Like it or not, e-bikes are slowly but surely becoming a more mainstream product in the UK.
Chances are a large percentage of people who read the term ‘e-bikes’ in the opening sentence ran (or should that be cycled?) a proverbial mile, muttering something about cheating along the way. So kudos to those of you who are still with me.
Traditionally of course used by OAPs to teeter along to the Co-op, e-bikes are starting to enjoy something of an uplift in popularity. This is thanks in no small part to a rather surprising new target audience.
The under-25s market has seemingly been energised by the range of sporty new e-mountain bikes hitting the market recently. Unlike traditional e-bikes these new models look rather funky, often featuring splashes of vibrant colour. Speaking at last week’s Cycle Show at the NEC, Raleigh’s product manager Terry Blackwood explained that sports e-bikes should be the ‘game changer’ for the category. Bikes to have fun on are becoming increasingly popular.
Photo courtesy of Raleigh
Blackwood highlighted Raleigh’s Haibike sDuro model which has been designed specifically with the under-25s market in mind. As such it is much cheaper than their top of the range models but still boasts a number of exciting features. Driven by a 250 watt Yamaha motor, the SDURO is capable of uphill speeds of up to 15mph and as fast as gravity will allow going back down again. This makes the bike a superb option for young adrenalin junkies who want the experience of flying down a mountain side without the lung busting effort to get up there in the first place.
Of course it is not just younger riders who can benefit. The more traditional over-55s market will find they can go on longer, more intense rides on an e-bike than they may otherwise be able to. Sports e-bikes are likely to attract older people who are cyclists, rather than people who have no interest in the sport as has perhaps been the case in the past with more commuter-minded models.
Raleigh is by no means the only brand to be surging into the e-mountain bike territory. A number of other big name brands such as Scott and KTM also have a range of snazzy e-mountain bikes, and it is surely only a matter of time before other top brands follow suit and tap into this emerging market.
Of course there will be a large proportion of hardcore mountain bikers who think this is all a load of slanderous cobblers, which is understandable. However it is hard to argue that e-mountain bikes are not an exciting prospect, especially to those of us not blessed with thighs of steel. A recent survey suggested that 90% of the younger market would ride a sporty e-bike, meaning that e-mountain bikes are likely to be here to stay.
You can check out e-bikes currently for sale on GGB here.
