Anti-Suffragette postcard ca. 1910s Happy International Women's Day, bicycle friends!

Everyone asks me how much they should spend on an e-bike. It's the wrong question. The right question is: what do I need it to do? A £500 bike that ends up in the shed is the most expensive bike you'll ever buy. A £3,000 bike ridden every day for ten years works out at pennies per mile.

Cycling to work can literally save your life. A major UK study of over 250,000 commuters found that people who cycle to work have a 41% lower risk of dying from any cause. A 52% lower risk of dying from heart disease. And a 45% lower risk of developing cancer. A separate study found they're 20%…

There seems to be a lot of confusion around about which types of e-bike are legal. But the law in the UK is very clear, legal e-bikes are officially known as EAPCs. This stands for 'electrically assisted pedal cycle', and these bikes are restricted to 15.5mph, with a 250W motor, and no throttle.

Bike theft isn't inevitable. While there's no 100% guaranteed way of stopping your bike getting stolen, there are several things you can do to make it much less likely.

There can be some gatekeeping in the cycling community so just remember that when it comes to biking there are only two rules: Wear what you want. Ride what you want and don't let anyone tell you differently @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social

There's a pervasive idea that using an e-bike is somehow cheating. If you're in a race where e-bikes are banned, yes: that's cheating. Otherwise, in what way is an e-bike a cheat? And why don't we apply the same logic to those who opt to drive by car instead of cycle by bike or e-bike?

Much happier with our rearranged bike display – not sure what we were thinking with the original layout! Featuring our superb range of test-ready e-bikes from Estarli, Gazelle, Riese & Müller and Tern.

Can you replace your car with a bike? Perhaps not for every journey, but possibly more than half of them. In the UK, 60% of car trips are under 5 miles. Making these journeys by bike instead means not having to pay for parking, getting some exercise and seeing more of the world!

A rare sunny day in winter. Long midafternoon shadows of bikes, cargobikes & buses. Streets designed for people to fully live their lives. Not a city (or a country) at war with its own people. I ❤️ Utrecht

Do you suffer with cold hands when cycling in the winter? In my experience, even the warmest cycling gloves on the market aren't up to the job when the temperatures really plummet.

Take care of your e-bike battery, and it'll take care of you. When storing your e-bike, it's even more important in cold weather to keep it at the right level of charge. Bosch's guide recommends a charge of between 30% and 60%, most other manufacturers recommend something similar.

You don't need an excuse to ride an e-bike. So many customers give various reasons why they feel they qualify for one, such as a long-term injury. But the truth is that e-bikes are a legitimate form of transport in their own right.

UK: 29th of 30 countries for e-bikes 📉 Norway (NORWAY!): 17x more than us 📈 We can salary sacrifice £150k Porsches but not £4k bikes? Bike industry at 1970s sales levels. Tomorrow's budget could finish us off.

Big news: we're reopening tomorrow! 🚴‍♂️ New Carnforth showroom = better everything: - Proper test rides on the cycle network - Peaceful browsing (no chaotic city centre traffic!) - Easy parking - Appointment or walk-in options Wed 5 Nov | Unit 1D Ironworks, Warton Road, Carnforth LA5 9EX |

Tim laments about how the UK bike industry is centred around leisure and sports in our new podcast: Carspiracy. This diminishes cycling as a legitimate form of transport with serious negative impacts for those of us trying to sell and service cargo bikes and utility cycles.

Some important news about the future of E-Radicals. After much consideration, we've decided to relocate from our current Lancaster city centre location to the Ironworks industrial estate in nearby Carnforth. Honestly, our current location hasn't worked out as well as we'd hoped.

Feast your eyes on this gorgeous, pre-loved Raleigh Motus Lowstep hybrid e-bike. With one careful owner, and after a thorough service by us, it's now ready for a new home.

This iconic Fabian Todorovic cartoon is still one of the best I’ve seen at illustrating the remarkable amount of space we surrender to cars, leaving little space left for everyone and everything else. The text added later makes the bonus point that many drivers still manage to complain about it.

🚲 EXCEPTIONAL EX-DEMO SALE 🚲 We're announcing some big news shortly (watch this space! 👀), but ahead of that we need to make some space. Which means incredible savings for you on these pristine ex-demonstration Riese & Müller bikes.

Happy Lancaster Day! ❤️🏵️ Love Lancaster – The City With a Story. Delighted with our little appearance in this fantastic video highlighting so many of the wonderful experiences Lancaster has to offer. 🔁 Love Lancaster BID

🚨 FREE STROOPWAFEL FRIDAY! 🚨 That previous post didn't exactly light up the socials, so here's another attempt with a subtle change in emphasis…

We're having our first Gazelle Demo Day! Drop by the shop any time from 10:30am until 5pm next Friday 16 May for free test rides on almost every e-bike from Gazelle's range. We'll also have Eddy from Gazelle on hand to answer any questions. Plus there will be stroopwafels!

🚲 NEW BIKE DAY: Gazelle Orange C7+ 🚲 Congratulations to Paula on collecting her stunning new Gazelle Orange C7+! We're thrilled to see another Lancastrian choosing two wheels for their daily journeys.

🔧 SERVICE SPOTLIGHT: Tern Vektron S10 🔧 Check out Ben's freshly serviced Tern Vektron S10 ready to take on even more car-free journeys! As part of our complimentary six-week service, we've fitted this folding powerhouse with new Tern Cargo Hold 28 Panniers and a Tern Dry Goods Bag.

It's May! Which means our "April" newsletter has gone out a day later than we'd like, but it has at least gone out! This past month, we were delighted to see an excellent feature on family cargo bikes in Cycling UK's official magazine.

Line for the bicycle parking garage at King’s Day.

We took a short break over the Easter weekend, but we’ve now been back open for a couple of days. Delighted to be back in the shop and helping more people get electrifying on two wheels!

“One mile on a bike is a $.42 economic gain to society, one mile driving is a $.20 loss.” “Which means that Copenhagen, a city of 1.2 million people, saves $357 million a year on health costs because something like 80% of its population commutes by bike.” #CityMakingMath Some costs aren’t costs.

“As cyclists in our lives before children, finding a way to combine family life and cycling was a no-brainer for us.” E-cargo bikes are making family travel easier, more fun and more sustainable across the UK. Come test ride one at E-Radicals in Lancaster!

While I completely understand the worry about fires on the Underground, can I tediously point out that the risk almost *never* comes from actual e-bikes, and almost always from what are, under the law, illegal electric motorbikes. Proper, legal, 15mph-limited e-bikes are very, very safe.

“People get very complacent driving cars, because it’s easy, and you are very protected and you’re very isolated inside your car. It’s easy to forget that there’s a huge amount of energy inside a car, even when it’s only going 20 or 30mph."

"Quite a few people in cars seem to be somehow offended by people riding bicycles because they’ve paid all this money for a car and think therefore they should be rewarded for it, but often they’re just not using the car very intelligently.”

“On average, studies have found that e-bike riders typically ride for longer periods… Not only do they log more hours, but they log a lot more miles, too… the electric motor takes some of the pain out of the harder parts of cycling, namely hill climbs and tough starts”

Meet our smallest shop assistant, Pablo. He specialises in basket accessories and encourages an extra treat with every purchase. He's also a professional basket stowaway and unofficial shop mascot.

We were delighted to help Harry with some adaptations on his new R&M Cruiser. Harry has one arm, so as well as opting for a coaster brake, we helped him source and fit new handlebars for a more comfortable riding position, and configure his brake levers and controls to ensure ready access.

Just dropped our Feb newsletter! The R&M Delite5 has arrived, and it's a game-changer for adventure riding. Plus: family cargo bikes, vintage Gazelle restoration, and spring maintenance tips. Check it out: https://eradicals.bike/blog/spring-forward-new-rm-models-and-vintage-revivals/

📊 FINAL DAYS: Family Cycling Survey Closing Friday! 📊 Families who cycle with children (or wish to) – your input is invaluable!

Quality never goes out of style! This 20+ year old Gazelle bike just got the full treatment at our Lancaster workshop. New chain rings, fresh cables and handlebar grips, and a complete bearing service from stem to stern. Ready for another few decades of faithful service! 🚲 #DutchBikes #BikeService

It's like the Mary Poppins bag of cargo bikes -- Watch this @riesemuller.bsky.social video and see how.

Good morning! 🚲🌍 It's a great day to sell your car and buy a bike! #CarFree

🚲 SPOTTED IN LANCASTER: The Gazelle Cabby C380! 🚲 Last seen cruising past Lancaster Castle and the Priory – is this Dutch masterpiece the ultimate family e-bike?! With its clever design, you can transport two children plus all your luggage with ease. ✨ Key features that make the Cabby special:

HOT RESEARCH NEWS! Motonormativity ("car brain") is a bias that stops people making rational judgements about driving en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motonor... Our new study shows where this bias comes from AND how it makes people think they're odd for supporting changes to the transport system 🧵

The many, many ways a cargo bike can fulfil your transportation needs. The bike featured here is the Riese & Müller Carrie – an outstanding compact long-john/bakfiets/front-loading electric cargo bike. 🎥 @riesemuller.bsky.social

Behold the engineering marvel that is the @riesemuller.bsky.social Birdy. This isn't just another folding bike – it's a full-suspension masterpiece that transforms through just 4 moves. At just 13kg, it's your perfect companion from train to office, or tucked away in your camper.

Look what rolled into our workshop – a 10-year-old Gazelle e-bike still going strong! 🚲 From tired (missing mudguard, broken brakes, dead dynamo) to transformed. With loving care, new parts, and creative fixes, this beauty is back on the road. ✨ Here’s to another 10 years of sustainable cycling!