April 2024 - Bay of Plenty Business News

April 2024 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS 5
Introducing
the SUV of
ebikes
Whakatane-based e-bike guru Anthony Clyde
has come up with a dual-use cycle that
offers options for both regular commuting
as well as rigorous off-road use.
> By DAVID PORTER
The evolution of e-bikes
has meant that cycling is
attracting a changing and
older demographic, says Whakatane-based
e-bike guru Anthony
Clyde. “The new design is like a
bike SUV,” Clyde told the Bay of
Plenty Business News.
Essentially the new Smartmotion
Xcapade – and others still
in development by major international
brands – combines the
comfort of a daily commuter bike
with the rigour of a mountain
bike, and is also now coming in a
convenient step-through design.
Until now, Kiwis really have
had no choice other than to invest
in either a commuter e-bike or an
e-mountain bike, which are markedly
different in looks, functionality
and price.
Clyde also noted that stepthroughs
– once seen as rather
“girl only” bikes – are increasingly
attractive to new older riders who
don’t want to be getting their legs
over the crossbar that traditionally
defined “boys” bikes.
Clyde said he was grateful the
stigma once attached to the stepthrough
bike design had been
shaken. “From a comfort and
safety perspective, you certainly
don’t get extra strongman points
for getting a leg over a cross bar
these days, either around town or
on the trails.”
Clyde said the combined
commuter/trail bike approach
was the big new category. “All
the global brands have them in
development.”
But Smartmotion (which Clyde
is working with) says it is ahead
in this trend.
“The bike combines two categories,”
he said. “They can take to
significant trails, plus they offer
comfort around town. And everything
is a bit easier on the butt.”
Clyde feels he is now one step
closer to the perfect adventure
e-bike, combining hardiness,
good looks and comfort in a way
the international e-bike design
community previously thought
impossible.
And he’s winning plaudits. The
bike recently picked up a design
award at a major international
Trade Fair in Shanghai and Consumer
Magazine NZ has given it
their top tick of approval with a
Highly Recommend rating.
New Zealand was chosen as
the place to launch the Kiwi’s latest
creation. Since 2007, Anthony
has been regarded in the industry
as a serial inventor in the international
e-bike industry. The
previous major invention he was
involved with was the UBCO 2 x 2
electric utility vehicle, which has
globally transformed farm and
utility transport.
Bay of Plenty Business News
first interviewed Clyde many
years ago with his friend Tim
Allen, a co-founder of UBCO who
went on to serve a term of several
years as that company’s chief
executive.
Clyde said that he understood
and was excited to learn recently
Anthony Clyde with the
Smartmotion Xcapade.
Photo supplied.
that a large Australian government
organisation, which at
this stage cannot be named, had
placed a significant UBCO order.
Clyde continues to design in
his workshop in Whakatane,
encouraging his cycling mates to
test bikes on some of New Zealand’s
most daunting terrain –
and riding them himself on his
self-built test-track.
Clyde is regarded in the industry
as a consummate researcher
of how technology is evolving
with makers of various bikes and
e-bike components around the
world.
With his latest invention Clyde
predicted that once on the market,
there would be a few surprised
people around who still
believed it was an impossible
design feat – to create full suspension
in a step-through frame.
“We’ve made the leap in terms
of product development and I’m
genuinely excited to see how the
Xcapade is going to change things
up,” he said.
“It’s going to get more people
on bikes around our cities and on
our trails and that’s just a win on
every wellbeing and environmental
front.”
> ABOUT THE BIKE
• The Smartmotion Xcapade is available for pre-order through
Electrify NZ and select retailers.
• More information can be found at https://electrify.nz/
smartmotion/smartmotion-xcapade-ebike
• Consumer Magazine NZ has given it their a Highly Recommended
status.
• The bike recently picked up a design award at one of the
world’s largest cycle trade fairs, China Cycle in Shanghai.
Until now, only the most passionate
e-bike fanatics could justify
the cost of owning both a commuter
e-bike and an e-mountain
bike. Clyde said he had brought
the best of both together.
“My vision for this new e-bike
is that users can spend their leisure
time tackling offroad trails
up to grade 3 all over New Zealand
thanks to its dual suspension,
while also using it on their
daily commute.
“And it’s accessible to many
more people as it’s around half
the price of comparable e-bikes.”
He said e-mountain bikes
had traditionally been built to a
far higher spec than commuter
e-bikes.
These had always been
under-engineered for off-road
use and without rear suspension,
so were generally too unforgiving
on off-road trails.
“Developing a true adventure
e-bike that can handle both
on-road and off-road has been
one of my toughest design challenges,
but I’m proud to say we’ve
cracked it,” said Clyde.
The design journey, he said,
has been all about finding the
“sweet spots”, combining the ease
of a step-through frame with the
comfort of dual suspension. Making
the frame stiff enough for
responsive trail riding, but not so
much so that it is too heavy.
“The reality is Kiwis don’t
have much left over in their pay
packets right now to justify things
perceived as luxury items. So,
an ‘SUV e-bike’ that can cover a
range of tasks, but is still affordable,
just makes sense to me.”