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Peddlers 46-48 Barbourne Road WORCESTER WR1 1HU

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A to B 71 May 09 A to Bm a g a z i n e

Available from selected outlets, online at www.exacteditions.com or

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Issue 71 May 2009 A to B 40 Manor Road, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 2AX, England

ISSN 1460-0587 . tel 01305 259998

email (editorial) atob@atob.org.uk (subscriptions & advertising) teresa@atob.org.uk . web www.atob.org.uk

Editor David Henshaw . Administration Teresa Ridout . Proof-reading Peter Henshaw

Contributors David Henshaw, Neil Forsyth Printers Henry Ling . Next deadline 28th May 2009

We’ve made predictions before, some accurate and some rather wide of the mark, but it’s getting increasingly difficult to guess what will happen next. In this issue, Bolivia holds the electric vehicle industry to ransom, the Irish launch electric bike holidays, Los Angeles gets enthusiastic about cycle paths, and we hear more of the cunning German masterplan to dominate the green energy market. And,

of course, there’s our cover story - the near collapse of the global car industry. The auto-makers will bounce back, because no-one’s really predicting the end, or even the beginning of

the end, for the Great Car Economy. But beyond that, we wouldn’t dare make a prediction for May 2010. Are we on the verge of an electric transport explosion, or is it all about to fizzle out through a shortage of lithium? Are we about to see a boom year for folding bikes, and indeed electric bikes, or will

the bicycle manufacturers feel the chill wind of recession too?

Contents Ear to the Ground: The Mole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 A to B Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 A to B News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Pivot’s Corner : Fast Charging, Human Power . . . . 20 Workshop: Giant Lafree Upgrades & Repairs . . . . 24 Tested: New Brompton Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Tested: Batter y Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 History: The Pasadena Cycleway . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Letter from Germany: Sauerkraut & Sunshine . . . 42 A to B Smalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

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A to B 71 May 09