50cycles Big Autumn Sale - Oxford Lock - RoboTandem - Honda U3-X

View this bog post online with pictures and colours and links at http://www.50cycles.com/newsletters/2009/endsalemailout.html

Autumn Sale Ends Soon £100s off leading products until midnight 30th September or while stocks last. Prices include VAT, free UK delivery, pre-delivery inspection & two-year warranty. A quick reminder that our Autumn Sale only has a couple of days to run. There's still £300 off selected Agattus, £200 off all Tasman electric bikes and £100 off the Pro Connect. And an additional £2.50 if you order online and use discount code web250.

In other news, we have a new lock in stock from Oxford. It's Sold Secure and could help reduce the premium if you decide to insure your electric bike, through CycleGuard, for example.

Oxford Magnum U-Lock

We now have the latest version of the Oxford Magnum Ultra Strong U-Lock SOLD SECURE 5 minute attack tested £1,000 Anti-theft Guarantee 16mm shackle, 170mm x 258mm High tech pick-resistant lock system Two keys & lock head dust cover Carry bracket for cycle use. £48.95 inc delivery

And Finally...

A couple of stories caught our eye over the past week, from either end of the electric transport sophistication scale. First we have Joules, the world's first robot powered tandem. There are lots of ways to power-assist a two-wheeler - with a hub motor, crank drive, pulse jet for example - but we never thought we'd see a robot providing the wattage quite like this.

We have a soft spot for Honda because they produced our very first product, the Honda Step Compo folding electric bike. They have just come up with something very different indeed. The U3-X is a new personal mobility device that makes it possible to adjust speed and move, turn and stop in all directions when the rider leans the upper body to shift body weight. Watch the video of it in action by clicking the photo to the right.

It looks a lot like an oversized ring-pull, but it's packed with cybernetic self-righting technology and a very novel omni-directional drive system. It's probably intended to help Japan's booming elderly population get around. There's no word on pricing or availability, but it's fascinating to see the approach Honda are taking to personal transport technology.

CycleGuard Insurance Great value cycle insurance with the added benefit of a double the difference price guarantee! Flexible cover options mean you get the cover you need and don't pay for unnecessary extras.

Honda reveal the U3-X - an omnidirectional, self-balancing electric personal transport device

Honda have taken technologies developed in their well-known Asimo android project and applied them to this novel electric personal transport device which they've called the U3-X. Particularly cool is the omni-directional propulsion system which allows the rider to glide effortlessly left, right, back and forth. At no great speed though, it must be said

There must be a better name for it than U3-X. Maybe the Seatatron, GlideMo, Uni Go, Omni Yum or something like that.

Here's the full story (and video) from Honda

Honda Develops New Personal Mobility Device With the Goal of Co-existing in Harmony with People -- World's first drive system that enables movement in all directions --

Electric Bikes -N- Scooters Blog

We've just been featured on the excellent Electric Bikes N Scooters Blog ("declare your independence from oil and gas") which is pretty much the most informative, certainly the most active and one of the longest-running electric transport blogs around.

Keep up the good work Mark!

Big Autumn Electric Bike Sale

This is our biggest sale ever with up to £300 off our renowned and much loved range of Kalkhoff electric bicycles. They're all made in Germany to the highest standard and offer superb reliability, great power, a comfortable ride and a two-year warranty. It's one purchase you'll never regret, especially at these prices. Offer ends on 30th September or until we sell out of each model (which will be very soon for certain bikes)
		Gents Agattu was £1,595 now £1,295
Tasman was £1,795 now £1,595	Pro Connect was £1,795 now £1,695	Spooklight was £59.95 now £48.95

IZIP Via Mezza Enlightened electric folding bike

We've a long history of selling folding electric bikes here at 50cycles electric bikes. Back in 2003, we introduced the wonderful Honda Step Compo to customers outside Japan, quickly followed by Panasonic's WiLL bike (the very first electric bike to be sold in the UK with a Lithium ion battery pack, way back in 2004!).

We sold hundreds of the eZee Quando between 2005 and 2007, but though it offered good hill-climbing performance, it was handicapped by being limited to a single gear and relatively heavy.

So we're really, really pleased to be able to offer a very good folding electric bicycle once more. It has a high capacity 36V 9Ah Lithium ion battery, twist and go throttle control, 7 speed Shimano gears and an eye-catching alloy frame. It's called the IZIP Via Mezza Enlightened electric folding bike, designed and manufactured by US-based electric bicycle specialist, Currie. We sold the first one within minutes of it arriving at our warehouse and our test riders all report that it's the best electric folder we've ever had.

We've also taken on a couple of other IZIP bikes - the IZIP Via Rapido electric bike - a lightweight, Lithium battery powered, 7-speed Gents commuter bike and the IZIP Tri-Cruiser electric tricycle, a simple but highly effective electric three-wheeler. We've sold electric tricycles before, including the eZee Carro and the Agattu electric trike (which we like to call the Majestic Electric). The Tri-Cruiser is half the price of the eZee Carro and about one quarter the cost of the Agattu trike. Like we say, simple, effective and inexpensive.

This trio of new electric bikes marks a return by 50cycles to offering electric bicycles in the budget segment, as well as high-end electric bikes like our superb Kalkhoff range - the Pro Connect S high performance electric bike, the Pro Connect high-speed electric commuter bikes, the Tasman luxury electric bicycle and our best selling bike the Agattu all-round pedelec electric cycle.

The only problem with Kalkhoff bikes is that there is no folding electric bicycle option. So if you're looking for an electric folding bike that's fun to ride, reliable and capable, the IZIP Via Mezza Enlightened folding electric bicycle is definitely worth considering. Order your electric bike online or call us on 0844 800 5979(+44 203 355 8850 from outside the UK) today - we offer free delivery in the UK and good international shipping rates.

Zero Electric Motorcycles pages overhauled

We've just carried out a major overhaul of our Zero Motorcycles product pages. All the information about these trail-blazing electric motorbikes, including media coverage, full specifcations, high res photos and videos are now presented in an easy-to-use tabbed format.

Faster and more satisfying, just like riding a Zero!

Zero X Electric trail bike
Zero X electric motorbike videos

Zero MX Electric motocross bike
Zero MX electric motorbike videos

Zero S Electric Supermoto bike
Zero S electric road legal motorcycle videos - including the Zero S and Neal Saiki in Jay Leno's garage