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.

For many years now the Eurobike Show Daily accompanying the annual international Eurobike Show has given us the opportunity to publish our perspective on major developments in the cycle industry in full-page articles.

We also speak regularly in independent lectures about all topics relating to bicycle technology and bicycle market. In addition, we are regularly cited by further special-interest magazines or trade journals as well as more and more by radio and television and in their media reports, which shows us that we are completely right with our information. The section NEWS informs you about the latest news from our specialist fields. The reports and publications of this section are listed chronologically or according to topics of interest.

e-bike 02/2014
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Less weight is more

Pedelecs weigh about 25 kg, the rider’s weight must be added as well as sometimes up to 30 kg of luggage. A pedelec therefore has to deal with a Herculean task Due to the additional luggage the riding characteristics change constantly, unfortunately into the negative.

The unfavourably distribution of the load may not only hinder the handling and parking of the pedelec, but even cause critical reactions during the ride. The actually comfortable low-step-through models with largely bent central tubes hit the rock bottom. Already without luggage some models are only sufficiently stable during a slow ride. With luggage many models are virtually unrideable, as they are likely to start wobbling uncontrollably. If luggage has to be transported, than as a rule only in solid pannier bags – the lower the better. A better load distribution is provided by front wheel pannier bags, so-called lowriders. There are not many models available, in particular for suspension forks. The manufacturers are therefore asked to work out solid integrated solutions to ensure that trips with luggage do not turn into safety risks. The only thing that helps until then is to adjust the tyre pressure and the way of cycling – and to take as less luggage as possible on a trip.

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