UK e-bike boom predicted within two years as sales start to rise

British cyclists might be finally embracing the electric bike after sales rose steadily in 2016, with a "boom" apparently just around the corner.

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Speaking to Bike Europe, Electric Bike Company director Martin Brown estimated a 20 per cent growth in electric bike sales in the UK, with 30-35,000 such bikes sold in the last 12 months. That may sound like a lot, but Brown says the big growth is yet to come as the electric bike really begins to catch on in Britain.

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"I think the UK market hasn’t even seen the big ‘boom’ yet, as sales continue to grow at a fast pace. E-bikes are becoming more familiar and understood by the nation. I predict that in the next 18 – 24 months we’ll see a sharp spike similar to what particular countries on the continent have experienced.

"I’d say Germany is trailing a lead on the UK by about 3 years, so based on sales figures there we’re in for a very exciting time in the next 2 years or so."

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Electric bikes have proved exceptionally popular on the continent, as commuters use them as cheap and efficient ways to get to work. Germany has seen a particular boom in the electric bike market, with 535,000 units sold in 2015.