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A to B 60June 07 A to B m a g a z i n e

Available from selected outlets,online at www.exacteditions.com or by annual subscription on 01305 259998 or www.atob.org.uk £13.80 (United Kingdom),£19 or US$33 (overseas airmail)

Issue 60 June 2007 A to B 40 Manor Road,Dorchester,Dorset DT1 2AX,England ISSN 1460-0587 . tel 01305 259998 email atob@atob.org.uk .web www.atob.org.uk Editors David & Jane Henshaw Illustrations Diana Powell,Helen Whyte,John McNaught,Tim Pestridge Contributors David Henshaw,Peter Henshaw,Elaine Simper,Judith &Neil Forsyth Printers The Friary Press Ltd . Next deadline 30th July 2007

Ten years, eh! When we devolved A to Bfrom the Folding Society, there was no particular masterplan, but we had a shrewd idea that there might be a gap in the market for a magazine specialising in bicycles as part of the bigger transport picture. Back in the summer of 1997 folding bikes were still treated with suspicion, and electric bikes were only for the seriously deranged.We’re tempted to say nothing has changed,but of course it has.Folding bikes are reviewed everywhere these days, from ‘AutoExpress’ to ‘The Times’, and electric bikes are set to achieve the same sort of consumer awareness. So where do we go from here? Some real exclusives in this tenth anniversary issue. Key test is the Nano Brompton, an electric bike that’s also a folder... and seems almost unbeatable in either field.We also take a look at the Dahon Curve, the long awaited ‘Brompton Killer’, Ezee’s latest electric bike - the Forte - and we demonstrate how a bit of armchair anarchy can change the face of British transport... Finally, thanks to everyone who has subscribed these last ten years.We treasure your comments (even if we don’t always act upon them!),and have been touched to see several readers describe this humble journal as the best transport magazine in the world.That means a great deal to us.

Contents

Industry Gossip: The Mole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

A to B Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

A to B News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The Trial: Dahon Curve SL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Tested: Quinny Zap Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

The Trial: Nano Brompton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Anarchist’s Corner: DIYCycle Maps . . . . . . . . . 34

The Trial: Ezee Forte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Letter from Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

A to B Smalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

A to B Magazine is a Low Carbon enterprise!

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A to B 60 June 07