I wonder when UK households will start spending again two quarters in a row with decline. A year with this and it will become noticeable to the average consumer.

Lower the price of fish and ships and the brits will go crazy. Wasn't that one of the reason to leave EU in the first place?

Don't think prices will go down with Brexit...they will go through the roof...
The cost of leaving as to be accounted for...and it will show across the board.

Yup ...I hear you on the tech issue.....concerning better and better coming out...so why get something now if better is around the corner?
I picked my bike because the batteries are easily swapped out...
This bike model isn't going anywhere too soon..
It should be viable for a decade perhaps a little less perhaps a little longer...
It will definitely pay for itself in comparable vehicular costs 3 x over...
for me...
just in this year alone...

engine design may get better..with the net iterations...
those panasonic tesla-esque batteries most definitely will get better...
and when the batteries get better..
I will simply swap my batts. out for the better batteries...
and in 8-10 years...maybe earlier...maybe later...
I will consider what better model alternative there is available then...

If the batteries were "fixed" ...and if the company didn't stand behind their products and support and parts supply...like they have the last 2 decades...
then I would agree with you...better to wait...

But I think it a smart design...aimed at enhancement for years to come ...with years and years of life in the model....
Just like their other models.

Time will tell how long the model is viable for..
but considering all the above...
I don't see it as a waste or gamble...to wait still longer for tech to leap ahead...
It doesn't benefit companies in such positions to abandon product as soon as it's made...
but build in the valve to expand and enhance the product line with future tech does make sense....
And is the basis for vehicle production anyway...
Parts, support, repair, maintenance ...that is where the real money has always been for vehicular companies...
The actual sale of the vehicle is secondary (if that) in the amount of money made off repair and servicing...
So why build something that doesn't last long enough to really make money off of from the golden goose of servicing costs...?
That is the reason why support for vehicles stick around for a while...
customer / owner servicing costs ...
In the school of Profit...that is 101..

Your stance of "may as well wait because better is coming quick and the current will be left in the dust" ...is exactly the reason why companies are aiming at the ability to have product adapt to new innovation.

Otherwise many ...including you and myself are warranted in saying "why bother...the tech is just getting better...I will wait..."
Thus...the tech does keep getting better...but companies lose out on sales due to poor design and tech advancement being the culprit.

I think you will begin to see more and more products aimed at just that...
flexible enhancement ...
especially in the realm of vehicles..
for example...
Body wise the beast of mine is perfect...
I can carry a passenger...cruise at "in city speed limits"...
I'm happy..
sure they could build it bigger...and I am sure they will...
Sure they will build better more powerful engines...
speed laws on roads don't change much...it's still the same..
so it would just be more torque ..more guts...
it's not a whole body rework that is needed for a better engine to be put in..
Sure they will build better batteries...but they will just last longer...and the vehicles will just go farther...
and I am ready when the time comes to swap mine out for those great new batts.

I see little downside at a great vehicle that has the backing of a company that has a history of support for the supply chain...for the models they build..
that has room for enhancement built in...
That costs me 25 cents Canadian per / 150 km ..to fully charge .
and that I could buy in 4 to 5 years ..
a fleet of a dozen of these bikes ...
from the fuel , maintenance, and insurance savings ...

I think it is a decent deal for me.
Frankly I think everyone on the planet should have one ...
We wouldn't have the probs on this planet associated with vehicular co2 emissions we do...

endso, is that bike road legal?
I have been considering a bike for my daily commute. Makes kind of little sense to drive an estate carrying just me. I do need a car to pick up the kids from school but the house is on the way and I can easily swap.
An electric bike looks like an attractive option. But it must be road legal and have enough range to do the round trip (about 70 miles, 112 km) on a single charge.

Hi pichlo ...my super soco ... is the variant that licensing and insurance are not necessary...it does in-city speed limit... 32km/h
They have a road legal variant ...body is identical...
You would most definitely need the two batteries...
For you to do your 70km commute...
It does 70km/h
The body specs are identical...meaning you can carry a passenger...and or tow a child or cargo trailer as well...

There is also the "Zero"
Now that is a serious e motorcycle.
Don't know the price...
But what I have seen...I am very impressed.
Don't know the range either for it...
If you can think of anything else ...ask...and I will try to answer...

Max speed at 32?

Super Soco make a few variants of the model I have.
All share the same body.
mine doesn't require insurance or licensing. since according to Canadian road laws a "motor-assisted" bike as long as it's max speed is 32km/h
doesn't need insurance or licensing.
Of course downhill letting off the throttle I have had the beast up past 70 ...
if I engaged the motor and it would throttle the speed back....and reclaim a percentage of the power back to the batteries...
Likewise application of the brakes also does battery reclamation ...
Now to add to this...let me explain just how good the build quality is...
I took my cycle straight up one of the tallest hills around here...
it took about 15 minutes to climb...it didn't lag..it didn't slow...it didn't strain...no perceptible difference...perhaps steeper inclines may push her...but ..I must say I am impressed...
and through it all...
the engine temperature and battery temperature digital gauges NEVER twitched...it kept a constant happy cool temp.
THAT impressed me to no end.
I am sure of the self same outcome on the other models performance ...most likely even better performance

So that being explained....

there are three models at this point..to my understanding...

Mine.
with max speed of 32km/h and two battery banks outputting up to 150km range.

and 2 road legal models...
one does 70km/ h ...and I am not certain of its output for range...
I do know the engine is quite the beast...in compare to mine...
I am not sure how heavy a drain on the batteries it would be at 70km/h
it depends on how efficient the engine and what difference in the batteries there is in compare...
It may indeed have a shorter range than mine...or possibly comparable ..
I have not checked out the specs.

Then there is supposed to be a behemoth of a model...
Looks exactly the same as mine too...
But the engine is said to be a brute.
Prolly do Kilimanjaro without breaking a sweat.


I would suggest finding out more about those other two road legal models ....find out more especially about their charge consumption...and how far their range is considering the power and increased speed could be taking a chunk out of range ...
unless... as I mentioned ...whatever masterful redesign of the engine and batteries compensate for the increased demand for more output in speed.....

I would have considered either of the two road legal models...if I didn't live on a small island ...
at the mercy of ferry fees...It costs me no more... than walking on the ferry....with or without my model...
That alone saves tons of money compared to motorcycle ferry fees...
I don't need to worry about our exorbitant insurance fees...etc.
I picked economical...
and considering the hairpin curves here..most of which are killers...one way is usually a rock wall...and the other is a tumble over a rocky cliff to the ocean below...
I picked maneuverable ...
.and considering a full charge means I can do a full 7 1/2 laps AROUND the island I live on before I need to charge it...
I picked smart...


and well...I picked fun

Regarding electric vehicles, bikes, etc.

The idea of having an out-swappable battery is essential since batteries is the technology that is still developing (and damn quickly too)

The electric motors are already peak efficient mature tech.

The main problem with electric vehicles is the long charging times. Many electric cars have a range of 300km or more, which is perfectly acceptable (and quite common) for petrol cars. When my petrol tank comes close to empty, I can stop at the nearest petrol station, refill and go. Except for extreme cases, petrol stations are much more frequent than 300km.

But electric cars have two problems.

First, the charging points are still not as frequent as petrol stations. With electric cars becoming more common, this is going to change so it is not such a big problem in the long run.

The second problem is that whilst it takes less than 5 minutes to refill my petrol tank, it takes hours to recharge the electric battery. This is the crucial point and the main hindrance to the world dominance of electric vehicles.

Solutions?

• Standardize the batteries. Like the pony express of old, you could simply swap your empty battery for a fresh one. The empty one would stay at the station, be recharged and swapped again by the next customer.
  Problems with that:
  1) batteries are heavy, swapping will have to be mechanized or the batteries segmented;
  2) manufactures would have to agree;
  3) a system would have to be designed to diagnose and deal with bad batteries (what to do with them? who will pay for it?)
• Improve the battery technology to make the charging faster. Much faster. Not 8 hours, not 2 hours, not even 30 minutes. 5 minutes max. Achievable? I doubt it. Charging a typical 6Ah Prius battery in 5 minutes would require a 72A current. Charging 5 such cars at the same station at the same time would require a massive infrastructure upgrade. And the battery itself would have to cope with such big charging currents.
• Switch to a different battery technology altogether, where "charging" would involve simply replacing the electrolyte. The discharged electrolyte could be collected, recharged and reused by the next customer, pony express style. As far as I know, such technology does not exists yet but it might in the future.
• As above, but without recycling the electrolyte. The "electrolyte" could be called "fuel", spent completely on producing the electricity and simply refilled when needed. This is how hydrogen fuel cells work. Apparently they have not been the great success they promised to be.
• Any other ideas?

Hmm, I can see why the widespread adaptation may take a while. Nobody wants to spend too much money on picking the wrong technology.

Speculation aside...
The engines are also just getting better...there is no "peak" yet...
As is noted in the three models of my bike alone...with their Bosch motors..
Battery being swappable is important...critical.
The batteries will get better...
New innovation will happen...
The demand for further...better...smaller...faster charging batteries is occurring as we speak...
Such as the Tesla-esque Panasonics my model uses..

Electric cars getting 300km range?
I get half that now...
If I bought 2 more batt banks and tossed them into saddlebags...
Then I would have the same range....
Thing is...I can swap my batts out myself in under 30 seconds...and I am good to keep going...
Can't yet with the cars...it may be a long time yet before endusers can...

Best thing I can think of for 4 wheelers is develop an "Idaho Transfer" ...
You should find it on YouTube...
Watch it from beginning to end...
That is my best suggestion...for 4 wheels...
The solution in Idaho Transfer would solve a lot of problems...

Vehicles are like vices...
The more decadent comfort away from the elements...is ..just not healthy...its like too much junk food...or TV ...or any unhealthy excess..
When it comes to wheels...
More than 2 ...isn't healthy....
2 is perfect...complete awareness of the environment and ones place in it...
Not sitting in an artificial temp controlled environment...sitting on a designed "couch"...with drink holders.. TVs DVDs onboard wifi at best being so distanced from the environment around that it lulls everyone on board into a sense of separation...it is truly "unreal"...
Hell...the windshield looks like a frikkin TV screen....
How distanced from reality is that?
How dangerous to others is that?
With a large high speed projectile ...no one behind the wheel of a car or truck is "in control".
Nope.. give me a skateboard.. a bicycle...a motorcycle.. a horse...a donkey for gods sake even...at least I am "part of the environment " around me as I travel...

And it isn't just an exercise in being properly aware of the environment around you...

2 wheels are so much fun too...

I'll stick to two...as Brecht used to say...for one would be too much...
.....

I believe that Tesla has a 20 min fast charge, to about 70/80% capacity. So yes, you are right but...

HA