BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The latest Santander Cycles hire bike has won a gold award at Eurobike, the world’s most important cycle trade show. The award was presented on Sunday night in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The bike is made by Pashley Cycles of Stratford upon Avon.
The Pashley bike won in the “Special Purpose Bike" category and joined twelve other gold award winners. The bike is slowly being rolled out in London – look out for the "5000" serial numbers – and will also be seen later this year in Edinburgh when the recently awarded public bicycle hire scheme commences. (The Edinburgh roll-out will include a pedal-assist electric version of the bike.
As well as an improved handlebar/front wheel interface – the original, non-Pashley bikes suffer from rocking – the series 5000 bike has next-generation lighting-and-tracking capabilities thanks to another English cycling business, Beryl.
Beryl was formerly known as Blaze and its laser-projecting technology is now installed across London’s hire bike fleet. It projects a green bicycle ahead of the rider. However, the laser light on the Pashley hire bike also has "smart" capabilities, such as a GPS tracking, which has yet to be activated. Beryl has also launched a more affordable version of its after-market Laserlight. Called Core, it will be available in a USB-chargeable version along with a wired model for use with dynamos or with e-bike system. It is mainly intended for bike-share rides.
Pashley MD Adrian Williams said: "The award is a recognition that we have successfully developed a world-class public hire bike system that any city around the world could be proud of."
