Friends become Guinea Pigs | EveryBody eBikes

Recently, we had some overseas visitors to our home. Travelling from the UK to support the British and Irish Lions Tour of Australia, Kathryn and Matthew stopped in Brisbane for a week or so. Of course, we wanted to show them around, and what better way than to do so by bike. With limited time to go exploring, they popped over to the EveryBody eBikes shop to see what would suit them best.

Background: Kathryn hasn’t ridden a bike for a couple of decades and was full of trepidation. Matthew is a world-class shooter and has very good balance control, but also has not been riding since he was knocked off his commuter about 15 years ago.

Challenge: to find 2 bikes that would bring back the joy of riding and showcase the best of electric bike offerings in the context of their riding histories, current confidence levels, and planned trip, while making sure they remained safe for the rest of their Australian tour.

📸 Tern HSD P9 | Trident front hub sit-down trike | Trojan fat-tyre upright trike

Options trialled: Matthew quickly demonstrated that he is still fine to ride on 2 wheels and enjoyed test riding a range of Kalkhoff and Tern ebikes. Kathryn was more like many of our customers, lacking in confidence on 2-wheels and worried about the transfers on and off due to balance.

The Solutions: Matthew tossed up between the Kalkhoff Endeavour 3.B Move, the Tern HSD, and the Kalkhoff Entice LB Advance. He ended up choosing the latter, due to its lightweight handling, perfect fit, and sense of activity while riding. He wasn’t keen on the bike doing all the work!

Kathryn trialled the Tern HSD, an ezi-Step folding ebike, the Trojan upright trike, and then the Trident FT sit-down trike with torque-based CYC motor. And guess which one she preferred! Like so many before her, she could manage the 2-wheeled options, but there was no enjoyment in the experience. She looked unsure and concerned she might fall if she had to make a quick decision in unknown circumstances. She was completely taken aback by the challenge of an upright trike, as her memory of riding on 2-wheels definitely came to the fore. But once on the Trident FT, she did not want to get off! How many times have we shared the experience of nervousness and lack of confidence morphing into the sharing of complete joy at being able to ride again!

📸 Trident FT mid-drive with CYC torque-based motor

The adventure: We didn’t want to waste too much time on the road, so selected a favourite local rail trail: the Samford Valley Rail Trail from Ferny Grove to Samford. It has a great mix of quiet roads, flat rail trail and a few fast downhill and uphill stretches to stress the benefits of riding an ebike. And of course the added bonus of amazing food and drink options once we arrived in Samford.

📸 Samford Valley Rail Trail between Ferny Grove and Samford

Shout out to the Long Yard Larder in Samford for looking after us so very well! What a fantastic little venue and the staff and owner were really friendly. Kathryn, of course, enjoyed a lot of attention from young and old, with people stopping her in town to ask about her ride! She was very pleased to be able to sing the praises of the Trident FT!

📸 The intrepid explorers on Kalkhoff Entice LB Advance, Tern HSD P9 and Trident FT

The return: Richard is never one to offer an easy way home, so he decided to extend the challenge and take us out the back of Camp Mountain and Upper Kedron on the way back. Closely watching the looming clouds, we put our ebikes to the test on a series of quite steep and long hills through Camp Mountain and all were easily able to keep riding (and talking!) while pedalling up the steeper sections. The photos never really show how steep these sections can be!

📸 Just one of the many hills encountered on our return diversion!

The consensus opinion: After a short, but beautiful ride that encompassed rainforest, birdlife, rail trails and forest hills, we returned to Brisbane full of the excitement that being outdoors and feeling like you have had a challenge can bring. Matthew immediately started searching for a Kalkhoff dealer in the UK to find the exact same bike for his return to riding. And he even contacted his local council to confirm there are off-road routes to get from A to B avoiding the busiest of the rush-hour traffic. Talk about hooked. He kept saying “This has reminded me of how much I used to love to ride and how much fun it can be.” As he had never ridden an ebike before, he said “I was worried about getting to work how and sweaty, but now I see there is another way and I just can’t wait to get riding again”

For Kathryn, she wants to know when we are going to start selling into UK and has her name on a Trident FT already. And she is serious. You never know, we might be able to make this happen! We had a very happy rider who just loved the feel, comfort and handling of the Trident FT, and after such a long break from riding, Kathryn could see straight away that an adaptive trike with sit-down design could be an ideal way for her to renew her love of riding.

So yes, our friends were our guinea pigs for a day but demonstrated so clearly how much fun riding an ebike can bring and that one size definitely does not suit all. No matter your riding history, your age or ability, your confidence or expectations, EveryBody eBikes can find a solution. We had 2 very happy visitors who kept coming back to how enjoyable the day had been and how it inspired them to get back on a bike. That’s what we do! Every day! Changing lives and offering active transport solutions.

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