Electric bikes now get breakdown service

It's a sign of how well things are going for the burgeoning sales and popularity of electric-assist bicycles in Britain that the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) has created a specialist electric bicycle breakdown recovery service.

The Cycle Rescue service offers e-cyclists breakdown cover similar to that bought by motorists.

In the event of a breakdown, policy holders contact the 24-hour recovery call centre and a recovery van will take the rider and electric bike to the nearest bicycle repair shop, railway station, car rental agency, overnight accommodation or home within 25 miles. The average response time to any road in Britain is 40 minutes.

Electric bike cyclists can use the service after an accident, theft, vandalism or irreparable breakdown of their bike.

A spokesperson for the ETA said: “The distributors of electric bicycles are so impressed by the Electric Cycle Rescue Cover that they are now including it with their bikes. For example, every Wisper e-bike sold at Electric Bikes Scotland has the service included in the price.

Breakdown cover for conventional bicycles or electric-assist bikes costs from £35.