BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
David Henshaw is the co-publisher of A to B Magazine, the subscription-only publication specialising in folding bikes from its foundation in 1997 but, for a number of years, also featuring electric bikes.
Richard Peace, a former lawyer, is the founder of Excellent Books, a publisher and wholesaler of bicycle books.
The Electric Bicycles book is a 256-page, full-colour A4 book on the history of electric bikes as well as how to choose the best bikes.
The UK bike trade has so far been relatively luke-warm over electric bikes, partly because of ‘getting fingers burned’ during the early 1990s when Raleigh and others introduced the first modern electric bikes, powered by heavy lead acid batteries.
The new crop of electric bikes are lighter, with advanced lithium ion batteries, and have greater range.
Henshaw told BikeBiz:
"One of the key incentives for me in writing this has been to get some knowledge out to the bike trade.
"At the moment the quality bikes from European and Japanese manufacturers are starting at £1,250 with plenty of good choice at £1,600, but the Chinese rubbish is costing almost as much, with some brands boosted into the £1,800-£1,900 region.
"Warranty-wise – and in the end, profit-wise – there’s no comparison."
‘Electric Bicycles’ will also be a primer for consumers looking for impartial information on an emerging sector.
