All about bicycles, electric-assisted bikes, technology and safety in the press

In our daily work as we deal with bicycle safety, technology and user manuals we come across lots of safety risks. The most frequent ones are published in articles of the leading German special-interest magazines TOUR – Europas Rennrad-Magazin Nr. 1, BIKE – Das Mountainbike Magazin Europas Nr. 1 and E-Bike – Das Pedelec-Magazin to make this information important for the sector accessible to a wider public.

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velobiz.de, 2016/06/27
Reading time 2:00 minutes

Stevens takes a stand on test results

In 2013, Stevens was test winner of the e-bike test by the German foundation for comparative product testing (Stiftung Warentest) with their e-bike model “E-Courier Forma” that was rated with the best mark. In the test published past Friday, i.e. three years later, a model which is by far identical in construction is rated only “inadequate” (velobiz.de reported). In the following press release quoting also the bicycle expert Dirk Zedler the Hamburg bicycle manufacturer takes a stand on the test results.

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Riding stability – Measuring instead of feeling

The minor frame wobbling stated by the testers during the subjective test ride with luggage is not in compliance with other tests. We not only rely upon subjective riding impressions, but on tests on testing systems perfomed at Zedler - Institut für Fahrradtechnik und -Sicherheit well-known in the sector and independent. STEVENS takes the StiWa test results as an opportunity to perform still more tests and to include further bicycles of the current tests comparatively and to communicate the results.

Statement by Dirk Zedler: The purely optical comparison of some test candidates already raises doubts with regard to the product testers’ judgement of the riding characteristics. The model with the best riding characteristics according to Stiftung Warentest is nearly identical in construction with the complained Stevens E-Courier Forma. Another model with comparably thin frame tubes, slim pannier rack with integrated rechargeable battery and a load distribution comparable at first sight has allegedly still “satisfactory” riding characteristics. Other models with riding characteristics on a clearly higher level due to technical features from my own experience, were not rated accordingly positive.

We do not really understand the facts which led to these judgements. What we do know is that test rides are extremely important, but that they can also be major error sources. Riders’ judgements are necessarily subjective. Another saddle already, another handlebar position or simply the tyre pressure may blur the riding experience.

For this reason Zedler-Institut has developed specific testing systems and processes for the evaluation of riding characteristics already years ago. Among the manufacturers optimizing their e-bikes on these systems is also STEVENS. Two years ago we made examplary tests on our machines and on the road. In the result the pedelecs of STEVENS Bikes were above the average. I’m therefore highly surprised that the model E-Courier Forma allegedly ranges at the bottom end of the spectrum.

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Author: Markus Fritsch

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