We invited five  e-bike retailers from around Australia and invited them to sit around the cyber-table and discuss a range of e-bike matters. You can read their biographies and get their contact details at the end of this article, but to begin the discussion, allow me to introduce our panel:

• Paul van Bellen from Gazelle Bicycles Australia
• Maurice Wells from Glow Worm Bicycles
• Martin Turner from MR Ebikes
• Luke Ebert from E-Bike Central
• George Kazacos from Reef Bikes

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BNA: The e-bike market seems to be growing in Australia and there seems to be two options consumers can choose from: a dedicated e-bike, or an e-bike conversion. If you were going to give some advice to a new rider seeking an e-bike, which would you recommend and why? (And, why not the other?)

Paul@Gazelle: We only sell the dedicated e-bike, so our attention is purely focused on this. I feel that if you can afford it, the dedicated e-bike has advantages over e-bike kits. Often when someone is thinking about using an e-bike, it’s for the purpose of commuting and utility style trips. A ‘city e-bike’ or bike that is practical needs more than just an electric motor. Does your bike have light systems when you ride in the dark? Does it have chain guards so you can wear pants and dresses without the worry of getting clothes dirty of worse get caught up in the chain and falling? Can you carry panniers easily? Is the sit position comfortable and relaxed? The dedicated e-bike has the advantage of being built from the ground up as an e-bike so the finished product looks, integrates & feels better. This is certainly the case with Gazelle e-bikes.

Gazelle bicycles are completely integrated and ready to go

E-Bike kits have the advantage that you can modify your existing bike to an e-bike and the cost is less. Putting an electric kit on your existing bike may work for some but not for others. We find that people who are interested in Gazelle bikes would not be satisfied with the result of converting their recreation/mountain style bike into an e-bike. But for others it’s a good solution. Some bikes are not suitable for e-bike kits as there can be compatibility and safety issues if your frame, forks and wheels are not up the job.

George@ReefBikes: The e-bike market has gained momentum over the past couple of years, and technology has vastly improved. From Reef Bikes point of view, we would recommend getting a ready made electric bike, and not a conversion kit. As our e bike models are set up perfectly, with hidden batteries inside the frame, hidden wires and components, making our ready made models look like regular bicycles, with high performance without having to do any work yourself. A kit can be messy, and not fit onto your regular bicycle as well. Custom kits are only really recommended for enthusiasts that really know what they want.

Martin@MREBikes: Our advice to the customer would be to experience (ride) as many products as possible and choose a brand, conversion kit or e-bike that best suits their needs, is good quality and well supported locally.

Mr Ebikes import both the BionX conversion kits and Danish (complete) Promovec ebikes

Luke@EBikeCentral: From a retail point of view I will always try and sell the customer a dedicated e-bike. The majority of customers are looking for a commuting bike with all the practical components, i.e. lights, rack, chain guard, lock. Most dedicated e-bikes will come standard with these features. It’s simply easier for the customer and for the seller to deal with these ‘ready to go’ e-bikes. However, e-bike conversions also have some great benefits. Firstly, it’s a lot cheaper to convert an existing bike than to buy a complete E-bike. Secondly, this gives the customer the option of choosing a bike that specifically suits their needs. Thirdly, I find people are a lot more likely to invest in the idea of an electric bike if the price is affordable. Seeing as though the e-bike is a reasonably unknown product, customers don’t want to invest $2000 into something they don’t know much about. The conversion kit provides an entry level e-bike option that the average Joe can afford.

Luke Ebert of E-Bike Central in Melbourne

Maurice@GlowWorm: We were asked about this topic so often that we wrote an article about it on our website about it.

Overall we strongly favour the electric bicycle over the conversion kit as it is almost always better value, a better and safer product and more likely to suit the purpose of day to day transport. I don’t subscribe to the belief that the conversion kit is a more affordable option either. Over 5 years of use you’ll spend less on a nice quality electric bicycle than a bike with a cheap kit. And don’t forget to take into account that you could have kept your bike for other uses or sold it. We actually only recommend a kit for the other end of the spectrum – someone who wants to convert an expensive bike and doesn’t mind that the end product will be more expensive than a similar complete electric bike.

Maurice Wells of Glow Worm Bicycles in Sydney

For a consumer I’d be looking for at a complete electric bicycle that has everything you want on it. For most people that’s well integrated lights, lock, mudguards, rear rack, battery and kickstand so that it’s ready for daily use.

For a retailer I’d recommend against stocking kits as I just can’t see it as a long term strategy – selling converted bicycles where the fork has not been tested for use with a motor, where the usual frame and fork warranties will be void etc. Also with new regulations coming into play in Australia, it’s not as simple as popping on a motor and a battery, the bike needs a speed limiter, pedal assist etc and not all kits offer this and those that do are not always easy to fit onto any given bike.

A few years ago a conversion kit was a necessary compromise as a way of limiting the amount of junk you were buying – a low quality kit on a high quality bike is much better than a low quality e-bike. Now that there’s a range of high quality electric bicycles on the market in Australia, I see kits as becoming less useful – something for enthusiasts to use their time and money on or to convert bikes that are hard to find in electric format (BMX, recumbents, trikes etc).

BNA: When buying any bike, it’s important to buy one that’s a good fit and that’s fit for the purpose. Aside from the standard “rules” for buying a bike, what do I need to be looking for in an e-bike? What’s the most important ingredient in the e-bike recipe?

Paul@Gazelle: I think buying from a reputable brand is a very good start. There have been many e-bike brands come and go over the last few years and most, if not all of them, have been Chinese import brands. Buying an e-bike is the easy step however the next question should be, ‘”What is the back up like from the manufacturer with parts”.

We are fortunate that with a brand like Gazelle all the parts are available many years down the track. Being Holland’s biggest bike company means back up is of critical importance to their continued success.

George@ReefBikes: It is important to only deal and purchase from a quality brand, there are alot of cheap fly by night Chinese models coming into the market, that disappear just as fast. Reef Bikes recommend looking for e bikes that only use quality Panasonic or Samsung lithium battery cells. As the battery is the most important and expensive part of any e-bike, it’s extremely important that your battery and electrics are the best quality and a known brand. Also, don’t be fooled by cheap Chinese e-bikes that advertise a 15-20AH battery for long distances, as our Panasonic 10AH battery will perform even better, last even longer, not fail, and only be half the size and weight.

German brand Stevens has used a number of technologies including BionX

For commuter e-bike, batteries are often integrated in a rear pannier rack

Luke@EBikeCentral: I think the most important ingredient is choosing a brand that will support their product for years to come. I also think it’s important to buy an e-bike from a store who can support the product with parts and servicing (as apposed to Ebay!) And always, try before you buy.

Maurice@GlowWorm: It goes without saying that a high quality product with good backup service will be better than a cheap, low quality e-bike. After deciding you need to get a good e-bike, you still need to decide which one to get.

I think the first thing is to figure out how you want to use your bike and therefore what the priorities are. Every e-bike will have strong points and weak points and not all are related to cost, so if you know what’s important to you and communicate this to a knowledgeable e-bike seller then you’ll have the best chance of getting a bike that works for you. Some bikes are better able to go longer distances by more easily accommodating an extra battery, which is important if you want to commute a long way. Other bikes are lighter or can fold up, which doesn’t help if you want to go a long way, but can be helpful if you need to take your bike on the train daily. Some have space for child seats and panniers, others don’t. The total weight of the bike or the aerodynamics of the riding position are unlikely to be very important when you have a motor to help you along – a touring, hybrid, racing or city style e-bike are all able to go quickly and easily, so use this to your advantage and pick the one that is most comfortable and convenient for you.

Finally, just go and test ride a lot of them! They don’t all feel the same and performance differs, so it’s not a decision to make based on reading specifications. And if you can’t even test ride it, you might have difficulty getting it serviced later!

Martin@MREBikes: Perhaps the most important ingredient for the e-bike customer is “Will the product perform to my expectations over the period of time that I expect?” Unfortunately the e-bike recipe in Australia has been badly tainted by poor quality product. As an importer / distributor / retailer, it is our function to change this perception with brands that are global leaders in product quality and technology.

BionX is used both by brands for complete bikes as well as a seperate e-bike conversion kit

In Part 2 of this article, our experts talk about servicing and supporting e-bikes and talk about the total cost of e-bike ownership. Stay Tuned!

Panelist Biographies

Paul van Bellen – Gazelle Bicycles Australia
I live in Sydney, though was born in The Netherlands, the World’s #1 cycling country. Our business, Gazelle Bicycles Australia, distributes the best bike and accessory brands from The Netherlands. Our interest in e-bikes started around 5 years ago when we visited The Netherlands and saw how the market for this segment was gaining momentum. We believe the e-bike will be a fantastic solution for people in Australian cities who have to deal with hills, heat and less than ideal cycling infrastructure. The beauty of the e-bike is that it makes cycling fun and easy, and if you can get someone to make the step from taking their car to do local trips to the e-bike, then we all benefit from that with less congestion, better health, cleaner air and less noise pollution.

Maurice Wells – Glow Worm Bicycles
I created Glow Worm Bicycles in 2009, motivated by a desire to take electric bicycles into the mainstream. I see bicycles as a unique invention with the ability to transform an individual’s life for the better as well as transform an entire city for the better. For me, electric bicycles are a great way to bring cycling into more people’s lives.

Martin Turner – MR Ebikes
MR Ebikes Pty Ltd was started by my business partner, Rob Brennan and I in 2011 to act as the importer and distributor for Bionx and Promovec. Both Rob and I recognised the potential for e-bikes in Australia given the tremendous growth that has occurred in this sector over the last few years. Our focus is to supply quality products to the Australian market and we believe that the Bionx and Promovec brands offer such quality.

Martin Turner in Syndey with a BionX converted Kona is Mr Ebikes

Bionx is a Canadian company that supplies an Electric Assist Conversion Kit that can be fitted to a traditional bicycle. The Bionx product also powers the electric assist bicycles of OEM’s such as Trek, KTM, Wheeler, Stevens, Smart, Focus and many more.

Promovec is a Danish brand of electric assist bicycle. They are one of the leading brands in Scandinavia and have been supplying e-bikes since 2003. Our business plan is to build and support a dealer network for the Bionx and Promovec brands.

Luke Ebert – E-Bike Central
I’ve been a keen rider since I was a young lad and I manage E-Bike Central in Richmond. I began working with e-bikes when I was 18 for Electric Vehicles Pty Ltd. Whilst at EVS I did a bit of everything including setting up the Australia Post electric fleet bikes. After moving into the city I realised that E-bikes are simply the most efficient form of inner city transport. I wanted to get people out of the drivers seat and onto the bike seat and fitness was no longer an excuse not to ride.  Roughly 6 months ago I set up the retail store in Richmond.

George Kazacos - Reef Bikes
Reef Bikes develops the latest innovative technology in electric bikes, working with Panasonic and Samsung to design and manufacture reliable batteries and electronics, and Shimano to provide top performance in gears, groupsets and hardware.

The team here at Reef Bikes is always on the go with research and development of our products. Producing our own Reef technology with our battery hidden inside frame design.

We produce a huge range of different e-bikes to suit every Australians needs, from the high powered Predator and Bullshark e-bikes, to the classic European commuting bikes, electric tricycles and folding e-bikes.

Reef Bikes enjoys getting Australians back into cycling, back on the roads, and giving people the chance to cycle, commute, exercise at their own pace. We are here to promote an alternative eco-friendly mode of transport, relieving inner city traffic congestion, zero emission electric motor technology, and to keep Australians fit while enjoying the outdoors, while being able to pedal or motor at their own pace.

The complete e-bike buyers guide is also available as an App for iPad for free.
Visit iTunes to view and download the e-bike buyers guide.

Photo Credits:
Bicycles Network Australia (1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9)
Gazelle Bicycles Australia (2)
E-Bike Central (4)
Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious (7)

And then he disappeared. He resigned as CEO of Bicycle NSW, sparking rumours and confusion among the members, many of whom did not renew their memberships or transferred them to other cycling organisations in other states. People wondered what would happen next, but no one knew what Omar had in store – maybe Omar didn’t either.

Omar reappeared on my radar via a mutual contact, with something called the Go! Alliance. Nothing more was forthcoming about this venture until Omar contacted BNA about joining the Go! Alliance. Since we had interviewed him before, we jumped on the opportunity to interview him again and find out more about what he was doing. Like the first time around, he was eager to engage with us and gave us this frank interview via email.

BNA: As the head of Bicycle NSW, you were vocal and pro-active on cycling issues to the point where the cynics were paying attention and smelling some sort of change in the winds – a cycling Barrack Obama of sorts. And then you vanished, almost overnight. What happened?

Omar: It was a great opportunity to lead BNSW and put into practice what I (as a previous member) thought the organisation lacked. I believed I had the mandate and full support of the board to do this. But that turned out not to be the case and there were numerous divisions within the board and with the future of BNSW and its strategy and culture that I ultimately could not see myself being able to work through. As I was only ever there to make a difference, I chose to leave on good terms rather than be left unable to carry out the rest of what I came to do.

Nevertheless, we did turn a lot of things around including flagging membership, gaining better media visibility, improving financial sustainability, better online interactions, more progressive advocacy, better regional presence and turning around our ride event strategy. I was fortunate to have a team that was really enthusiastic and supportive of this new direction. I hope things did improve but I leave it to your readers to decide.

Still, I certainly enjoyed getting to know a lot of wonderful people and a whole different side of cycling and advocacy and so have decided to try to carry on in a different way. Oh, and I became captivated by the amazing history of cycling in Australia!

BNA: I know through mutual contacts that after Bicycle NSW you re-emerged with something called the Go! Alliance. Tell us about that.

Omar: When I left BNSW I was urged by some to start a new organization to compete with BNSW or to run for a board position and to help reform it. However, taking on the organization or the board held no interest for me. I was motivated by all of those folks I had engaged with to take my insights and to see if there was another avenue that would help make a difference for cycling and cyclists.

For starters, I had come to appreciate that:

1. Individuals, BUGs and other groups working at the local or regional level were under-resourced and often struggled to engage broader support or even modest financial backing for their initiatives. We are a sorry bunch in this way – often leaving a few amazingly dedicated people to do a lot of the tedious and under-appreciated work that benefits us all.

2. While new online petition and fund raising tools were coming online, that little effort had been made to re-purpose them for advocacy activities for improved cycling and other transport options – locally or nationally. Resources to help advocates were not easily found when needed.

3. There was no coordination among the various state and national groups across the sustainable transport sectors. Some even undermined each others’ efforts to get their agenda at the head of the queue.

4. With leaders like the Lord Mayor of Sydney making a push for better transport choices in the face of strong opposition; and some states balking at doing more, this was the time more people had to be engaged to help see things through.

5. Australia had a fantastic cycling history – a now nearly forgotten time when cycling was at the centre of every day life and sport and quite literally helped build this nation. This was a legacy that deserved to be celebrated and also honoured through our actions today.

After engaging with others and wondering who else would address these issues, Go! Alliance was formed. It is an online based initiative focussed on helping others activate change at the community and national level through leverage of tools, information and one another.

It is by financial necessity a modestly scaled effort that will seek to be responsive to changing needs and using primarily an online engagement approach. Our constituents will by and large be reached through existing online communities and other organised groups. We hope to attract all forms of resources that will donate time (legal, financial, design, sponsorships) or effort towards the goals of Go! and to share both the challenges and successes of group effort. We have already suceeded in securing matching funds from BIKESydney for crowd funding projects there and hope more will do the same.

Success is not certain in any new initiative, but if the community finds that we can accomplish more working in this new way, then it will have been well worth the effort.

BNA: You mentioned the goals of the Go Alliance; What are they? What does the Go Alliance do and plan to do?

Omar: Go! Alliance’s purpose is facilitating effective transport and mobility solutions through collaboration, funding and information sharing. Enhancing the capacity and capability of individuals and communities to enhance travel options. Inspiring, mobilising and activating change. Our motivation is that effective and efficient transportation, travel and mobility options are essential elements of our everyday lives and key to the vibrancy of our communities, our cities, our economy, our health and our natural environment.

Go! will also strive to fill the gap between online communities, BUGs and clubs and finding new ways to achieving results – a critical missing link. The scope is national and includes all transport modes as we are about re-balancing not exclusion.

BNA: So how does the Go Alliance sit on the organisational spectrum? Is it a non-profit? A consultancy? A community voice? A tool of big business? Basically, who is behind it and how does it operate?

Omar: As a starting point, Go! has been registered as part of a business though profit is not the primary motive for doing this. We do want to have the flexibility of a business and be able to finance what we need. While I suppose that we are indirectly advocating a general direction the primary output of Go! Is to make it easier and more effective for others to get involved themselves or to support activities of others. Part resource centre, part consolidator, part adviser but 100% about achieving better outcomes.

Our advisory board is headed by the former mayor for Bogota and world-reknown advocate for better urban transport, Enrique Penalosa. We also have CPF board member and ex-professional cyclist Stephen Hodge; previous Sydney Councillor John McInerney and Cycling evangelist, Nick Bonich. A number of others have made themselves available to help out and I welcome approaches from others who believe they can contribute.

BNA: BNA has decided to join with the Go! Alliance. Why should we (BNA) or other organisations be involved in it? What are we going to get by allying?

Omar: BNA has a great national following and is a natural constituency for Go! Alliance to be engaged with. We look to support those who will be inspired to take action. Whether it is a local issue or a national one. An invention or a new guide book. So, rather than looking for members, we are looking for those willing to either lead or support others who want to take action towards our overall stated purpose.

So far we have helped raise money for a CPF campaign, paid for a talk by cycling historian Jim Fitzpatrick, and helped fund a new pedle tram for Sydney. Through an online petition we have also helped overcome a decision by North Sydney Council to shut down its sustainable transport advisory group and are now doing a submission to the Commonwealth in the petition format.

We are hoping to ad legal support to assist assessing or challenging counterproductive measures. We are also hoping to have in kind support from transport consulting companies that may assist in design issues. We also invite suppliers of products and services that can help to play a part to make themselves known. By consolidating we can expect to leverage everyone’s efforts.

We are also open to ideas from the BNA community on how else we can be effective – at the end of the day this really is about being effective. We will not solve everything or much right away, but we believe that we can help do more.

BNA: On the BNA forums, one user (jules21) has opined that, with most cycling advocacy, there is an elephant in the room: “the embedded cultural tendency for Australians to view cyclists as second class road users”.

Omar: While I can empathise with that view, I don’t buy in that this has to be the way it is. Cyclists once created and ruled the roads and trails of Australia. Most of today’s roads were classified as cycle tracks first. Australia grew on the back of a bicycle in the early 1900′s and kept us entertained, took us to war, challenged and answered the characteristic wanderlust we have always had as a nation. The fact that bicycles were shunted aside with the advent of the motor vehicle does not mean it needs to always be so. The returns are fast diminishing for more cars and more roads. That monotheistic approach has quite literally run out of road.

However, he time is now to find a new balance and to help create a base of support that is not only about cycling but about more liveable and sustainable places to live, work and play. This is what is happening in Sydney and in a few other areas but it won’t happen with much enthusiasm if it remains without galvanised and ongoing support.

BNA: While developing cycling infrastructure is a useful way forward, how is the Go Alliance going to address the battle for hearts and minds?

Omar: The current model of advocacy is running out of time. Many leading advocates have told me that there are few young people ready to step up to replace or help them – through the countless submissions, council meetings or planning briefings. The “clock speed” for many people today is just too high for accommodating or supporting this engagement approach.

The large cycling organizations are effective in some states and not in others. At best, they can focus efforts on large impact priorities but must defer others. This leaves much of the needed work still undone and too often just single transport mode focussed.

Go! is about supporting incremental change backed by pervasive change. My hope is that at the very least, Go! prove that there is value in new approaches to activating change and to appeal to people like the BNA community to get more involved. But Go! can’t do this alone, we need people who want to help with financial support, matching funding or in-kind services and heaps of individuals willing to lead or support actions. We will soon see if this formula works!

BNA: So if traditional advocacy is dying off, what can the motivated individual do? Are there avenues for small voices, or do they have to ride the coat tails of a bigger organisation and hope they get where they want to go?

Omar: There will always be a role for people to do the hard yards at council meetings and gathering information at briefings and leading protests. However, the influencing side is clearly moving in the direction of effective campaigns that mobilise people quickly and for a clear purpose. Politicians Tweet and engage much more dynamically and want to be seen being sensitive to the pulse of the people.

Reports and submissions are ineffective tools for politicians – unless they want to delay things or look to have been listening even when their minds are already made up! GetUp! has clearly demonstrated that motivating a lot of “small voices” to sing together rather quickly can deliver a strong message to politicians and their departments that they cannot ignore. It has broadened the base of those who are aware and engaged than would have been the case previously.

BNA: The Pirate Party has just been registered in Australia for the 2013 elections, and while small/single issue parties have had some impact on Australian politics, this is really the first time we’ll see a much younger, digitally connected and widely distributed voice. Do you think it’s time for cyclists to use the new advocacy to have their views better represented politically? Will the Go! alliance ever become the Go! party?

Omar: First let’s consider if there is indeed such a thing as a “cycling community”? We are a very diverse set of individuals with different cycling interests and affiliations that just so happen to ride a bike for one reason or another. For many (and this often comes as a shock to some) it is not the most important thing in their lives. Most are not affiliated with any cycling group, a few with BUGs (more so in NSW), some with state organisations and some with racing groups. While there is some common ground there is little to unite us in or our actions and that and that’s not even including looking at other modes of transport. The truth is that we seldom back each other up except in places like BNA. But even then we often fall short of taking united action.

On the other side of the table we LGA’s, road and transport authorities as well infrastructure authorities and Commonwealth departments. They are constantly engaged with an array of providers and those advocating more of the same. Is it any wonder that we don’t get a clear message across?

I believe there are three ways to come to terms with this:
The Shooters Party approach. Go for representation in a seat that can be won, hope for a coalition government that needs your vote and push a narrow agenda with great leverage. The Shooters could not have dreamed of a better situation to get support for changes that are abhorrent to most people.

Pick a party approach. Select one party that we believe most closely aligns to cycling and have them push the agenda and hope they get into power. The problem with this approach is both picking the wrong horse and then when in power, will they stick to their promises? The NSW Labor Party spoke the language of cyclists but did precious little in reality and the participation rates went to the bottom of the table. The Liberals came in and appeared to revel in the fact that they owed nothing to cyclists and in fact looked to be trying to reverse gains at first.

The mainstream, City of Sydney approach. Make the size and enthusiasm of an online and savvy coalition seeking a different approach become a well recognised lever that no party at any level of government can ignore. This is an apolitical approach that presses all parties to come up with ideas and solutions to ensure they don’t lose your vote. This removes the possible stigma of being a “niche” or “green” issue and the knee-jerk reaction that can cause even turn off some cycling supporters. This approach also implies creating a broader consensus that does not exclude other transport modes and attracts more people to want to be a part.

All approaches have their merits but the latter one means that a broader constituency could be built that ensures change comes no matter what party is in power. (As happens in Copenhagen I would love to see a competitive benchmark evolve of how many of each party cycle – or don’t drive – to their offices!). There is no reason that it should not become seen as arrogant and out of touch to be continuing to promote the dominance of traditional motor vehicle use. That’s where I hope Go! can come in to help inform and empower to get effective campaigns going at all levels even nationally as well when required – to help activate change. However, ultimately this will only work if a large enough number are willing to engage and that is far from certain.

But I do have to say I like the ring of a “Go! Party” and we could have some fun with our manifesto!

BNA: So what is Go! doing now? What will they be doing in the near future?

Omar: Go! Has already been testing the basic concepts of deploying petitions and crowd funding in support of community activities and the response has been encouraging. We are going to build on that and hopefully create a supporting web site that brings together these tools and the information and resources to enable more people to engage and activate change. It is our belief that unless we build a constituency that is ready to take action and back action that we are unlikely to motivate governments at any level to do much towards transitioning transport priorities.

So Go! will back others and look for opportunities to engage with those who believe in this approach and would also like to help the community. It could be a business or a BUG or even an LGA that commit in-kind or matching funds to promote activities that help make a difference. Already, BIKESydney is offering to match 1:1 moneys raised in any crowd funding initiative that affects cycling in Sydney. I think this is exciting as a model to get highly leveraged results to do so many things!

BNA: As individuals, how do we get involved with Go! ? If we do join the alliance (sounds like Star Wars, doesn’t it?), how do we get our views heard?

Omar: I think its about being motivated to help change the dynamics that got us in this transport mess in most parts of Australia. The momentum built up from decades of singleminded thinking that placed the motor vehicle at the top of the food chain needs to be thrown into reverse – at least to the point of achieving a more sensible balance in transport spending and options. We also realise that politics and means of influence has changed dramatically and yet little has been done to put those forces to use in this area.

All tha Go! Is trying to do is facilitate a new way for us to build and grow that support base by leading on some issues of broad importance (like the current Yes, Minister! Petition) or an event that may help promote the concept, but mostly by helping individuals, BUGs and others in the community to figure out how to take action, to get the funding and to attract the support that contributes to the common purpose. Over 300 individuals contributed to a Go! assisted online petition to retain the sustainable transport advisory group for North Sydney Council recently. It was a success.

Part of this approach is dependent on bridging the gap with online communities that often talk about issues but seldom have an outlet to truly take it to the next step in a coordinated way. It is a often discussed issue that online social groups are not good at getting behind things together.

I also hope we help those who don’t see themselves as advocates but want to get something done that would help – a bike rack for a school or a transport guidebook for the aged or designing a new mobility aid for someone with a physical challenge. We just helped fund the Pedal Inn, a bar on wheels that is propelled by the guests pedaling!

In the end it is not really so much about single or integrated transport modes but about the other side of the same coin and that is building friendlier and better functioning communities and cities that are healthier, kinder on the environment and a whole lot more fun to live in or visit. It won’t happen if we don’t begin to back ourselves and each other to activate the necessary changes. So, I guess I am just saying it is time for your readers to consider what they can do and how Go! could help them do it.

BNA: I need some straight answers from you Omar. Did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance?
Omar: You should speak to my doctor, Mr. Lamborghini. He’s got all of the fast answers you could ever need.

BNA: Did you ever blood-dope, or use blood transfusions to enhance your cycling performance?
Omar: I have certainly been called a dope, does that count? If anything I took was meant to enhance my performance then I’m clearly not going to be asked for an endorsement. I mean the Bloodmobile felt so sorry for me that they offered to give me blood.

BNA: Did you ever used other banned substances like cortisones, testosterone, or human growth hormone?
Omar: This is beginning to feel like water boarding… alright already, someone call Oprah and let her know that I want to come clean but it will take three episodes minimum and I want soft lighting and angels singing in the background!

BNA thanks Omar for his time and for being a good sport. Omar is keen to answer your questions and you can engage him in a discussion in the comments below.

More information about the Go! Alliance can be found on their site.

Motor assisted bicycle laws originally had a purpose – to assist people who wanted to ride bicycles, but who lacked the desire or ability to travel solely by pedal power; it was enabling legislation. Somehow along the way, however, we’ve ended up with a situation where people are attaching internal combustion engines to cheap mountain bikes and riding them on bike paths. While I don’t have any hard statistics, anecdotally the number of these vehicles is increasing, and a lot of people aren’t happy about it; they have good reason.

For a few hundred dollars you can buy a well made imported engine specifically designed to be attached to a mountain bike. With a few hours and a bit of mechanical knowledge, you’ve got a vehicle that can do around a 100km on a litre of petrol. If you don’t want to go to all of that trouble, for just a little bit extra you can find completely converted bikes openly traded on eBay and Gumtree. It’s not illegal to make them or to buy them, but it is illegal to ride them, at least sometimes, and in some states.

And there lies the problem. In states like Queensland,  the law is very clear – bikes do not have internal combustion engines, period. If it has an internal combustion engine, it’s a motorbike and it has to be registered and has to conform with Australian standards for motorbike design. All laws relating to motorised bikes in Queensland relate to bikes with electric motors, everything else is a motorbike.

In other states, the laws are often confusing because they don’t always clearly differentiate between electric motors and internal combustion motors. It’s a mismatched collection of maximum wattages, requirements for cut-out speeds and obscure terminology. Are you allowed to have a motor on your bike? How many cc’s can my engine have before it reaches 200 W? What’s a road related area?

While it’s up to the individual to make sure they know and comply with relevant laws, in practice that simply doesn’t happen, especially when they’re updated regularly. Being confused about the law probably isn’t a valid legal defence, but it’s likely a mitigating factor, especially when you can buy and sell these bikes quite legally. If they’re illegal, why are you allowed to buy them?

So what’s the problem with petrol powered bikes?
In theory, nothing. Everything that’s good about pedal powered bikes is also good about motorised bikes, with the added benefit that you don’t have to pedal. Cycling can be hard work, especially when the geography doesn’t  cooperate, so having motors on bikes is often a great benefit. In fact, this is how motorbikes were invented, both petrol powered and electric. But the lessons learned in early motorbike development seem to have been forgotten in the past century, and so we may be doomed to repeat them.

To explain what I mean, I’ll go back to the very clear description of motorised bikes in Queensland law: if you want to ride it on the road, a bike with an internal combustion engine (or an electric motor over a certain wattage) must comply with the Australian Design rules for motorbikes. To put it simply, putting an engine on a bike may exceed the design specifications of the bike.

That’s what this all boils down to: putting engines on bikes that aren’t designed for engines is dangerous. The brakes, the body, the drive train and the wheels of modern bicycles are simply not designed to deal with the stresses and forces produced by attached internal combustion engines. Backyard bike conversions, while fine in theory, are accidents waiting to happen, and they’ll happen to either the rider or to some other member of the public unlucky enough to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. This is why motorbikes need to be registered, why there are design standards for them and why there is a whole collection of safety gear available for them – they may have once been bicycles, but they’re not any more.

And so there is a line, but it’s not clearly drawn. Electric motors in bikes have followed a very different development pathway to internal combustion motors, but the same danger exists there as well. This is why there is strict legislation about power limits and pedal assist technology. Applying the same laws to internal combustion engines on bikes, as some states seem to do, should provide the same sort of safeguards but, unfortunately, I still don’t think the technology of the internal combustion engine is safe for bicycles.

Regardless of whether you’re for them or against them, whether you want them stopped or you want them regulated, there are grey areas in the law, and it’s in those areas that potential disaster lies. We need new, clear and standardised laws and we need them to be inclusive of everyone who wants to ride a bike. We need to outlaw the danger, but we need to embrace the desire.

The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Bicycles Network Australia.

Photo 1 © Paul Keller, Photo 2 © Brian Hansen

O-tus mini-speakers are just that: mini speakers. They attach to your helmet near your ears and, while they look a lot like earphones, they definitely do NOT go into your ear canal; they’re surround sound speakers and they project sound powerfully. It’s the speaker’s ability to project sound that makes these speakers work – you need it to project because the speakers are away from  your ears, and because they’re away from your ears, you can hear the traffic around you. A sensible solution indeed.

Of course, you also need something to play that music. If you have a light weight mp3 player, you can attach it to the back of your helmet and then connect it to your O-tus mini-speakers. If you have a smart phone, you can attach a bluetooth receiver to your helmet and then “beam” music to your O-tus mini-speakers via that, provided your phone has bluetooth, which most do. You can then leave your smart phone in your jersey pocket or mounted on your handlebars and still get music. So, in theory, O-tus have taken care of a problem for people who want that problem taken care of. The devil, of course, is always in the details.

I first became suspicious of this product when O-tus suggested I use a particular brand of mp3 player to test the mini-speakers. It was a brand I knew about, but one that I didn’t have (and no, it wasn’t a player from the orchard). I did a search for the mini-speakers online and discovered on the O-tus web site a video that showed you how to increase the volume of the songs on your iPod/iPhone so that you can listen to these devices properly on the mini-speakers. There was obviously a known issue with the mini-speakers, so now I definitely had to try using them with these devices. I don’t own any Apple products, but I do have a an ever increasing collection of cheap, but really good, mp3 players. I  borrowed an iPod nano and an iPhone to test the speakers out, but I mainly tested them using the mp3 players I had in my possession.

The previous paragraph makes it sound like there is something wrong with the mini-speakers. To save you some time wondering about this, there ultimately isn’t, but they do have a weakness and that is that they’re not “out-of-the-box” easily usable. You have to spend a little bit of time setting them up properly to make them work correctly. That’s the price you pay to get safe music, I suppose. If you want good music quality, use noise cancelling in-ear buds. If you want safe music, you’re going to have to work to get it sounding good. Essentially you can choose any two of the following: good, safe, easy.

Let’s look at the mini-speakers straight out of the box. The speakers, as previously mentioned, look like earbuds with some sort of velcro on the back of them and with only a short cord. You also get some sticky patches with velcro like material on one surface. This isn’t your normal hook and loop tape, rather it looks, and operates, like the love child of velcro and Lego. You push the two surfaces together a lot like Lego blocks, but they hold together like velcro. It’s not really that complicated; you stick a patch to the bottom edge of your helmet on each side, just in front of your ears, and you stick a patch on the back of your helmet and on the back of your mp3 player. You attach the mini-speakers to the mounting patches near your ears, run the cable to the back of your helmet, attach the player to the helmet and connect the mp3 player. All relatively simple to do, but this is where the fun begins.

When I first set the mini-speakers up (quickly, but as described in the instructions supplied with the mini-speakers), the music was barely audible. I fiddled around with it and, finally, I managed to get some quite good volume sound. The trick was to angle the speakers so that they “shot” the sound into my ear. Let me explain that a bit further.

The mini-speakers are built with a lip on them, a sort of funnel, with the big end on the speakers and the small end coming away from them.The funnel seems to focus the sound into a beam. That beam has to be positioned and angled so that it goes into the bowl of your ear, not past it. Once I worked that out, the speaker set up became obvious, but even then it was quite a delicate job to maximise the sound.

Once I had it, I proceeded to remove the speakers and try it again – they’re meant to be removable, after all. It was much easier now that I knew what to listen for and how the speakers were delivering the sound. I just imagined beams of light coming from the mini-speakers and made them “shine” into my ears. Yeah, I know it sounds fanciful, but it worked for me and each subsequent removal and re-attachment was aligned in less time.

After the alignment issue, I had to deal with the volume issue; I didn’t seem to have one. I am an avid mp3 listener, but because I often lose or damage my players, and because I don’t have the desire for social acceptance among the young and trendy, I am comfortable buying cheaper mp3 players. The chipsets in these devices are the same as the chipsets in more expensive ones, at least for sound quality, and a quick search on google will show you which cheap no-name device is equivalent in sound quality to which expensive player. Provided you don’t mind horrible user interfaces, you’re set. The two cheap players I used delivered good quality sound at a good volume. They were a Dolphin brand player and a Dick Smith brand player.

The sound quality through the mini-speakers using the cheap players was the equivalent of what you’d get from simple headphones or from ear buds that sit on the edge of your ear rather than go into the canal. When riding in traffic, you can hear the music as you would with simple headphones, that is: reasonably well most of the time, but almost not at all when there is traffic around. That’s fine for music, though if you were listening to an audiobook or some stand-up comedy, you would miss a lot of detail.

When listening to music, I had to have the volume up near maximum to get it audible. I don’t consider that to be a real problem; these mini-speakers require a lot of power to drive them and the players can only deliver so much. I couldn’t ramp up the volume to the point where the traffic noise was blocked out. I don’t think this is a feature of the mini-speakers, rather it’s a limitation, but one that’s beneficial.

The sound from the mini-speakers is also very directional. If you don’t have them pointed towards your ears, you will find it hard to hear anything from even a small distance away. I doubt someone riding next to me would stand a chance of hearing anything, even if we were riding in absolute silence without traffic. They’re very personal mini-speakers.

Apart from fiddling with the set up, the only other issue I have with the system is that the player is mounted on the rear of the helmet. This means that you have to turn the music on before you put your helmet on and then you don’t touch it again until you take your helmet off. There are probably some mp3 players that you can operate easily behind your head while riding, but really, it’s not an option. You have to make sure you choose a play list that you like, because you are going to have to stop and remove you helmet to change it.

Having the player mounted on the helmet also means that if it comes loose, your player is probably going to get damaged. This didn’t happen to me, and I have no reason to suspect it will, but it could happen. The velcro-like material does bond the speakers and mp3 player to the helmet quite strongly. Of course, you now have velcro-like pads stuck to your mp3 player and helmet, even when you’re not using the O-tus system.

So I’m happy to state that the mini-speakers work the way that they’re intended to work if they’re set up properly, with the players I tested at least. Given the player suggestions from O-tus and the video on their site, I had to test the mini-speakers with an Apple device. I borrowed an iPod nano and an iPhone to try them out, but I didn’t ride with these devices (they weren’t mine), I just compared the players in my office.

The mini-speakers with the iPod and iPhone did not perform well initially, but this didn’t surprise me. Apple are known for beginning-to-end product integration, so these players are designed to work with very specific output devices. The mini-speakers are not such devices. You either need some sort of amplifier or you need to increase the volume of the songs. The video on the O-tus site shows you how to do this in iTunes, but you can do it better and quicker in other music programs. Suitably amplified, the mini-speakers do work with the Apple devices I tried, but the sound quality of these amplified songs seems lower. I suspect it’s a side effect of the amplification process. While I didn’t ride in traffic with these devices, I think the sound quality would be sufficient for riding with and at least as good as that from the other cheap players I tried.

The other thing I didn’t try was using a bluetooth receiver. If I did have a smartphone, I wouldn’t be riding with it stuck to the back of my helmet and, given that smartphones can be used for navigation, displaying speed, and controlling your video cameras, I would prefer to have it mounted on my bars or stem. A bluetooth receiver would mean I could control the music from my bike’s cockpit, which is something I can’t do with the player mounted behind my hear. If the bluetooth receiver also had an amplifier built into it, then problem solved!

So, after all of that, here’s my verdict: these speakers are no good for blocking out the world around you and sailing away on an awesome guitar solo while riding. The moment you have a car or truck anywhere near you, you can hear it. That’s the point, you’re meant to hear the traffic while riding. Where the O-tus mini-speakers would be really good is in situations where there’s a bit of quiet. I’m thinking of Sunday rides along bike paths, long tours on quiet country roads, riding the streets at 4am to get to a group ride, and doing laps on the velodrome. Team the O-tus speakers up with an iPhone mount and a bluetooth receiver and you have a whole entertainment system on your bike.

If you really want music while you ride, the O-tus mini-speakers might be the option for you. They’re not as simple to set up and use as a set of earphones, but they do the job safely – provided you have a music player that will give you enough volume and/or you’re willing to modify your music. If you’re willing to go to the effort, you will reap the melodic benefits.

O-tus speakers come with enough mounting blocks to fit two helmets and are available from www.o-tus.com for $39.73 (shipping to Australia is between $6-8). Mounting blocks for tricky helmets are also available at no extra charge. The mini-speakers are available in black or white.

I spoke with the show organiser Simon Head about Ausbike. He was relaxed and had a smile on his face, while we spoke were no mini-emergencies or issues he had to tend to, I got the feeling that all was well.

Ausbike is the bike show that Australia needs, when the Bicycling Australia Bike Shows stopped there was a gap – as time passed it became harder and harder to setup a big show because winning the support of the industry takes time. By moving the show back, after Eurobike and Interbike, wholesalers can return to Australian and present the next seasons gear.

“You can’t run a bike show in September because of the AFL finals and NRL final” notes Simon Head. “We responded to our exhibitors and if they want the show on at this time of the year so that they can get their [new] product, then that what we do.”

The new location has been welcomed by exhibitors and visitors alike. “We have been able to make the move from the showgrounds which doesn’t attract people to the royal exhibition building which is a magnificent expo and suits the bike industry.” says Mr Head “It’s light and airy situation in beautiful parklands in central Melbourne. All of the exhibitors are very excited that we are here and we have just signed on for the next three years.

“They have allowed us to do a lot more next year, in particular a demo track upstairs [in the 2nd level observation level that circles and overlooks the hall].”

Based on the exhibitor list on the Ausbike website, I was expecting a few brands to be exhibiting that were however not at the show (as exhibitors) and asked Simon Head about this.

“It is not as if we don’t invite them. Trek bikes don’t do shows, they don’t even do Eurobike or Interbike, they do Trek World. Giant was listed as an exhibitor and you will notice that they have bikes on some of the stands. Giant had other commitments.”

Simon Head continues “There are probably about 20 top companies, mainstream big companies. If we can get ten of those each year we are really happy. From the trade perspective, most retailers have stitched up their number one big brand so they come to look at niche markets, second brands, parts and accessories. The show started for the small to medium wholesaler who cannot afford a fleet of reps driving around the country. The shops come to look for things they haven’t seen before. Certain products in certain years have just excelled because they have been the product of the show, people who don’t have them, they miss out.”

There was a healthy mix of products, both SRAM and Shimano were well represented along with top brands such as BMC, Focus, Felt, Fuji, Specialized, Jamis, Rocky Mountain, Cervélo and Zipp. The stands for these big name brands were big with lots of gear on display.

Simon Head discusses the stands and response from exhibitors, “One of the biggest things we have notice this year is the amount of effort and resources people have put into their stands, it is really noticeable. And the amount of work that exhibitors have put into getting trade here such as with show only deals for the trade. I know that some of the exhibitiors did very well [getting orders on the trade day]. Like all of the trade shows, you only need one really good retailer who you don’t deal with to come to your stand and it can make an amazing difference for the whole year.”

Ausbike Show Organiser Simon Head

The trade visitors day was also conveniently placed on the Friday followed by General Public days on Saturday and Sunday. Even with the improved schedule it remains tough to encourage interstate retailers to visitor Melbourne for the show: retailers already get regular visitors in their stores from brand reps and bigger brands often have roadshows in each state to present the next season gear.

The trade day this year was particularly cold, an open door out to a test-ride area put some exhibitors in this area on the test, many returning of Saturday rugged up and prepared though warmer weather made it more bearable.

As expected, on the friday with entry restricted to trade visitors, the visitor numbers were low though many of the stands remained busy. On Saturday a long waiting line out the front was welcome news for exhibitors now looking to present their products to the public. It was a busy day and I asked Simon Head whether he was happy with the attendance.

“Yes very, we charge $5 [concession] and $10 [adults] on the door, it is not about making money on the door tickets, it is about getting a good crowd in. I am happy if the exhibitors are happy, and the exhibitors are happy.”

I spoke with exhibitors and received a lot of good reports, for smaller brands exhibiting and trying to get into stores, some confided that they were able to connect with retailers who were interested in taking them on board. As expected, visitor numbers on Sunday were down on Saturdays numbers.

I was expecting a well-executed show, assuming that the organisers were able to build on their experiences since first launching in 2009 and wasn’t let down. I hope to see growth and more big wholesalers and brands committing to the show next so that it really is “the place to be”.

This also makes it more attractive to the general public and retail visitors, including interstate visitors who can then justify the time and expense to come to Melbourne. This however shouldn’t be at the cost of loosing younger brands and entrepreneurs. Though the exhibition was well planned and spacious, it was also booked out so brings the challenge of how to use the available space to cater for more exhibitors.

Photo Highlights from Ausbike

The 2013 BMC Roadbike Range

Brown Jersey Machined Wheels

Calfee Bamboo Roadbike with Mad Fibre Wheels

Cardo Bluetooth Cyclist Communication

Cervélo is now under Derby Australia

Emma of Cyclette for Women's Cycle Fashion

Jono and Rob of Tineli

Lombardo Best Quality Imports

Lombardo prime exhibition stand at Ausbike

Long Haul eBike test ride at Ausbike

View of the Exhbitition Halls at Ausbike

Lots of bikes on display

New Shimano Hydration Backpacks

Rubena Phoenix Road Tire

Schindelhauer at Ausbike

Shimano Mechanical Training

Simon Head at Ausbike

Specialized S-Works Road Shoe

SRAM stand at Ausbike 2012

SRAM Rockshox Australia

Test Rides at Ausbike

Thule Roofracks and Shimano Australia

2012 Ausbike in Melbourne

The Cycling Promotion Fund is an Australian bicycle industry supported advocacy group that reaches out to the general public as well as political decision makers. They have recreated a 1991 photo taken in Münster, Germany which was used to promote alternative transport.

“As Australia’s population swells and our cities experience ever increasing congestion we need to get smarter about how we use existing road space” comments Mr Hodges “including investing more in alternatives such as public transport and cycling—if we are to move people more efficiently and effectively.”

The photographs are available for free to help promote the message of more efficient transport.

“Eight out of ten Australian adults still use a private motor vehicle to travel to work or full-time study, just 14% take public transport, 4% walk and a mere 2% cycle, with 30% of these trips in the cities under 3km” Mr Hodge said.

Australian Motorised Mentality
This week, a Sydney local newspaper reported Greenwich Public School digs in over bikes. A donation to fund bicycle racks at this North Shore public school was knocked back with the school responding “…the topography around the school is also very steep and generally not suitable for cycling, especially for young children.”

While safe cycling is important, existing infrastructure often doesn’t accommodate for cycling and the attractive short term option of forgoing cycling results in a long term disadvantage. More cyclists mean less cars and congestion, particularly when safe cycling routes are developed and motorised traffic is split from pedal powered traffic. The long term benefits of cycling also include a lower environmental impact and a healthier more active society.

Car drivers and Cyclists Head to Head
One of the biggest issues facing cyclists is that some car drivers feel impeded by cyclists on public roads. Even when the overwhelming majority of cyclists as well as car drivers (etc) obey the law, often drivers who feel obstructed will argue the rights cyclists. This is also reflected in government policy from the lack of spending on cycling infrastructure to (sometimes) half-hearted attempts at building infrastructure ignoring cyclists.

Though cyclists whether commuting, recreational or sporting only make up a small percentage of road users, creating facilities such as better cycleways or cycling lines not only affirm the legal rights of cyclists, but also draw more cyclists away from busy routes and onto cycle lanes and cycleways – a coexistence that both cyclists and motorists would welcome.
The Cycling Promotion Fund photo can be downloaded and used for free by organisations, groups and individuals for the promotion of cycling. More details on this photo are on the CPF website.

The Hornit is a battery powered warning device that mounts on your handlebars and is triggered via a pressure switch that you can mount close to your hand grips. On your bars it looks a lot like many front lights, which is to say it doesn’t look out of place on a recreational or commuter bike. It runs on 2 AAA batteries and weighs, all up, about 100g. The main unit is easily removable from the mount (well, easily with a little bit of practice) and is just as easily reattached. So, as far as commuter utility is concerned, the Hornit ticks all of the required boxes. I’m saying all of this about the Hornit to get the basics out of the way before I get down to what I really want to say: the Hornit is loud.

When I say the Hornit is loud, you really don’t get a good idea of what I’m talking about. If I put “loud” in all-caps, it would visually represent some sort of loudness, but still wouldn’t get the idea across. Likewise, if I told you that the Hornit’s loud mode is 140 dB and its soft mode is 130 dB, that would be just numbers. So what I’ll do is get you to imagine a car coming up behind you while you’re riding and giving you a blast on their horn. If you have ever ridden on the road, you’ll know what I mean. Now double that loudness. That’s loud, right? Good, now double it again. Wow! Pretty good, eh? That’s the Hornit’s soft mode and also the threshold of pain. Now double it yet again and you’ll have the Hornit in loud mode – 8 times louder than a normal car horn. The manufacturers claim it’s the loudest bike horn in the world and I’m not going to argue with that.

So, it’s loud. Very loud. Very, very, very loud. Very, very, very…well, you get the idea (it’s loud). But that’s not what you’re reading this for. You want to know if it works. I wondered the same thing, so to give it a fair trial on busy Sydney streets, I’ve used it on my commutes every day. I have also used it on some pedestrian populated shared user paths, which I normally avoid. Here are my findings:

The Hornit vs Pedestrians

As mentioned above, the Hornit is loud and it’s also quite directional. When you’re in front of the Hornit you’ll really hear it. What this means for you is that the pedestrians on the path ahead of you are going to hear you a long time before you’re near them (at least in theory). The Hornit operates in two modes (130 dB and 140 dB) and these modes have different sounds; the quiter mode is a single high pitch tone and the louder mode is a two tone twittering sound, sort of like a car alarm. I used both tones in a variety of circumstances and had some mixed results.

On the positive side, the Hornit is loud enough to be heard over personal music devices, telephone calls and conversations. On the negative side the sounds the Hornit make are not immediately associated with a cyclist coming up behind. Pedestrians are used to a lot of loud noises when they’re walking around, and everyone is used to car alarms going off. It’s been ingrained in people that bikes have bells or horns and that’s the sound they identify with, when they actually hear it. This isn’t to say the Hornit is not effective, you just have to be aware of how to use it.

A short single blast from the Hornit, in either mode, didn’t seem to make an impact on many pedestrians, but multiple short blasts, in either mode, seemed to make a difference. It’s really about creating something different in their heads as they’re walking/wandering and getting past the programming that immediately ignores loud alarm like sounds. A few short blasts does that since it’s not a “natural” suburban sound.

Obviously, if you snuck up behind a pedestrian and gave them a blast on the Hornit, they would “react”, probably right into your path. The benefit of the Hornit is that you can actually do it from a lot farther away than you can with a bell. It’s easy to tap out a little tune as well, since the push button for the Hornit can be placed right under your thumb and you don’t need to move your hands off the grips to use it.

 The Hornit vs Animals

One thing I noticed when using the Hornit is that dogs really don’t like it. A blast or two of the Hornit stopped a couple of annoying dogs in their tracks. They didn’t look like biters, but I’ve had my fair share of those in the past and I’d rather keep any sort of angry dog at bay. I know they’re only protecting their territory, but so am I.

By the way, cats don’t like it either. They really don’t like it. No, I didn’t meet any cats while out riding, but I do have some cats at home and while I didn’t deliberately chase after the cats (my wife wouldn’t let me), while I was showing the Hornit off to the kids the cats decided to bolt like there was a hell hound chasing them. The wife wasn’t impressed by the Hornit, but the kids loved it.

The Hornit vs Motorists

Pedestrians and dogs are one thing, cars are quite another. Bells and yells don’t always work against cars, where they almost always work against people and animals. I began my experiments against my wife in a stationary car. She had just dropped the kids off at school and I was heading out late to work. She had just parked the car and was looking through her bag when I rode up behind her and gave her a short blast of the Hornit on the soft mode. She was slow to look up, looked around and then noticed me. I was a bit dismayed by this and she said that it sounded like a car alarm, so she ignored it. Given that this was the first time I had used the Hornit against a car, I wasn’t impressed.

A few days later I had occasion to use it again against a car reversing out of a driveway. They stopped before they saw me, which made me feel safe and a little bit empowered. The Hornit this time was on loud mode, the twittering mode, and I gave it a good long blast. Later the same day I had a taxi turn across double white lines in front of me, attempting to do an illegal three point turn. I slowed, gave him three blasts on high mode and he stopped reversing while I was still a good distance away. I passed slowly behind him and gave him a death stare. A few cars had caught up to me and also passed behind the taxi, keeping him there for a while. Shame there weren’t any cops in the bunch.

I’ve used it several times in the way described above against motorists in a variety of circumstances, all to good effect. I also found it good for drowning out “conversations” such as “Keep off the r-TWEET-TWEET-TWEET. You’re a TWEET-TWEET”. So, the Hornit works, but it doesn’t give you the same sense of power that a car horn would. You can use it to identify yourself, to say that there’s something there that they didn’t see, but you really can’t use it to get rid of your frustration or express your annoyance. It’s too high and twittery to sound angry, but experience has shown me that it does work a lot better than a bell, and a whole lot better than nothing at all.

Sound like a good idea?

The Hornit is a very well designed warning device, but it’s not a horn or a bell and it’s not a sound that people immediately associate with a bicycle, whether that person is in a car or on foot. If you use it in repeated short bursts, it seems to get through to people that there’s something they should be looking at. Because it is so directional, people will know where it’s coming from when they do hear it and decide to look around.

As a commuter device, the Hornit is quite easy to use and has a few nifty features that show that it was designed by a commuter. The trigger switch on the Hornit is a great innovation. The button is attached to the handlebars via a Knog light style rubber band “thingy” which means it can be attached almost anywhere. It’s connected to the main unit via a wire and plug which you have to remember to plug in when you attach the Hornit, otherwise you’ll be pressing the button and nothing will happen (guess how I know this). If you frequently take the Hornit off the bike, as I do every time I lock it up, it doesn’t take long to incorporate the extra device into your routine.

The only thing I would change on the Hornit is the length of the trigger cable. As is, it’s fine for flat bars, but I ride drops and I would love to have the trigger near the hood where I can hit it without moving my hands from them. It took me a few days to work out a good position for the trigger, one that I wouldn’t hit accidentally while moving my hands around, but when I finally did find it the cable just wasn’t long enough. If I put it under the bar tape, it might just reach, but I want to be able to move it between bikes and a slightly longer cable would be a better option for me (that, or flat handlebars, and that’s not happening). I think I’ll just add a bit to the cable myself, since I really like the trigger idea. In fact, I would love to have something like this to control my lights and enable me to switch modes.

The inventor of the Hornit was inspired to create it after experiencing London traffic. According to the company, it works in London. I’ll confirm here that it works in Sydney, at least as well as anything else does. The Hornit is functional and sturdy and it certainly lives up to its promise of being loud. While it’s not going to make everyone on the road or path aware of you, it’s certainly better than a bell or a yell in many situations.

I typically wear hi-vis clothing when I ride and when it gets dark, along with my lights, I also throw on a safety vest with lots of reflective material on it. I’m always brightly coloured and I try to ride visibly and predictably. Obviously, all of these things won’t save me if I get hit, but each one of them gives me that extra little bit of presence that will hopefully keep me safe on the roads. The Hornit means that I can ride both big and loud.

The Hornit is imported by Cassons (enquiries@cassons.com.au) and available through all good bike stores.

The Shift Pannier Messenger Bag’s key feature is its versatility. Good quality dedicated panniers and messenger bags are expensive and one doesn’t do the job of the other; the Shift does both. Load up the Shift Bag, hang it on your rack, and reach your destination without worrying about having to carry panniers or secure them on your bike. Slide in those two books, cut lunch and phone and strap it on your shoulder. It’s stylish enough to walk the halls of business or education, and capable enough of carrying what you need. This takes the Shift Bag from simply being another bag, to a useful addition to a commuters arsenal. Your choice of ‘back or rack’ won’t require two sets of luggage.

The Shift is made from ballistic nylon, with a TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) liner for waterproofing. Like any typical messenger bag, this bag has a comfortably wide shoulder/chest strap. The flap is lined all the way around, and held down with both Velcro (inside) and clips (outside). Inside, the main pocket has an elastic divider, purpose built for laptops. There are four zippered pockets and one open pocket on the front part of the bag. Topping it off, small reflective loops on each end hold a light plus there is large light loop on the front flap.

The Timbuk2 Shift in Action
This bag is aimed specifically at transporting your laptop (up to 15”, say Timbuk2), so it has a rigid back. This is a good thing for carrying hardware, but even if it’s not loaded with a laptop, the bag won’t fold or curve to the shape of your back like other bags. It doesn’t slide around if the strap is adjusted properly to fit, but it can feel a little bulky. The wide strap is comfortable with a load though it’s not a long-haul bag by any means. At the end of my 20km commute, the solid back was just beginning to get uncomfortable against my spine. A more upright rider however may not have this problem when using it as a messenger bag. Of course, using it on a rack avoids this altogether.

Like the Goody Box, Timbuk2 says the Shift Bag is watertight. The flap certainly folds over to cover a lot, but there’s no internal zipper to close the main compartment so I believe it would be inevitable that some water would find a way in. Light showers wouldn’t be a problem, but get caught in a heavy downpour and you might want to think about other means of keeping things safely dry.

The large front flap light loop is quite thick, but seems to handle a blinky light well. Lights with shorter clips seem to struggle to stay on, but an elastic band keeps them in place.

To hang it on a rack, just undo the Velcro straps, turn the clips out, and pull the hook down on its elastic cord. As this is meant to be a multi-purpose bag, it may take some fine-tuning with the clips and hook to position the bag on a rack. It sits high compared to some dedicated panniers, so the weight may take some getting used to as it affects the handling of the bike. In my testing, the Shift Bag sat far enough away to prevent heel-strike, though you may want to shorten the front straps or tuck them in to avoid them flapping around while on the road.

I didn’t find the pannier clips or hook overly intrusive when using it as a messenger bag, but you can get a jersey pocket hooked up as you take it off. Aside from the stiffness of the bag, there’s no padding or other protection for the contents. So dropping it, or dropping the bike while its in place, could create problems for your hardware.

The Shift Bag does have the same issue many messenger style bags do, in that the main compartment is one big space. Smaller things can get lost towards the bottom, and you may have to dig around to find just what you want once you stop. The zippered front pockets are expandable, ideal for those smaller important items, and remain readily accessible. The strap is adjustable with a one-handed clip, which makes it very easy to swing it around your body or take it off.

Those looking at quality messenger bags will easily find themselves looking at price tags beyond the $120 mark. Those looking at panniers can spend $60 for a water-resistant pair, and beyond $100 for a quality, waterproof pair. At $159.95, the Shift Bag is a viable alternative for those who require the versatility of both, along with a bit of style.

If you’re never going to use this on a rack, a dedicated messenger bag or backpack is probably a better choice in terms of space and waterproofing. If you’ve no need for a wearable bag during your ride, panniers are a better choice for the money. The Shift Bag comes into its own when you have to switch modes. It’s perfect if you ride to work and then need to carry your gear to a meeting without looking out of place.

Do you or don’t you?
Consider buying the Shift Bag if:

• you want a jack-of-all-trades bag
• you have a rack and need a more stylish, portable bag for when you reach your destination
• you carry a smaller laptop and find laptop backpacks too bulky or uncomfortable

The Timbuk2 Shift Pannier Messenger Bag retails for $159.95 and you can pickup Timbuk2 gear at all good bike stores.

If your local bicycle shop doesn’t carry Timbuk2 yet, give the importer a call Phoenix Leisure Group on 02 9552 6900 or send them an email: info@plg.com.au

Brennan responded “Well, it is always the motorists fault. The law makes no allowances for drivers in this case. So, if you open a door into the path of a rider it’s always your fault.”

The show presenters Michael Rowland and Karina Carvalho questioned this (3:30), sending a message to a national audience in which they present their own opinions that suggest a cyclist may share some responsibility in a dooring incident.

Michael: Thank you Simon. Now just to even the ledger up a tiny, weensy bit, did I hear him say it’s always the motorist’s fault or is my hearing failing?

Karina: We both heard that and I would say you probably need to take that comment with a little bit of caution.

Michael: A sackload of salt, not just a grain….and without pillorying cyclists at all – we love you cyclists, we love you motorists, we love everyone who watches us on ABC News Breakfast – but I have seen and we all have seen our fair share of reckless cyclists as well so I think it’s very unfair to purely blame motorists 100% of the time for that sort of thing.

Karina: More education and more awareness on both sides is what’s needed.

Michael: Good. We’re in agreement.

It is highly likely that the presenters were not paying attention and missed the details covered in the report, reacting instead to motorists ‘fault’ in any accident rather than the motorists fault in a dooring accident. The message however was irresponsible and careless. The ABC has reacted to date with only a small ‘clarification‘ on their website:

On May 7, the program interviewed Garry Brennan from Bicycle Network Victoria about a campaign to increase fines for motorists who open their car doors into the path of cyclists.  After the interview we suggested that cyclists should share some of the blame for ‘dooring’ incidents. The law states that this is incorrect. In every ‘dooring’ incident it is the fault of the person opening the door for not exercising due care.

There has been a cylists backlash, but worse, this has reignited the car verses cyclist debate where the key issue, car dooring, is forgotten.

sources: Crikey Blog: What’s the TV news cycle doing to cycling?
sources: Australian Cycling Forum: Been doored recently ? It might be your fault.

EDIT / UPDATE 22 May 2012

Dear Mr Jones

Thank you for your email about a segment on ABC News Breakfast on 7 May.

In accordance with the ABC’s complaint handling procedures, your correspondence has been considered by Audience & Consumer Affairs, a unit which is separate to and independent of program making areas within the ABC. The role of Audience & Consumer Affairs is to investigate complaints alleging that ABC content has breached the ABC’s editorial standards.

We understand you are concerned that, following an interview with Garry Brennan from Bicycle Network Victoria, hosts Michael Rowland and Karina Carvalho suggested that cyclists should share the blame for ‘dooring’ incidents. This was incorrect.

Accordingly, ABC News broadcast the following correction on the News Breakfast program on 10 May at 7.45am:

Now we just need to make a clarification about a story we brought you earlier this week.

On Monday, our reporter Simon Lauder interviewed Garry Brennan from Bicycle Network Victoria about a campaign to increase fines for motorists who open their car doors into the path of cyclists.

After the interview, we suggested that cyclists should share some of the blame for ‘dooring’ incidents. The law states that this is incorrect.

In every ‘dooring’ incident it is the fault of the person opening the door for not exercising due care.

We were, however, trying to make the general point that both motorists and cyclists need more education about road safety.

The incorrect information was removed from the online video and an Editor’s Note added to explain the amendment; in addition, a correction was also posted on the News Corrections and Clarifications webpage at:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/corrections/ .

In view of the steps taken by ABC News to correct the error, Audience & Consumer Affairs consider this matter to be resolved.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and please be assured your comments have been brought to the attention of ABC News Management. For your reference, the ABC Code of Practice is available here: http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/documents/codeofpractice2011.pdf. Should you be dissatisfied with this response, you may be able to pursue your complaint with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (http://www.acma.gov.au).

Yours sincerely
Lauren Crozier
ABC Audience & Consumer Affairs

BWA is calling for more State Government funding to be released from the Perth Parking Fund to inprove cycling infrastructure including end-of-trip facilities in CBD workplaces. BWA is also working with the City of Perth to finalise it’s bicycle plan and highlight cycling routes around the CBD that will make cycle commuting more attractive.

More information from www.bwa.org.au