Puch e-Bikes
Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 5:51 am
Hello
I thought some of you may like to know that Puch has not completely passed into history. Puch bicycles are still today being sold in Austria and the Netherlands. The bicycle arm of Steyr-Puch was sold off to the Italian bicycle manufacturer Bianchi, who is now owned by the Swedish Cycle Europe group, and are being manufactured in France. So not very Austrian any more. In 2012 they released a wonderful range of e-Bikes, which are bicycles fitted with an electric motor powered by a lithium battery. These are PEDELECs, in that that assist the rider whilst pedalling. The Puch e-Bikes use different motor systems for different models, made either by Bosch, Panasonic or Bionx (Canadian system).
A few months back I privately imported a Puch Kapazunder fitted with the Bosch Classic crank-drive system. The Kapazunder is a great commuting bike, and wonderful in a hilly city such as Sydney. Makes mole-hills out of mountains. In fact pedalling uphill is like pedalling on a flat- and the fact you are still pedalling means you are still getting a work-out (but without the sweat).
Ive read reports of between 650,000 and 1,100,000 e-bikes being sold in Europe last year on a huge growth trajectory, and traditional bicycles sales have diminished. Perhaps this is part of a modern transport revolution.
Rick
I thought some of you may like to know that Puch has not completely passed into history. Puch bicycles are still today being sold in Austria and the Netherlands. The bicycle arm of Steyr-Puch was sold off to the Italian bicycle manufacturer Bianchi, who is now owned by the Swedish Cycle Europe group, and are being manufactured in France. So not very Austrian any more. In 2012 they released a wonderful range of e-Bikes, which are bicycles fitted with an electric motor powered by a lithium battery. These are PEDELECs, in that that assist the rider whilst pedalling. The Puch e-Bikes use different motor systems for different models, made either by Bosch, Panasonic or Bionx (Canadian system).
A few months back I privately imported a Puch Kapazunder fitted with the Bosch Classic crank-drive system. The Kapazunder is a great commuting bike, and wonderful in a hilly city such as Sydney. Makes mole-hills out of mountains. In fact pedalling uphill is like pedalling on a flat- and the fact you are still pedalling means you are still getting a work-out (but without the sweat).
Ive read reports of between 650,000 and 1,100,000 e-bikes being sold in Europe last year on a huge growth trajectory, and traditional bicycles sales have diminished. Perhaps this is part of a modern transport revolution.
Rick
