Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles
UBCO Bikes, the electric bikes that made headlines when a prototype was entered in a competition at the 2014 National Agricultural Fieldays, are now quietly sneaking up on people around the globe.
The no noise, no petrol utility bikes are now available in Australia, the UK, USA, Europe and South Africa.
Two thousand of the bikes, currently in their fifth generation, are expected to roll off the production line this year.
UBCO Bikes is based in Mount Maunganui and CEO Katherine Sandford says the bikes are being used traditional sheep and dairy farms here but also in horticulture and in vineyards.
She says the Rotorua Trails Trust staff ride them when they are maintaining trails in the Redwood Forest. DOC also has UBCO bikes.
Fleets of the bikes are being used for pizza delivery and Katherine says they are also being trialled in other parts of the world by fast food companies.
She says she would like to see the UBCO Bikes brand become a household name.
Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles
