ENCYCLEOPEDIA
For the love of bikes
Encycleopedia Home  >  Encycleopedia 2001  >  City Bikes  >  EP-X Roadster
Product
Photos
Agents
Purchase Product
EP-X Roadster
The EP-X pulls off a remarkable trick: it has the consumer-goods appeal to awaken design-conscious non-cyclists to the joys of cycling - yet offers real performance and practical value to the most experienced rider. The company logo ‘One day all bikes will be made like this’ may seem ambitious, but they do have a point: it’s high time for new thinking in bicycle design.

The EP-X is built on new ideas: the chassis is moulded from aerospace composites around a foam core, with aluminium inserts for dropouts and bearing attachments. A synchronous belt replaces the chain, so city suits or going-out clothes won’t get greased up. The belt requires little or no maintenance: it never rusts, and is little affected by water or mud. The Roadster uses a SRAM seven-speed hub gear. Disk brakes on the front wheel, and a SRAM drum brake on the back, make for sure stopping whatever the weather, and low maintenance.

When you’ve returned home, the Roadster has several tricks up its sleeve. First, the one-piece chassis is easily wiped down, and a once-over with a damp cloth is enough to ensure that it won’t leave any nasty marks over the rest of your possessions. Then, just flip it over so it stands on bars and saddle, remove a quick-release, and the rear end swings right over, leaving the EP-X standing stable and small in a corner or under the stairs. The folding mechanism also provides the pivot for unobtrusive but effective suspension for the rear swing-arm. A carrier rack fits to the seatpost, and mudguards are under development.

The EP-X range goes beyond the Roadster, and beyond roads, with the Terra-Shark, a mountain-bike which combines the same level of style with full-performance long-travel suspension. Further models are in the pipeline.

Sidebar
In the UK the EP-X Roadster costs around £1500. Prices will vary worldwide.


Manufacturer
The EP-X range has only just come onto the market - yet it’s already gathering awards. Even before it was launched, the work of the EPMB Design Centre, in Western Australia, which carried out the CAD design and analysis for the frames, was honoured with an Australian Design Award. EPMB are an English and Malaysian group with a reputation for, amongst other things, leisure products and motorcycle components. Distribution of the EP-X bikes is handled through EMPB UK, based in Warwick. When they took the EP-X range along to the big UK dealer show in Birmingham in March 2000, the EP-X team were delighted to win both first and second places in the ‘Best new adult cycle’ category. They even won the Fashion and Clothing award - even though they don’t (yet!) make a single stitch of clothing!

EP-X
The EP-X Building
256 Foleshill Road
Coventry
CV6 5NL
United Kingdom

phone: +44 2476 708200
fax: +44 2476 708208
email: info@ep-x.com
web: www.ep-x.com


Author
The Editors
All text, images and web design on these pages are copyright © 1995-2005.

Encycleopedia Ltd. has made a reasonable effort to ensure that all products featured in Encycleopedia are of high quality, from respectable sources, and are accurately described. Not every product has been tested extensively. It is the responsibility of the purchaser of a product to ensure that the product is safe and appropriate for the purpose intended. We cannot accept responsibility for the consequences of transactions between readers and producers and/or distributors of the products described in Encycleopedia. Encycleopedia Ltd. has made every effort to ensure that the shops listed in Encycleopedia are reputable, efficient and sympathetic to the aims of Encycleopedia. However, we cannot bear responsibility for the actions of shops, nor the consequences of transactions between readers and shops.

Please note that any published price information is merely a guide towards the likely cost of the product in the country of origin. The same product could cost half as much again in another country. For-up-to date pricing information, we recommend always checking directly with the manufacturers or their agents. Many of the product features on this website were first published in an edition of Encycleopedia which is now relatively out of date and it is extremely unlikely that specific details remain accurate. We continue to list these products purely as an archive reference, and we have therefore attempted to delete all references to their prices and contact details. We suggest you use your internet search engine should you wish to pursue more information about them.