Bike Shaped Object

Monday 29th March 2010... the day I overtake an electrically assisted bike shaped object which looks a bit like a mopped but isn't.

I had been following this machine up the Rodwell Trail and decided that I just had to try out my 'bent legs and their new found muscles... as you can see in the video, the pilot of the electric device pedals to help the batteries get her up the 1:50(ish) gradient of the old track bed but to no avail - mere electricity is no match for a pair of finely tuned 'bent legs!!!

Given all the extra effort one would have to put in to move the battery weight around when the charge drops I often wonder if there is any net benefit at all in these machines.

Bike Shaped Object (BSO) is a slightly (well OK very) derogatory term used for the <£100 machines you can get from national chains - they tend to:-

be heavy;
have full suspension for no apparent reason;
not particularly well made or finished;
be and ridden for 3 weeks until boredom or in the worst cases actual pain - from the completely bad setup - sets in.

A BSO is technically a bike because it has two wheels... however the rest is mmmm well you probably get the idea by now.

As an aside I find it a trifle odd that this point in the commute is about 50% of the way to work, yet takes 1/3 of the time taken for the whole journey.