An account of the ExtraEnergy Test Award Ceremony on Feb 17, 2006 at Deutsche Museum in Munich. Find out how the mayor of the state capital put down his skepticism of pedelecs and became a true fan.
 

 
On February 17, 2006 the Award Ceremony of the 2006 ExtraEnergy Pedelec and E-Bike Test took place at Deutsche Museum Verkehrszentrum in Munich, Germany. The special exhibition on light electric vehicles, including all tested bikes created the perfect ambience for then announcement of the test results. Hannes Neupert, President of ExtraEnergy, opened the press  conference in the beautiful museum auditory and welcomed the test participants among the audience.

Award Ceremony: The Moment of Truth
After a short speech Mr. Neupert guided his guests through the LEV exhibition, announcing the results and awards of each bike tested.

The pedelecs of the companies Biketec (Flyer T8 Premium), Gazelle (Easy Glider), Giant (Twist Comfort) and Heinzmann (estelle Elegance) were rated “very good”. A “good” was rewarded to eGo Vehicles (Helio), Helkama (Jubilee), Hercules (Emove Tourer) und Sparta (ION m-gear). The prodcuts of the companies Shanghai eZee Kinetic (eZee Sprint), Euromoto (Binbike), Lohmeyer-Leichtfahrzeuge (Mistral-E) and Sachs (ALU-Touring) received recommendations for certain outstanding characteristics. Schachner Citybike could not finish the test due to a defect.

The test team was particularly impressed with the motor power of the eZee Sprint pedelec. The  Shanghai-based manufacturer has made enourmous progress since the 2002 test.

From Skeptic to Fan
At 12 AM Mr. Monatzeder, mayor of the state capital Munich, arrived at the Verkehrszentrum. With antici-
pation he performed a test ride on Hercules pedelec. The outcome was gratifying: His initial skepticism of enhanced bicycle riding soon gave way to growing enthusiasm about the efficiency and comfort of this locomotion. When offered a pedelec to ride to work on in the future, he gladly accepted.

The state capital aims to encourage bicycles more and more, also as a reaction to its traffic problems, shortly outlined in the mayor´s speech: “At a time when traffic jams and particulate matter are in the news every day,
there is a growing need for unconventional solutions.” In this regard, according to Mayor Monatzeder, the pedelec as a new category is mostly welcome. Munich aims to encrease bicycle traffic from 10 per cent at present to 15 per cent in the year 2015. In addition, with the European bicycle conference Velo-city 2007 taking place in Munich, the state capital wants to send out a pro-bicycle message on international level and position itself as a metropole of bicycles.

After his speech, the mayor personally handed out the test certificates with the awards to the manufacturers.

Back to the Future
Together with the mayor, Mrs. Hladky, Leader of the Deutsche Museum Verkehrszentrum, performed a pedelec ride in front of the scenery of historical bicycles and cars. In her welcoming speech she pointed out that
the Verkehrszentrum´s goal was not only to display exhibits of the past but also technologies of the future.

This same thought was picked up by Mr. Neupert in his speech about the pedelec´s potential for urban mobility. He indicated that the future could only be understood when you understood the past. He emphasized his
happiness about the brand-new developments shown at the LEV exhibition, which will be out in the market in the 2006 season.

Pedelecs in the Focus of Velo-city 2007 Conference
The press conference concerning the ExtraEnergy Test Awards was also the frame program within the inter-
national Velo-city 2007 Conference in Munich. Manfred Neun, Chairman of the European Cyclists' Federation ECF and Velo-city Series Director, pointed out that the conference was not just about politics. In fact, it was a means to increase acceptance of new technologies and to reach new target groups. This way, pedelecs and bicycles belong to the main focus of the Velo-city 2007 Conference.


Photos of the Event
More about the LEV Exhibition at Deutsche Museum
More about the 2006 Pedelec and E-Bike Test
More about the Velo-city 2007 Conference



March 3, 2006