A few weeks ago, as I was erring through Oldenburg, little did I know an exhibition of small amplitude was occurring in the city center. That is, hybrid vehicles were being demonstrated as well as electric bikes. Captivated, I exchanged some broken German words – mostly entirely solely in English – with certain representatives and took some pictures for my blogumentary initiative. For those of you who are not familiar with the curious geometries of the depicted bicycles, those are so called Holland bikes and are surprisingly popular for commuting. All classes and ages circulate through the city aboard such rudimentary contraptions carrying groceries, bags or arbitrary objects of varying shapes or sizes!
Kalkhoff E-Bike
As seen below, an electric bike equipped with a 250W possesses an autonomy of up to 80km depending on the assistance level of the drive system. It is estimated that a full charge consumes 0.3kWh, which in terms of cost is equivalent to 0.2€ in Germany or 0.06¢ in Canada.
Kalkhoff E-Bike Drive Train
All in all, this presence of my favourite adult toy – please don’t judge me – in Oldenburg is quite ironic. As I spent a fraction of the last decade on the pavement, cycling, I find myself surrounded by a density of bicyclists while I have not yet convinced myself in acquiring such a mediocre monture. God I miss cycling.
Stepping back through time, a certain Danish inventor, Mr. Mikael Pederson conceived a bicycle following a cantilever design and featuring a hammock-style seat. While these bikes were introduced to the market in the early 1890s, the Dursley Cycle Frame Co. is still alive and spinning today, producing for an exclusive market, a truly unique piece of cycling art. For the educated cyclist reader, when equipped with a Rohloff hub, this oeuvre d’art reaches your garage for no less than 3000€. Therefore, very little replicas exist with such an upgrade!
