BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Gloucester-based manufacturer Tomcat is to launch an electric version of its adult Bullet trike. The Bullet is a road trike for riders with mild to profound and multiple disabilities, and the e-Bullet will enable more people to experience the joy of riding outdoors.
Tomcat has been making trikes for more than 20 years, starting with trikes for children with disabilities. Company founder Bob Griffin is the originator of the now industry-standard carer-control system which has allowed people with severe physical and neurological difficulties to cycle.
The Bullet was launched last year.
"The cycle industry has paid little attention to the millions of adults with access issues that make cycling unnecessarily difficult or impossible," said Griffin at the time.
"But we knew from our years of innovation and experience that with the right tricycle, we could achieve the same with the adult population as we have with the child population, regardless of the degree of difficulty. Consequently, we sketched out a design for a lightweight, easily accessible machine that seated the rider at a normal chair height but looked sporty into the bargain, because appearance is every bit as important as functionality."
And now with an electric version, Griffin hopes he can reach even more people.
The e-Bullet joins a stable of five existing Bullet trikes – the Silver Bullet is a multi-geared road bike with three wheels; the single speed Apprentice is for carer-supervised riders; the Cycle Squad is schools or inclusive cycling centres; the Flash is for personal, customised, sports performance; and the Rotor for those who hand propel.
"Imagine being able to change from hand to foot braking when rheumatism strikes or from pedal power to power assist, when heart or muscles weaken," asks Griffin.
"The Bullet is able to change its engineering to suit changing needs by building its technology into modular chassis that can be easily changed when the time comes."
