Electric 'High Nelly' - The Independent 08.02.2010

Amalgam

Nice looking bike, reminds me a bit of a Pashley.

Get on yer bike as 'High Nelly' makes electric comeback


Marty Mannering pictured with the electric 'High Nelly' bike at GoEco in Cappamore, Co Limerick.
Photo: Brian Gavin/ Press 22

By Barry Duggan

Monday February 08 2010

THE 'High Nelly' bike is back -- and this time no pedal power is required.

A family-owned company is attempting to beat the recession and add a 21st-century touch to the world-famous bike by powering it with a battery.

The bike, manufactured by GoEco in Cappamore, Co Limerick, is the first electric bike manufactured in the country and already orders have been placed for the new product from the UK and continental Europe.

Company chief executive Marty Mannering said they finished designing the electric 'High Nelly' five months ago.

"We developed it throughout last year. We are delighted to say that here in a small workshop in Cappamore, east Limerick, it was completed.

"It is the first bicycle of any kind manufactured in the country in 47 years," Mr Mannering said.

"One of our customers is the electric transport company in London and one of the electric High Nellys is currently on display in the front window at King's Cross Station," he added.

A 36-volt battery on the back rack of the High Nelly powers the bike, giving it a top speed of 40kmh. The battery life should ensure that the cyclist travels an estimated 64km, depending on their weight.

Manufactured from scratch in east Limerick, the bike -- which is equipped with a traditional strap and buckle to keep the battery in place -- costs €999.

"Everyone across the country remembers the High Nelly bike. You would have seen them leaning gracefully against the wall of the church or against the country pub at night. It is a traditional aspect of life here and hopefully our design will give it a new impetus," Mr Mannering said.

"We are a rural company, so in times like this you try to be as innovative as possible to stay in business.

"We are always looking at new ideas. Products like this will hopefully keep Ireland up to speed with the rest of Europe," Mr Mannering added.

- Barry Duggan

Irish Independent

Lumen

A 36-volt battery on the back rack of the High Nelly powers the bike, giving it a top speed of 40kmh.

That sounds a bit fishy. I believe that electric assistance must cut out over 15mph or something, or else it's classed as a motorcycle for tax and insurance reasons.

Obviously a brick can reach 40kph when dropped off a cliff.

Amalgam

You need to be peddling to engage the motor, as far as I understand it.

Great.. feature an article to promote a nice looking Irish company, get them into trouble.

Lumen

Amalgam wrote: »

You need to be peddling to engage the motor, as far as I understand it.

Similar products discussed previously have to have the electric assist cut out over a given speed, after which there is zero motor assistance. This means if you want to reach 40kph you have to do so with your legs alone. In which case the 40kph speed is meaningless.

Amalgam wrote: »

Great.. feature an article to promote a nice looking Irish company, get them into trouble.

I'm not sure what point you're making. The law essentially restricts what technology can be used without license and insurance. This is entirely reasonable, or else you could have kids flying around on 100kph electric motorbikes with no licence or insurance.

edit: previous discussion here. It basically comes down to EU regs which limit assisted speed to 25kph. These have been ratified (or whatever) in different countries. The UK limit is apparently 15mph; the limit of Ireland is probably the EU limit (25kph), but I haven't looked for the legislation. This Irish site says 25kph.

Run_to_da_hills

The weight of one of these can't be that much less than a Dublin Bike.

Lumen

On the website, they state (in, for example, this):

"Maximum speed (15mph without pedaling) 45km/h+ assisted"

This is interesting. For me, this issue is the difference between a hill-assist bike, limited in interest to the physically compromised or cargo applications, and a mainstream product. But according to various sources this is not legal.

A normal person not carrying heavy loads has no real need of electric assist, they need a lightish bicycle with appropriate gearing. I suppose there is a case for very long commutes (e.g. >20km each way) but then range issues come into play.

For me, the most interesting application is a <15kg bike which works well without assist, but has enough grunt to dispatch the odd hill without slowing down too much. Anything over 15kg starts to create its own problems.

The other issue is battery performance over the life of the bike.

pickarooney

Lumen wrote: »

On the website, they state (in, for example, this):

"Maximum speed (15mph without pedaling) 45km/h+ assisted"

Must be a typo, why would they mix mph and kph in a direct comparison?

Lumen

pickarooney wrote: »

Must be a typo, why would they mix mph and kph in a direct comparison?

15mph is the UK limit since they're still clinging to archaic units of measurement, and is often used in product descriptions for the UK market (of which we are part, sort of).

Run_to_da_hills

Is it possible to de-restrict electric bicycles to go faster? (Private use only).

tomasrojo

Do we need an "On yer bike watch" thread?

That hardy perennial just keeps coming back into flower.

w200

QUOTE "It is the first bicycle of any kind manufactured in the country in 47 years," Mr Mannering said.
I know several people who are happily riding " Rapparee " bikes which were expertly manufactured in Clonard County meath up till recently. Sadly as far as I know Rapparee are no longer building bikes but Mr Mannering is wrong in his statement.