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The electric bike has a charge time of six to eight hours and a top speed of 45km/h.
A dual electric drive (2x2) utility bike was created in 2014 by UBCO, a New Zealand firm. The emission-less motor run bike is the first of its kind that is ECE-approved, meaning the bike can legally cross from farm to farm across public roads.
A dual electric drive (2x2) utility bike was created in 2014 by UBCO, a New Zealand firm.
The emission-less motor run bike is the first of its kind that is ECE-approved, meaning the bike can legally cross from farm to farm across public roads.
It also produces no emissions, has no external drivetrain or combustion engine, doesn’t flood when laid on its side and weighs only 63kg.
The bike is also extremely economical, costing less than €1 per 120km/74mi.
Speaking at the global launch of the bike, CEO Timothy Allan told the Irish Farmers Journal that the bike is well suited to Irish farmers and that recent demand for the product in New Zealand has grown and grown.
“This is an all-electric bike. Just plug it in and away you go. There is no other fuel is required. A lot of the guys who use the bike in New Zealand will just plug it in at the end of the day to top it up. However given that the range is up to 100km to 120km depending on where you travelling, Irish farmers might be doing between 5km and 20km a day, so they may not need to charge it daily.
‘‘The absence of a motor means that the 2X2 doesn’t overheat like a combustion engine, so you don’t have the complexity that a combustion engine has,” he said.
The electric bike has a charge time of six to eight hours and a top speed of 45km/h.
Development
Developing this sustainable option has taken about three years.
“We have probably been working on it since 2014 and this year we have seen a real pickup in terms of sale and that is because it takes farmers time to get used to new technology and, also, us as a company going out there presenting it on an ongoing basis they get more used of it.”
UBCO built the first prototype of the 2X2 bike in 2014. It was developed further in 2015 and put into production in 2016.
Allan, who previously spent 20 years working in product development, started UBCO in 2014 with Anthony Clyde and Darren Neal.
Overall, the cost of the bike is the guts of $6,000.
From cutting silage at Dublin Airport to farming in a wheelchair, we filmed some extraordinary people in Irish farming this year. Watch their stories in our videos.
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