Posts Tagged ‘a2b’
Monday, February 4th, 2013
I’ll tell you, some of the people from the (former?) Ultra Motors company or whatever just hate my guts ’cause I don’t put on my old high school cheerleading uniform (it still fits! can you believe it?) and wave my pom-poms for the overweight, overexpensive, overstyled A2B electric bike-scooter things being made the past half-decade.
I think they had an HQ office in San Francisco once.
Anyway, these days you can buy an A2B on craigslist for like $1000-something and there is a subculture of users out there.
(Somebody should interview these people about the pros and cons of commuting on an overly-expensive, high maintenance A2B…)
Like this guy, I see him on McAllister a lot:
Click to expand
Now that personal transporter contraption from Segway was supposed to create a transportation revolution or something, but it didn’t. There are still a handful of people around town who use them, or fantasize about using them to get to work ‘n stuff.
IMO, the Segway people would be better off using an A2B bike for commuting.
Just saying…
Tags: 2013, a2b, bay area, bike, california, commuting, electric, Ltd, motor, motors, pt, San Francisco, segway, ULTRA
Posted in bikes | No Comments »
Thursday, June 9th, 2011
Now don’t get me wrong, I think test-driving an A2B electric scooter in Golden Gate Park can be fun, but the problem is that these rigs don’t really make sense for the vast majority of people, that’s the problem.
Anyway, this is the past weekend in GGP here…
Click to expand
…and this below is from the past.
Sometimes you spend money on an idea and it doesn’t work out.
Oh well.
Well well, has it really been a half-year since an example of the ridiculous, overweight and overpriced A2B electric bike / moped thing has been spotted on the Streets of San Francisco? Yes.
Here’s the one sighted yesterday. It’s a rental of course, but actually, that’s not a bad thing. Assuming you don’t run out of juice, renting an A2B for 69 bones doesn’t appear to be a bad way to spend a day exploring the 415 . You could easily haul on over to Sausalito (remembering to pretend to pedal – the Golden Gate Bridge people actually require this) and back without breaking a sweat.
See?
(Take care it doesn’t get stolen, though, else they’ll charge your credit card an arm and a leg.)
O.K. then.
Now I’ll tell you, most of the people who comment about the posts made about the A2B on this website actually work (or worked) for Ultra Motor.
For example, here’s a bit from Ultra Motor Co-Founder and President Jon Bowman from earlier this year:
“Wow. You really have nothing better to do than attack what appears to be a good idea and an innovative product.”
Does that make sense? He’s berating me for criticising one of his P.O.S. products from the standpoint of someone who doesn’t work for Ultra Motor, yet he works for Ultra Motor. (Reminds me of when people at the San Francisco Chronicle Newspaper would make comments on SFist claiming to work full-time for MUNI or something. They weren’t really fooling anybody…)
Anyway, a newer product Ultra Motor has is called the Excel and it’s being marketed as a $5000 electric scooter. O.K., if it makes you happy.
The big problem with all these bikes is that they don’t sell. The fact that you have to fork over $2200 plus tax, minimum, to buy one (unless you get a deal through Craigslist ) is merely the first problem. It’s not the only problem, not at all. (Now, they have this newer model, the Velocity (Velociti?) but I ain’t never seen one of those – maybe it’s closer to being an actual electric bike…)
Oh well. Even the people who like these things don’t really like these things.
If you want an electric bike, get a Trek or something else.
Tags: 2009, 2010, a2b, a2btm, assist, battery, bay area, best buy, bicycle, bike, Brent Meyers, california, Chris, Chris Deyo, co-founder, costco, cyclist, day, Deyo, electric, electric assist, electricity, excel, founder, full suspension, Golden Gate Bridge, golden gate park, jay leno, Jon Bowman, Jon p Bowman, legal, license, market, metro, moped, moped. golden gate park, motor, panasonic, president, rent, rental, Sales Manager, San Francisco, scooter, Shelby Nielsen, street, sucks, test drive, throttle, trek, ultra motor, um, um 44, um44, urbanmover, usprite, velociti, velocity, worst, Worst Consumer Product of 2009
Posted in bikes | 10 Comments »
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
Maybe it was a chuckhole or maybe it was going around the open car door and onto the train tracks that caused this fellow to take a tumble on his crappy Ultra Motor A2B electric moped on Market Street yesterday.
You see, them wheels is too small – it’s a styling thing, apparently:
Click to expand
You know, on their website they tell you everything but how much these contraptions cost…*
*Too much**
**A-waaaaaaaaay too much. Oh well.
Tags: 2009, a2b, a2btm, assist, battery, best buy, bicycle, bike, Brent Meyers, Chris, Chris Deyo, costco, crash, cyclist, Deyo, electric, electric assist, electricity, full suspension, Golden Gate Bridge, legal, license, market, metro, moped, motor, panasonic, rent, rental, street, sucks, test drive, throttle, ULTRA, ultra motor, Ultra Motors, um, um 44, um44, urbanmover, usprite, Wheels, worst, Worst Consumer Product of 2009
Posted in bikes, paranormal | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 5th, 2011
I’m not sure if a Segway scooter sighting is rarer than an A2B electric bike / scooter sighting on the Streets of San Francisco.
The sales of both haven’t met expectations, I’d imagine.
Anyway, count this guy as an A2B True Believer:
Click to expand
For one…
Tags: 2009, 2010, 2011, a2b, a2btm, assist, battery, bay area, best buy, bicycle, bike, california, Chris, costco, cyclist, Deyo, electric, electric assist, electricity, full suspension, legal, license, market, metro, moped, motor, rent, rental, San Francisco, street, sucks, test drive, throttle, um, urbanmover, worst, Worst Consumer Product of 2009
Posted in bikes | 1 Comment »
Monday, August 9th, 2010
Well well, has it really been a half-year since an example of the ridiculous, overweight and overpriced A2B electric bike / moped thing has been spotted on the Streets of San Francisco? Yes.
Here’s the one sighted yesterday. It’s a rental of course, but actually, that’s not a bad thing. Assuming you don’t run out of juice, renting an A2B for 69 bones doesn’t appear to be a bad way to spend a day exploring the 415 . You could easily haul on over to Sausalito (remembering to pretend to pedal – the Golden Gate Bridge people actually require this) and back without breaking a sweat.
See?
(Take care it doesn’t get stolen, though, else they’ll charge your credit card an arm and a leg.)
O.K. then.
Now I’ll tell you, most of the people who comment about the posts made about the A2B on this website actually work (or worked) for Ultra Motor.
For example, here’s a bit from Ultra Motor Co-Founder and President Jon Bowman from earlier this year:
“Wow. You really have nothing better to do than attack what appears to be a good idea and an innovative product.”
Does that make sense? He’s berating me for criticising one of his P.O.S. products from the standpoint of someone who doesn’t work for Ultra Motor, yet he works for Ultra Motor. (Reminds me of when people at the San Francisco Chronicle Newspaper would make comments on SFist claiming to work full-time for MUNI or something. They weren’t really fooling anybody…)
Anyway, a newer product Ultra Motor has is called the Excel and it’s being marketed as a $5000 electric scooter. O.K., if it makes you happy.
The big problem with all these bikes is that they don’t sell. The fact that you have to fork over $2200 plus tax, minimum, to buy one (unless you get a deal through Craigslist ) is merely the first problem. It’s not the only problem, not at all. (Now, they have this newer model, the Velocity (Velociti?) but I ain’t never seen one of those – maybe it’s closer to being an actual electric bike…)
Oh well. Even the people who like these things don’t really like these things.
If you want an electric bike, get a Trek or something else.
Tags: 2009, 2010, a2b, a2btm, assist, battery, bay area, best buy, bicycle, bike, Brent Meyers, california, Chris, Chris Deyo, co-founder, costco, cyclist, day, Deyo, electric, electric assist, electricity, excel, founder, full suspension, Golden Gate Bridge, golden gate park, jay leno, Jon Bowman, Jon p Bowman, legal, license, market, metro, moped, moped. golden gate park, motor, octavia, panasonic, president, rent, rental, Sales Manager, San Francisco, scooter, Shelby Nielsen, street, sucks, test drive, throttle, trek, ultra motor, um, um 44, um44, urbanmover, usprite, velociti, velocity, worst, Worst Consumer Product of 2009
Posted in bikes | 4 Comments »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
It took a while, but this photo is clear evidence of an A2B electric moped from San Francisco-based Ultra Motor USA apparently being used by a regular San Franciscan. Heretofore, I’ve only seen A2Bs being borrowed by tourists for short-term rentals, or by riders on test drives, or by employees trying to promote the brand, stuff like that.
So this is progress, of a sort.
Let’s see here, yes, that’s an overweight, overpriced A2B Metro being used as designed in San Francisco. Finally.
And here’s something else that’s new – an endorsement from Jay Leno. Check the short video with dressed-for-success(!) (in a camo tank, Daisy Dukes* and high-heeled boots) Ultra Motor “Sales Manager” Shelby Nielsen at advertising-choked JayLenosGarage.com:
Let’s see here. Jay Leno:
Clearly doesn’t understand the concept of voltage. [Conferre this huge 6-volt lantern battery with tiny 9-volt battery next to it - which has more power do you s'pose? Discuss.]
Thinks the weight of 73 pounds (or is it closer to 90 with the optional $650 battery you can see behind the seat?) ”isn’t bad.” [Actually, it is bad.]
Thinks it’s practical to pedal a moped.
Thinks it’s practical to carry a moped up and down stairs on a daily basis.
Doesn’t care about the price
Believes in helmets for people on motorcycles but not on mopeds, despite the fact that he needed to wear a helmet during his test drive on public streets under CA law.
Here’s the thing – A2B mopeds, like all mopeds, are basically manifestations of license-and-registration scams. Moped owners don’t have to deal with all the hassles involved of owning a scooter or a motorcycle – that’s the reason for the ridiculous design compromises.
So that’s how it’s going for the first year of these mopeds in the 415.
And to close, let’s review The Law:
24016. (a) A motorized bicycle described in subdivision (b) of Section 406 shall meet the following criteria:
(1) Comply with the equipment and manufacturing requirements for bicycles adopted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (16 C.F.R. 1512.1, et seq.) or the requirements adopted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (49 C.F.R. 571.1, et seq.) in accordance with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1381, et seq.) for motor driven cycles.
(2) Operate in a manner so that the electric motor is disengaged or ceases to function when the brakes are applied, or operate in a manner such that the motor is engaged through a switch or mechanism that, when released, will cause the electric motor to disengage or cease to function.
(b) All of the following apply to a motorized bicycle described in subdivision (b) of Section 406:
(1) No person shall operate a motorized bicycle unless the person is wearing a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet that meets the standards described in Section 21212.
(2) A person operating a motorized bicycle is subject to Sections 21200 and 21200.5.
(3) A person operating a motorized bicycle is not subject to the provisions of this code relating to financial responsibility, driver’s licenses, registration, and license plate requirements, and a motorized bicycle is not a motor vehicle.
(4) A motorized bicycle shall only be operated by a person 16 years of age or older.
(5) Every manufacturer of a motorized bicycle shall certify that it complies with the equipment and manufacturing requirements for bicycles adopted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (16 C.F.R. 1512.1, et seq.).
(c) No person shall tamper with or modify a motorized bicycle described in subdivision (b) of Section 406 so as to increase the speed capability of the bicycle.
Added Sec. 3, Ch. 804, Stats. 1995. Effective January 1, 1996.
27802. (a) The department may adopt reasonable regulations establishing specifications and standards for safety helmets offered for sale, or sold, for use by drivers and passengers of motorcycles and motorized bicycles as it determines are necessary for the safety of those drivers and passengers. The regulations shall include, but are not limited to, the requirements imposed by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 218 (49 C.F.R. Sec. 571.218) and may include compliance with that federal standard by incorporation of its requirements by reference. Each helmet sold or offered for sale for use by drivers and passengers of motorcycles and motorized bicycles shall be conspicuously labeled in accordance with the federal standard which shall constitute the manufacturer’s certification that the helmet conforms to the applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards.
(b) No person shall sell, or offer for sale, for use by a driver or passenger of a motorcycle or motorized bicycle any safety helmet which is not of a type meeting requirements established by the department.
Amended Ch. 163, Stats. 1985. Effective January 1, 1986.
*In the “accepted vernacular“
Tags: 2009, 2010, a2b, a2btm, assist, battery, best buy, bicycle, bike, Brent Meyers, Chris, Chris Deyo, costco, cyclist, Deyo, electric, electric assist, electricity, full suspension, Golden Gate Bridge, jay leno, legal, license, market, metro, moped, motor, octavia, panasonic, rent, rental, Sales Manager, Shelby Nielsen, street, sucks, test drive, throttle, ultra motor, um, um 44, um44, urbanmover, usprite, worst, Worst Consumer Product of 2009
Posted in bikes | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Remember back in the day, back when San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu was test-driving the new Trek electric bicycles along with a few other supes? Well, it looks like the test-ride is over and nowadays this is his regular ride.
cf. my bike (the red one) - it was about five times cheaper and it has better brakes, gears, pedals, tires, etc., but, sadly, it does not have electric assist. Click to expand:
Here’s a reverse angle of President Chiu’s ElecTrek:
This bike is all right (especially when compared to the horrible overweight, overpriced Ultra Motors A2B electric moped, the Worst Consumer Product of 2009).
You could totally haul Trek’s black beauty upstairs. The big issue is the $2000+ price, but oh well.
cf. Mayor Gavin Newsom‘s official ride, complete with a satellite TV antenna to see hisself on the CNN and an engine bigger than a bus and a saddled-up weight that’s so heavy it requires an official-bidness-only exemption to be legal in many parts of San Francisco (including a block of his own street). Srsly.
Oh well.
Tags: 7.3, a2b, assist, bicycle, bike, board of supervisors, David Chiu, electric, gavin newsom, market, Mayor, Motorcade, ride, street, Supervisor, trek, Ultra Motors
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Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
This is how outbound Market Street appeared in San Francisco this morning as Best Buy sent a parade of expensive $2500 A2B electric scooters (the Worst Consumer Products of 2009) and also inexpensive E-Zip bikes up the street. E-Zips went for $350 last year at some Wal-Marts (not that I could tell, having never set foot in one) and now $500 (and up) at Best Buy.
E-Zip in the background, A2B in the foreground. Were there a dozen or so riders in this mini, corporate Critical Mass? Something like that:
Click to expand
What do you get for you $350? Well, you don’t get high tech batteries, that’s for sure. But that’s part of the reason why it’s cheaper than the obscenely overpriced A2B and the Trek Ride+, which is being tested out these days by some of San Francisco’s elected officials. Costco also has a few dogs in the e-bike hunt, upon occasion.
Will you say “Engine*, yes. Gas No”?
Only Time Will Tell.
*Not an actual “engine” – the marketing cookies of Best Buy mean motor, but oh well.
Tags: 20, 7.3, a2b, battery, best buy, bicycle, bike, bionx, board of supervisors, bontrager, braking, City Hall, city hall cvc center, civic center, commute, currie, cyclists, David Chiu, e-zip, ebike, electric, eric mar, fx, fx 7.3, fx7.3, Gary Fisher, hub, i-zip, market, maximum, moph, panasonic, pedalic, rack, raod, regenerative, ross mirkarimi, San Francisco, street, tech, technologies, test drive, Trailz, trek, trekusa, ultra motor, Vehicle Code, wsd
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Saturday, August 8th, 2009
Reports are positive so far from those San Franciscans taking extended test drives of Trek’s new electric bike.
Having said that, let’s award Worst Consumer Product of 2009 to another kind of electric bike – the $2700 (or so, some people sell them new for $1700-something) Ultra Motor A2B Electric Bike / Moped Thing.
If you want to check things out, they’re on sale now at the Best Buy and you can even rent them for 79 bones per day.
But hey, look at this guy on Market Street near the failed Octavia Boulevard. He just might be an owner/operator of an A2B - the first I’ve seen. Maybe he works for CNET or Engadget or someplace. This early-adopter certainly seemed outgoing and happy though, like three-tabs-of-Ecstasy happy, so good for him. And he was actually pedaling the thing for a bit, amazingly.
Click to expand.
But for the average person, the A2B is way too heavy and expensive. Why does this electric moped, a “commuter bike,” need full suspension and why does it have tiny wheels? Styling?
Let’s get some input from an A2B person (employee?), who saw fit to offer this blog his comments here. Read his pearls of wisdom in bold:
Brent Meyers says:
“Just curious to know if this ‘blogger’ has ever ridden an A2B.”
See the word “blogger” in quote marks? That means me. Like, what else could I be with my bone-stock WordPress blog? A blogger wannabe? A shill for Trek or some other outfit?
Chances are he has not.
Chance are I have, ’round about April 5, 2009 – see ”Test-Driving the Overweight, Overpriced “Ultra Motor” A2B Electric Moped“
If he had ridden an A2B, he would know that it’s quite easy to pedal,
Is a moped easy to pedal? Maybe, but do you ever see people pedaling around on mopeds?
…and the wide tires combined with the full suspension gives the A2B a more comfortable feel and provides much better handling on urban roads.
“More comfortable”? “Better handling”? Compared to what? Is this a sales pitch?
This blogger…
Ah, no quote marks this time. Hurray!
…should do his readers a favor…
Automatic for the People, baby. I give and give and give, 24-7…
…and properly research something before he writes about it.
Is it possible a multi-thousand-dollar, 73-pound “bike” isn’t for everybody during this particular recession?
Check your facts Serpico.
“Serpico”? Whoosh! Right over the head with that one.
O.K. fine. Feel free to test drive the thing, but expect to be harassed by A2B employees if you don’t like it enough to fork over your hard-earned green.
And the prices? Well they’re coming down, both in the shops and on the Craigslist.
Jul 30 – ULTRA MOTORS A2B ELECTRIC BIKES – $1750 - (SACRAMENTO) pic
Jul 28 – Electric Bicycles That Ride Like a Scooter – $1750 - (Arroyo) pic
Maybe if Ultra Motor had built an electric bike instead of an electric scooter, then things would be different…
Oh well.
Tags: 2009, a2b, a2btm, assist, battery, best buy, bicycle, bike, Brent Meyers, Chris, Chris Deyo, costco, cyclist, Deyo, electric, electric assist, electricity, full suspension, Golden Gate Bridge, legal, license, market, metro, moped, motor, octavia, panasonic, rent, rental, street, sucks, test drive, throttle, ultra motor, um, um 44, um44, urbanmover, usprite, worst, Worst Consumer Product of 2009
Posted in bikes | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
Well, here they are - they’re the new (to America, anyway) Ride+ electric bikes from Trek.
First off, check out the SF Streetsblog to see yesterday’s scene of San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu and Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi and Eric Mar test driving these rigs at City Hall in the presence of Marin County biking legend Gary “Bury My Heart At Pine Mountain” Fisher.
Via Gary Fisher’s Twitter
See? It looks exactly like an electric bike, right?
So let’s talk about what this Trek E-Bike is not. It’s not a ridiculous, overweight, overpriced electric bike from Ultra Motor. Witness that yellow full-suspension rig on the left in this photo from Golden Gate Park? That’s an A2B:
The A2B is, basically, an electric moped. That means the whole concept is kind of an insurance/regulation scam where the pedals are mostly there to show regulators how this thing is not an electric motorbike. So, the A2B is limited to 20 MPH under Da Law.
“Electric Bicycles are defined by the California Vehicle Code. In summary, electric bicycles are to be operated like conventional bicycles in California. There are several exceptions to this. A person must be at least 16 years old, and anyone riding an electric bicycle must wear a bicycle helmet. The e-bikes must have an electric motor that has a power output less than 1,000 watts, is incapable of propelling the device at a speed of more than 20 miles per hour on level ground, is incapable of further increasing the speed of the device when human power is used to propel the motorized bicycle faster than 20 miles per hour, operates in a manner so that the electric motor is disengaged or ceases to function when the brakes are applied, or operates in a manner such that the motor is engaged through a switch or mechanism that, when released, will cause the electric motor to disengage or cease to function. Driver’s licenses, registration, insurance and license plate requirements do not apply. A motorized bicycle is not a motor vehicle. A motorized bicycle shall only be operated by a person 16 years of age or older. Drinking and driving laws apply. Additional laws or ordinances may apply to the use of electric bicycles by each city or county.”
So, most people using an A2B would never really pedal. Personally, I’ve never seen an A2B in the wild, being used by somebody for something more than a test drive or a day rental. Oh well.
But the new Trek bike is different in that it requires you to pedal – it will kick in power based upon how much work you yourself are doing. So, select the switch on your handlebar-mounted dashboard to have it add 50%, 100%, 150%, or 200% more power – just like the $899 electric bikes they sell at the Costco. And yes, the Ride+ has regenerative braking.
But here’s the thing – the bike itself, a 7.3 FX, costs $600-something and the electric bits from Bionx or someplace similar go for $1200 retail, so why doesn’t this ebike cost $1700 instead of $2200?
The World Wonders.
Is this bike 140% better than a Costco eBike? We’ll see.
In other notes, the 32 x 700c Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase tires will probably keep you relatively free from flats on the mean glass-strewn Streets of San Francisco but you might want to get rid of those quick-release skewers. And no front (see comments) fender and no disk brakes, Trek? For $2200, really? (And what would a new battery go for, pray tell? Well, I s’pose we’ll get all the deets soon enough.)
Let’s leave the last word for Gary Fisher:
The new bata bike will go on sale in only a few shops in aug for $2200. This bike hauls ass and can be Luged up stairs.5:41 PM Jul 14th from Twitterrific
Perhaps you could “luge” it downstairs, but certainly not up. As far as lugging is concerned, GF is correct. Unlike the heavy A2B, the new Trek is luggable.
All’s that left to do is to see how many supes buy these things when the test drives are over.
Stay tuned…
Tags: 20, 7.3, a2b, battery, bicycle, bike, bionx, board of supervisors, bontrager, braking, City Hall, city hall cvc center, civic center, commute, cyclists, David Chiu, ebike, electric, eric mar, fx, fx 7.3, fx7.3, Gary Fisher, hub, maximum, moph, panasonic, pedalic, rack, raod, regenerative, ross mirkarimi, San Francisco, test drive, trek, trekusa, ultra motor, Vehicle Code, wsd
Posted in bikes | 14 Comments »
