Getting from A2B a lot more easily

Category: A2B Launch | Source: My Brum TV | Date: 21 April 2009

Recently I had the pleasure of re-living my youth of bike riding at the launch of the A2B electric bike at Gadget Show Live in Birmingham's LG Arena.

With its cool, contemporary design and ergonomically engineered frame, it appears to me that A2B bikes will be the future of personal transport.

Many people may be put off at the thought of riding a bike to work, sweating and getting all out of breath. Not so with this fantastic new innovation. This bike will make a commute to work or another destination much more enjoyable - as well as making you huge savings on car running costs and parking.

With its silent and speedy acceleration, accompanied with an electric motor, you can ride up all those steep hills and still arrive at your destination as fresh as a daisy. It is also incredibly comfortable to ride, no saddle sore here.The only downside is that you are limited by the bike's 20 mph speed limit, but because electric bikes are constrained to 15.5 mph on roads by European and UK legislations the speed is ideal. The low power can also be a plus point making it a much safer form of transport compared to many motorised bikes on the market.

The A2B range is designed to be an innovation in engineering with its direct-drive motor, which has been patented by its owner, Ultra Motor, one of the world's leading developers of Light Electric Vehicles. Both the A2B Metro and the A2B Hybrid launched this week following a huge and very successful launch in the US just last year.

The main differences between the two models of bike are the Metro is a ‘power on demand' bike and the Hybrid is a ‘pedal-assist' electric bike.With the power on demand, riders can choose either to pedal or cruise under power, allowing them to reach their destination with minimum effort. Other features of the model include a front and rear suspension and the fully charged battery lasts for up to 20 miles -which to charge up would cost you as little as 7p. This model is also available in white, black, silver and blue colour options.

With the ‘pedal-assist' Hybrid, the rider must pedal but the electric motor boosts the rider's pedal input - perfect for those who want to keep fit but need a little boost from time to time. This has many of the same features as the Metro but the battery only costs 6p to fully charge and it runs for up to 50 miles, and this is reflected in the higher retail price.

This bike is also available in two styles: Adventure (for a more off-road look) and Urban (for a more city look) and both styles are available in Black & White colour options.Both these bikes will soon be available to buy from most bike retailers; they will cost around £1,949 for the ‘power on demand' Metro and £1,749 for the pedal-assist Hybrid.