Beameo Bikes

On a trip to London to the 2023 Cycle Show, I came across Beameo Bikes. This young UK brand stood out with their bright colours and practical designs.

We’re all used to seeing eBikes, like Beameo out on the roads and trails nowadays. Where I live the local off-road trails are full of people zipping round. While they may annoy me as they sail past on my favourite climb, they are getting more people out on bikes. ‘Proper’ cyclists may complain that these aren’t real cyclists, but for many an eBike isn’t just for the weekend.

If you live in a busy town or city, car ownership can be a prohibitive luxury. Tax, insurance, fuel costs, parking and congestion-charging can all add up. Beameo have written about this on their blog recently. If you’re living and working in a city driving a car to work is a pain. Rush-hour congestion means that many drivers leave extra early to avoid traffic-jams. However, other drivers soon catch on and the jams now happen earlier, which means you have to leave even earlier! I’ve experienced this when working as a freelancer and living on the outskirts of London. In the end we were getting up at five o’clock to get to work by eight, twelve miles away.

Practical eBiking

That was a journey that I could do by bike in just over an hour. Admittedly it wasn’t a pleasant journey, along some very busy roads, but it could be done. However, as an ex-courier and racing cyclist what I considered acceptable and what your average commuter might attempt were probably quite different. Which is where an eBike can come in handy. Getting a motor to handle the the distance and getting you quickly away from traffic lights can be a big confidence booster. It can also mean you arrive at work a little less sweaty that I did!

It’s not just commuting either when it comes to practical eBiking. With a rack and panniers you can get your shopping done; maybe enough for a few days if you have a big family like mine! As a father of four small, but surprisingly heavy children, an eBike would have been useful on the school run. I towed a trailer with the two smaller ones up a 12% hill for way too long! And when the weekend comes around a bit of planning and a train can get you out of the ‘smoke’.

Who are Beameo?

Beameo are a UK brand based in Wales with their HQ in London. They’re a family owned business who want to “make travel more sustainable for the benefit of people and the planet.” Their bikes sit at the affordable end of the market, with most of their bikes being aimed at the commuter or leisure user. They do have a 27.” hard-tail for those that fancy something a little more adventurous, but it’s mainly about getting people out on their bike.

So I’m beginning to see that something practical like Beameo’s Ray or Classic could be a useful addition to my current garage. Trips to the station or shops would be much easier, as I still have that 12% climb on the way home. While tackling such a climb in full lycra mode isn’t a problem, it’s not so appealing in civvies and lugging the groceries. So I think I should take a look at what the Beameo bikes are actually like to ride. I’ll ditch the lycra and heart-rate monitor and let the motor take the strain!