Kicking tyres @ the competition

So you fly into Paris - what do you do ?

Well if your sad me ; you go looking for electric bikes - 

A few juicy ones around - the market is possibly overwhelming here . One french magazine i picked up lists 235 models in that issue alone. Much of it though is CRAP - just like in NZ.

The ONYA F-19 is sold here as the 7EVEN @1700 eu with v-brakes and 7.8 ah battery - Do like the logo and color ways along the frame though. 

So of to Brussels - Meet Valentin - ex partner in crime with too  much petrol and BHP in his Blood.  Now heading the Ferrari workshop here - so you'd think he'd be laughing at our love and affection for electric power - NOT so. As it turned out he'd signed himself up for HIRE of the new SPECIALIZED Turbo bikes that very same day. Allways the party crasher i quickly put my name down too :)

Speaking with the shop manager the ''uptake '' of ebiking is not crushing the pure pedal sector in Belgium. Unlike our shores it seems the sales are still only just picking up and the ''movement'' still feels very much in its infancy. Rental 70eu for 1 day of Turbo Levo   @5500 eu retail. Fat tyres and all :) 

Our other choice was the cheaper ( hardtail ) Turbo Vano. Both are here set at 25km'h -and both where new . Belgian cobbles next - the levo strode on thoose- and felt really composed. Loved the instant kick of power - the grip . But sadly felt underwhelmed as 25 comes up all too quick. On the tricky stuff i sometimes got caught out -as not having a throttle you must keep spinning the pedals to keep the juice coming. In terms of value for money ; no lock, mudguards, rack, lights, kickstand ( !! ) at this price our comparable MOUSTACHE do seem a steal. 

On our ride through the woods we did not meet a single other ebiker - but did see 8-10 pedal bikes - in 30c" guess they like sweating here . While the tyres gave a great ride i swallowed copious amounts of dirt and dust following Valentin, and riding the Levo was also hampered by the fat tyres and lacking guards - WHY ? The saddle is another area where any designer / developer would splash a few cents more - i'd say it was a $24.99 saddle. If you listen to our EBR clip you might get another perspective than ours - we got stuck on the price / package / value.  

It's impossible not to think this is overpriced - @ this price it should be carbon or have a unique feature like the original Iphone had. 

Valentin is now hunting the closest dealer for a Moustache.  

,As perfect as a day can be it ended with much cool Blanche - thanks Val for a gr8 day out .

Next stop is Geneva -and meeting Tomas from Douze cycles -stay tuned right here