E-bike makers Galvbike riding agritech wave at Fieldays

It may look much like a more-robust Vespa, but the Galvbike is anything but.

Built for the rough and tumble conditions of New Zealand dairy farms, it's a new electric farm bike and was one of many agritech products on display at the Mystery Creek Fieldays in Waikato.

Country Life spoke to the 'godfather' of e-bikes in New Zealand - Anthony Clyde - to learn more.

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Clyde said it had been designed "from scratch" for use on domestic dairy farms, incorporating all of the best bits of the traditional farmbike - brakes, wheelbase shocks, forks - and putting into an electric bike.

He likened it to a "side by side cut in half".

Made with a galvanised steel frame, it featured a step through design with a high tray on the back for bins or working dogs.

"That's allowed us to do a full deep step through, which means you don't have to swing your leg over the back.

"The deep step through also gives you your full leg protection in the front, quite good in the summer with your thistles."

Clyde said the 3 kilowatt hour lithium-ion-phosphate battery will get farmers 70 to 80 kilometres on a flat dairy farm and about half of that on a rolling hill property. The batteries also have a much longer cycle life and have a reduced fire risk, he said.

Meanwhile the electric braking means less wear and also helping with charging when going downhill.

It represents almost 10 years of work for Clyde and the team - and by day two of the Fieldays they had nearly fully sold out their first production line.

"I've been in the e-bike industry for almost 20 years now, so we've learnt a lot. I've got a lot of scar tissue, so I've applied that to this project.

"Just to get that validation from the farmers, people literally buying on the spot."

The key focus of the Galvbike was to design a reliable worktool.

"So there's a lot of money we've spent in bushes, seals, to handle a high pressure hose down. We've got hot motors that then get a cold spray, so we've got to have breathers, everything."

Clyde said e-bikes had taken longer than expected to become as mainstream as they are today.

"Farmers get a lot of flack, but they're actually leading the way in a lot of the core decisions. New Zealand is a world leader in ag-tech, you know, we punch way above our weight."

He said current interest was the result of a perfect storm of factors including the strong dairy payout, more farmers investing in solar systems and rising fuel costs pushing many to look for alternatives.

For now the team is taking it "slow and steady", just focussing on limited production number for the New Zealand market and for the moment, just two-wheel bikes.

"You know, it's a big market here in New Zealand and there's less options now with discontinue of quite a few farm bike models."

He hoped to bring out new variants later on, including a lower orcharder allowing growers to get under the canopy, and eventually quadbikes and side by sides.

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