traffic lights is timed so that once a vehicle passes the first light, if it’s travelling at the expected speed, then all the subsequent lights will be green as it passes them. The problem for cyclists, is they’re normally set for a speed of about 30 mph (50 kph). This is a bit too fast for the average cyclist. The obvious problem with this is that cyclists keep having to stop at red lights. This has the knock-on effect that a lot of cyclists end up jumping the red light, not very safe, and not very good PR for cyclists. A less obvious problem is that drivers of other vehicles want to get to the lights before they turn red, meaning a lot of unsafe overtaking of cyclists tends to happen.

Green waves timed for cyclists were first introduced into Copenhagen and Amsterdam in 2007, San Francisco also began implementing them in 2010. These schemes assume an average speed of between 16 and 20 kph (10 to 12 mph). What ends up happening is cyclists ride at the same speed, in a group. This makes them more visible to cars and dangerous overtaking is reduced.

The average speed of cyclists in Copenhagen before the green waves were introduced was found to be 16 kph. 20 kph was chosen to improve the traffic flow of cyclists by encouraging the majority to speed up a bit and the fastest to slow down. The green waves in Amsterdam work for cyclists travelling at 15 to 18 kph. The speeds in Copenhagen seems to work better with most cars slowing to this speed. In Amsterdam the drivers tend to drive faster and then stop at the red lights. Stop-go traffic causes more air pollution.

Melbourne has now introduced a green wave timed for cyclists. You can read more about it here.

A survey carried out by YouGov has found cycling to be the least popular form of transport in the UK. Paradoxically, walking is the most popular form of transport. 1737 adults were interviewed in the study. Respondents were asked whether they had a very favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable view of each mode of transport. The modes of transport are listed below, together with the percentage of people finding it either very or somewhat favorable.

1. Walking – 84%
2. Car (as passenger) – 81%
3. Car (as driver) – 73%
4. Plane – 68%
5. Train – 67%
6. Taxi – 48%
7. Bus – 47%
8. Coach – 42%
9. Bicycle – 40%

It’s a shame that so few people think favourably about riding a bike as a form of transport. The fact that walking comes top of the list show that its not simply because people want to sit passively in their own space. Something more complex is obviously going on here. This particular study didn’t ask them about their reasons although other studies have been done into this. Providing safer routes is one important area. In the Better Bicycles project we’re looking at how the bikes themselves can be made safter, more convinient and more appealing. If you’d like to get involved and help us do this in any way then find out more about getting involved.

The S-Works Evade helmet has ANGi to call for help if a crash is detected

ANGi is a system that detects a crash and sends an alert message if you don’t respond. Specialized have, until now, been selling ANGi as s separate device you attached to your helmet. This needs to be paired with their
Ride Premium app on your phone. ANGi monitors accelerations and if it detects a crash it starts a countdown. If you don’t tell it you’re ok, by stopping the countdown it ends, then it sends a text alert together with your most recent GPS location. The message can be sent to an emergency contact you have pre-selected.

The S-Works Evade helmet is a top quality aero road helment. It now comes with MIPS and a built-in ANGi device.

The ORGO folding e-bike is currently running on Kickstarter. What’s nice about this design is the really compact fold. The wheels fold inside the two circular frame sections, which also contain the batteries. This results in a tiny folded package with a volume of just 31 L, almost 1/3 of the volume of a Brompton! Only the Sinclair A-Bike is a comparable size, but the wheels on the ORGO are twice the diameter of an A-Bike’s. This really is an impressively small fold.

What’s not so great is this folding e-bike doesn’t have any pedals, so if the battery runs out you’ll have to push it. This also takes away the health benefits and, debatably, the fun of using your own strength to propel yourself. Not having any pedals does enable a low, yet upright, riding position. This looks like it would provide good visibility in traffic combined with a low center of gravity for good downhill braking performance. Although the wheelbase looks quite short at approximately 940 mm, this is actually more than some quite rideable folding bikes.

Features:

• Top speed: 15 mph (24 kph)
• Range: Up to 12 miles (19 km)
• Charge time: 2 h
• Weight: 10.9 kg (24 lbs)
• Folded size: 41 x 15 x 51 cm (16″ x 6″ x 20″)
• Folded volume:
• Wheel size: estimated 12″
• Wheelbase: approximately 94 cm (37″)

This looks like the perfect bike if you want the smallest possible folding e-bike and you don't mind sacrificing the ability to pedal. If you want to preorder an ORGO folding e-bike on Kickstarter, you have until 14<sup>th</sup> Febrary. The current price is 595 USD including shipping anywhere in the world.

BigRep

BigRep, a German manufacturer of 3D printing machines, has created the first 3D printed airless tire. The tire is created using their PRO FLEX material, a TPU filement.

Although it’s interesting that a tire can now be produced on a 3D printer, it seems unlikely that this will be a good substitute for the other choices currently available. Pnuematic tires are, of course, still the prefered option for performance. Airless tires do have the advantage of being more reliable, meaning they may make a good choice for city bikes and bike-share services.

Companies such as Tannus and Greentyre have been making airless tires for years. Their types use a closed cell foam core and now have performance approaching that of pneumatic tires. Tannus manufacture a 700c, 23 mm wide, tire with a quoted weight of 380g. This somewhat heavier than a racing tire setup, for example, a Continental Grand Prix Supersonic tire and tube is just 200g. However, comparison with an ultra-light race tire with minimal puncture protection or tread isn’t really fair. Perhaps a fairer comparison would be with a Schwalbe Marathon Racer, which, even with an ultralight tube, is 450g. So, compared to pneumatic tires with decent puncture protection, airless tires are very competitive. They also mean you don’t need to carry a spare tube and a pump. Accurate rolling resistance data is harder to come by, but Tannus claim their tires actually have 15% lower rolling resistance than equivelent pneumatic tires. Grip is also claimed to be comparable.

Whether the 3D printed tyre is able to rival the performnce of established airless tires is yet to be proven.