About us – AS Folding Electric Bikes

AS BIKES is a family-based business that started in 2001. We originally started with two folding pedal bikes, A 16” wheels or 20” wheels. This was after owning a canal boat and not being able to find a decent push bike that could fit in the bilge area out the way.

When electric bikes first started becoming an interest we branched out and started our MK1 bike which soon became a popular choice, the regulations were different at the time, so we could only have a 180w motor and 24v battery which was NiMH.

Soon after that we decided to upgrade when regulations allowed which became the MK2

While the motor size could only go up to 200w we were able to change to a lithium battery to keep up with new technology.

Then the law changed again and we were allowed 250w motors which made such a difference to the power and feel of the bike that it soon made the MK1 and MK2 feel inadequate, we were also allowed to upgrade to use a 36v battery which had a much better range as well as torque when combined with the higher motor.

Since then we’ve generally kept the MK3 as our standalone bike, small things have changed over the years as we decided to upgrade gears and disc brakes now rather than calliper brakes, we also upgraded the amp of the lithium batteries we use in all of our models and currently use 13amp.

We were one of the first suppliers in the UK with a fully folding 26” wheeled bike, and it’s still unusual to come across today.

Being an inventor, the boss of the company Peter Drakeford then decided after listening to different mobility problems people had decided he needed a tricycle, but not just any tricycle. A fully folding electric tricycle which is the second in the world. Folding down to 16” wide means that for the market we sell in (motorhome/caravan) it’s still portable.

If you have balance or confidence issues you don’t have to stop cycling and we love being able to help people who didn’t think they could keep going.

After selling bikes for twenty years we found that our client base had also changed with us and Peter decided to also invest into a folding mobility scooter, he soon improved on the design and changed the motors and controls to make it suited for our more off road customers.

We run our business how we would like to be treated ourselves, with compassion and respect. No job is ever too much for us and we have always taken the long-term approach of looking after our customers. Our reviews show how much we care and try to look after people with usually no or very minimal cost.

Did you know?

Many of today’s car companies began as bicycle companies and the first car builders were in fact former bicycle mechanics. This apparently reaches all the way back to some of the bicycle’s originators. John Kemp Starley was the inventor of the original Safety Bicycle, that resembles those we ride today. Even more interesting is that he was the nephew of James Starley, the inventor of the Penny-Farthing and pioneer of the very first mass production of bicycles in Coventry. John Starley’s invention of the Safety Bicycle was truly revolutionary. Not only was it chain driven and have rear wheel drive, it also had two tyres the same size. All of these things made riding a bike much safer, hence the bike’s original name (it was not uncommon for a Penny-Farthing rider to “pull a header,” or flip over the front wheel). Mr. Starley and his business partner renamed the bike and their company the Rover from whence the Rover car company originated.

We at AS Bikes continue to nurture the spirit of innovation with our hand-built electric bikes.